Whenever someone in Nashville uses the term "M Street," there's a greater than 50 percent chance the next word will be "empire" — for instance, "Chris Hyndman has gone Italian with the newest piece of his M Street empire."
Drive down that block of McGavock Street in the Gulch on a typical night, and the entire street is blocked off, with lane dividers and valets everywhere. You're stepping into Hyndman World, an upscale collection of restaurants and nightlife.
His newest piece, Moto, fashions itself as a wine bar, or enoteca, and the long, sleek bar that anchors the front of the restaurant is beautiful. From the high ceiling to the lighting to the fire feature in the main dining room, the entire restaurant has great visual appeal, something Hyndman's places are known for. High stools at the bar, well-stuffed chairs at tables, and spacious high booths give the space a comfort level to match the eye candy — it's a nice place to spend a few minutes or several hours.
But style only gets you so far. If Moto is going to be a true success, the food has to live up to the decor. And on that basis alone, the enoteca is a winner.
Andy Hayes, Moto's talented chef, has a point of view here that feels somewhat Roman, with simple pastas and thin-noodle lasagna, porchetta and saltimbocca, meatballs and thin-but-not-too-thin pizzas. There are other Italian influences, but this isn't an onslaught of rustic Tuscan food; it's got a little bit of Eternal City refinement.
The menu is made for sharing, and though there's a traditional small plates/bigger plates setup, we found ourselves on multiple occasions just ordering things for the table and grabbing a few bites, whether hot or cold, large or small. The "market" items — traditional entrées — come without sides, so keep that in mind. I think of them as bigger pieces to pass around the table, kind of a do-it-yourself family-style approach.
Among the starters, we enjoyed the giant pork meatball ($9), topped with crispy guanciale and a sweet tomato sauce. It's easily sharable by three or four, but the fact that two of us made it disappear so quickly should speak to its appeal. (Wagyu beef and lamb meatballs are also available, for $12.) A rich pork-cheek terrine ($8) comes with pickled onion, and spreads easily over toast. The charcuterie ($14) and cheese plates ($14) went quickly as well, with Christino Creminelli's artisan salumi from Utah and Looking Glass Creamery's Chocolate Lab cheese from Asheville, N.C., among my favorites.
The only area where there was disagreement was the cephalopods: the calamari ($12) were insanely fresh and surprisingly light for something fried; yet some of my dining companions didn't love the texture of the grilled octopus ($16), which despite a tangy salsa verde was a little tough and slightly overcooked. But the crudo ($12), featuring thinly sliced trout, blood orange and fennel, made up for it.
The pizzas are good, but not Moto's strongest suit; they're a fine secondary item to have for the table. Hayes' has a couple of traditional pizzas — four-cheese with pancetta ($16) and margherita ($13) — but I liked the clam, broccoli rabe and sausage ($18) more. As at other M Street places, Moto has a line on good seafood, and it made a difference here.
The meat of the menu (no pun intended) is the market section, and there's plenty to like. The heritage-breed porchetta ($19) is almost over-the-top in its richness, with layers of belly fat rolled around leaner cuts and sitting in a rich jus over farro and pickled raisins. Big, plump diver scallops ($35) were seared perfectly, paired with potatoes and artichokes. Braised lamb necks ($24) and chicken saltimbocca ($22) don't tone down the richness, either. If you're looking for something a little lighter, aim for the cobia ($24), served over lentils with an herb salad.
(As a disclaimer, I should tell you we skipped the steaks and chops. It's the same meat program as at Kayne Prime, and it felt a little forced onto an otherwise well-considered menu. Maybe the Gulch crowds demand it, but we found the wagyu filets and 30-day-aged rib-eyes pretty easy to ignore against such a solid Italian lineup. I wish the powers-that-be trusted the menu enough to ditch those items. If I want to pay $50 for a steak, I'll walk the half-block to Kayne.)
The star of Hayes' menu, though, is clearly the pasta. Black Spaghetti ($21) comes over fiery chilies and bits of lobster. The dish is visually a showstopper, with the dark squid-ink noodles swirled in a mound over the tomato-based sauce, and it tastes spectular. I loved the blueberry lasagna ($19), too, with almost paper-like planks of pasta separating similarly thin layers of mushroom puree and bits of ricotta. The blueberry and balsamic reduction is a searing contrast to the earthiness of the mushrooms — a little goes a long way — but wow, was it interesting. You really have to appreciate such a thoughtful approach to a vegetarian dish on a meat-driven menu. There are traditional favorites like a tagliatelle Bolognese ($16) and a really interesting pork belly ravioli ($15), but if you see the spaghetti in clam sauce ($18) on the specials menu, order it. It's old-school goodness.
Because of the heavy meals, we only tried a couple of desserts. The rhubarb and strawberry cobbler with buttermilk sorbet was excellent, but we couldn't finish it. We also sampled a couple of the sorbets, including a cherry that was the perfect blend of sweet and soothing.
If Hyndman is going to do more empire building, Moto should be his guide. Saint Añejo, which opened in October on the same block, got the style right but not the food. Moto appears to have nailed them both. It's a bit of Roman excellence on M Street.
Email arts@nashvillescene.com.
