The East Nasty
Last night, Bon Appétit — in partnership with the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau — hosted a party at Rolf and Daughters in honor of the announcement of its 50 nominees for Best New Restaurant. I reported yesterday that Biscuit Love was among the nominees.
I attended a similar party in 2013 when Rolf and Daughters was nominated (and eventually named No. 3 in the Hot 10), so I didn’t think much about this event. Until I realized that this was the event, the (only) launch party for the entire country. That was not something that occurred to me until I arrived. Police were on hand for crowd control. There was a line of new BMWs lined up and well-lit for promotional purposes. News Channel 5 was on hand to film. There were many beautiful people. There was just an air of something that felt like a movie premiere’s red carpet.
Once inside, I was happy to see Karl and Sarah Worley of Biscuit Love and congratulate them on the honor. It’s been great to see their business grow and evolve. They started with a great idea and a great product and have been carefully honing their business plan to create a great restaurant. Expansion is on the horizon (Jim Myers reported in yesterday’s Tennessean that a second location is planned for Hillsboro Village), but Sarah Worley has said that no leases have been signed just yet. I lobbied hard for a location further outside the tourist zone. Further south, that is.
After having a few snacks (there was a blessedly generous spread of vegetarian items including an “air-dried local tomato” drizzled in lemon verbena oil and flaked sea salt), I had to leave. I ended up missing the biggest news of the night: The East Nasty was named Bon Appétit’s Best Sandwich of 2015. The fried chicken on a biscuit left such an impression on the editors that they felt it deserved special recognition. Way to go Biscuit Love! This is very auspicious for Nashville having yet another Hot 10 restaurant. The Hot 10 will be announced Aug. 18.
