Rippy’s Smokin’ Bar & Grill
429 Broadway. 244-7477
Open 11 a.m.-11 p.m. daily
Jeff Rippy spent 23 years as a bond trader for J.C. Bradford here in Nashville, so he clearly knows a thing or two about money. But he also knows something about food. For several years, whenever the Nashville Kats played at home, he and some of his colleagues cooked up a pig-happy tailgate party in the alley behind the Ryman Auditorium. Rippy got raves for his smoked barbecue and ribs, and about a year after J.C. Bradford was bought out by Paine Webber, he decided to go whole hog into the food business. He took over the ideally located building at the corner of Fifth and Broadway, which, until the tornado of ’98 reduced it to rubble, had housed The Turf, one of Lower Broad’s cheesier joints. In its place, he constructed a very comfortable bar and restaurant.
Rippy is to be commended for salvaging much of the building’s original brick and complementing the street’s historic character, unlike the pillaging done to some of the downtown district’s older buildings by the big boys in the theme restaurant biz. The inside is just as pleasing: A large circular bar shares the front room with sturdy wooden tables set on a painted concrete floor; the high tops placed against the floor-to-ceiling front windows are the perfect spot for people-watching inside and out. The back room has more tables and some booths, and a stage for live music, which is featured nightly. The smoky smell of barbecue drifts through the screened wall that separates the rear dining room from the kitchen. Posters from Hatch Show Print, paraphernalia and memorabilia from local sports teams, a painting of Dale Earnhardt and framed photos of downtown Nashville decorate the walls. It all adds up to a warm, welcoming, good-time, easygoing ambience.
Many downtown denizens are lured into Rippy’s by said ambience, whether for a pulled pork sandwich at lunch, an after-work cocktail, a beer, a basket of onion rings and a game on one of the strategically placed televisions, or a slab of ribs. But unless you possess a Wall Street-subsidized expense account, you are likely to suffer the same sticker shock that made me squeal in dismay on each of my three visits.
The smoked chicken wings, for example, which came nine to an order, are $9.75. Whoa, Nelly! Perhaps Jeff Rippy, for all his years of experience in the financial world, should do some comparison shopping: At Sportsman’s Grille, an order of wings is $6.25; at McCabe Pub, $4.95; at Logan’s Roadhouse, $5.49. Even compared to other downtown restaurants like The Hard Rock Cafe ($7.29), The Wildhorse Saloon ($6.95) and Big River ($6.79), Rippy’s is in a lofty league of its own when it comes to prices. At all of the above-mentioned restaurants, your wings will come on a ceramic plate with metal utensils. At Rippy’s, all meals are served on Chinet plates with plastic utensils, and all drinks, with the exception of wine, are poured in plastic cups. I am not averse to eating off disposable ware, but not when I am paying china-and-flatware prices.
The prices tend to be high all the way down the menu. At Rippy’s, a regular pulled pork sandwich, served with a small cup of either baked beans or coleslaw, is $7.50. At Sportsman’s Grille and McCabe Pub, it’s $5.25; at Big River, with slaw and fries, it’s $6.94. Go to a barbecue joint like Fate’s Pig & Pie, Hog Heaven or Mary’s, and the prices are even lower.
Perhaps the most egregiously inflated item on the menu was the smoked sausage and cheese appetizer. Eleven thin, half-dollar-sized slices of sausage, 10 one-inch cubes of government-issue cheddar cheese, eight saltines, and two pepperoncini are $7.50, a price that borders on embezzlement in my view. By comparison, a Hogs Sampler Platter—which included seven fat onion rings, three thin slices of pork tenderloin, five wings, eight slices of sausage, 10 cubes of cheese and a mess of saltines and pepperoncini—might be considered a real deal at $18.50.
To be fair, not everything was overpriced. Rippy’s ribs seemed in line with other barbecue places in town: a half order at $10.75, and a full order at $17.25.
