Menu and Team Expand at The Food Company in Green Hills

has been a Green Hills tradition and favorite lunch location since Jackie Daniel first opened it 15 years ago, but there have been so many good changes of late, it's probably worth a new look. While Daniel is still involved in the business where she created a cult following with her inventive menu of addictive sandwiches and salads and her personal approach to her clientele, she has turned over some of the daily restaurant operations to

to help re-energize Food and Company. That's right, the same folks behind The Catbird Seat are now in the chicken salad biz, and they definitely know not to mess with that chicken salad recipe!

Lunchtime stalwarts like that chicken salad, the tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich are still on the menu, but The Food Company has employed experienced Nashville restaurant professional Molly Martin to retool and expand the offerings. For example, the consistent popularity of the grilled cheese has evolved into a whole section of the menu called the "Melt Shop." Now you can find variations like the Frenchie (with gruyere and caramelized onions on farm bread) and the Eduardo (with muenster, roasted poblanos, avocados and black bean salad) to give new options to the original cheese melt. Whenever possible, Martin has crafted sandwiches that feature regional farm-fresh ingredients like the Sweetwater Valley Farms cheddar and Benton's bacon that join smoked gouda and a delicious tomato jam on the Big Smokey.