Is the food worth the cash outlay? Well, the smoked wings have a good flavor and are not terribly greasy or messy; the onion rings and French fries ($5.25 and $4.25, respectively, for a half-pound basket) are excellent. The canned baked beans are nicely jazzed up with peppers and some dry rub; the smoked chicken is moist and tender. The meaty ribs—coated with the same spicy dry rub—are slow-cooked until the pork barely clings to the bone, and have very little superfluous fat. My dozen seasoned and novice barbecue tasters gave the sliced pork loin and the pulled pork a rating of 5 on a scale of 1 to 10.
So maybe the fries and the ribs are worth the price of admission. The service, however, is not. On my first visit, our waiter did an admirable job of attending to the needs of five adults and five children on a very busy evening. On my second visit, the sullen waitress, who never once offered a thank-you or a smile, also never brought the beer cup I requested three times. (I finally went to the bar and got it myself.) She did deliver the appetizers, house salad and dinner plates—all at the same time. When I asked her why all the food came at once, she shrugged and replied, “I didn’t know what order you wanted it.” The conventional way—appetizer, salad, entrée—would have been good.
So, just why are Rippy’s prices so high? One might speculate that its high-profile location is demanding a primo monthly nut—not just rent, but also property taxes and the additional Central Business Improvement District tax. Another piece of financial wisdom states that one can charge what the market can bear: If a customer has a pair of $65 hockey seats or $75 concert tickets, what difference is a $7.50 pork sandwich going to make?
On the other hand, I think about what my remarkably frugal grandfather used to say: You get what you pay for. Or at least you should. Did Rippy’s give me what I paid for? Not in my personal ledger book.
Wolfe call
In the early ’90s, before the Gaylord Entertainment Center (GEC) landed on Lower Broad, Bob Wolfe took a chance when he opened Wolfy’s at 425 Broadway. There were tough times, but he hung in there, and his bar/restaurant is now a fixture on the scene and a favorite watering hole before and after Predators games. In fact, Wolfe also manages the sports bar on the second level of the GEC.
With the opening of Sam Boni’s Pizzeria at 423 Broadway, next door to Wolfy’s, the gregarious restaurateur has again expanded his empire. Hockey fans will get the play on words in the restaurant’s name, which refers to the Zamboni machine that cleans the ice between periods. The tongue-in-cheek legend of Sam Boni is written on the wall of the Spartanly decorated pizzeria, as are photos of his many descendants.
The hand-tossed pizza is sold by the slice—$2 for regular or $3.25 for Sicilian—or by the pie; an 18-inch whole cheese pizza is $13.99. Sam Boni’s also cooks calzone and pasta of the day; draft and bottled beer is available. Hours are 11 a.m.-midnight Mon.-Wed.; 11 a.m.-3 a.m. Thurs.-Sat. Phone: 259-7404; for take-out orders, call ahead, and an employee will run the pizza out to your car.
East Nashville’s latest arrival
East Nashville, which has lately become a hotbed of new food venues, will welcome another addition to the neighborhood when Ernest V. Chaires opens Rose Pepper Cantina and Mexican Grill Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 1907 Eastland Ave. His family has owned Es Fernando’s on Gallatin Road for 31 years; for some time, his East Nashville customers have encouraged him to open a place in their neck of the woods. When the building that once housed Joe’s Diner became available, he signed the lease and has spent the last several months painting and redesigning.
Rose Pepper will be decidedly different than Es Fernando’s, which is mom-and-pop fast service. The new restaurant has a full bar with 25 types of tequila, table service and a menu based on Sonora-style cuisine, combining the classic ingredients of Mexican food with a wide variety of other cultural influences.
The eatery will be open daily for lunch and dinner, and will offer live entertainment intermittently. A Latin jazz band debuts this Friday night. Phone: 227-4777.
Let them eat cake
Former Tennessean food writer Anne Byrn parlayed a request for readers’ favorite recipes using cake mixes into a stupendously successful cookbook, The Cake Mix Doctor. Nearly 1 million copies are in print. Next out of the oven? Chocolate From the Cake Mix Doctor, released by Workman Publishing and now available in bookstores. Anne Byrn will be signing her new book—and offering samples of some of the cakes—noon-2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, at Davis-Kidd Booksellers.
