On a recent Saturday morning, I was sitting in the window booth at Mack’s Cafe when the front door opened. A nattily dressed elderly gentleman stood there as if frozen, one foot in the restaurant, the other still on the sidewalk. He stared at the interior for several long seconds, taken aback as if he had seen the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and the Tooth Fairy sharing a booth. Slowly, he backed out of the door, turned on his heel, and walked away down the street.
Anybody familiar with the old Mack’s Cafe, the meat-and-three that has been a fixture in the Vanderbilt neighborhood since 1920, might have had the same reaction. My only prior experiences at Mack’s had occurred many moons ago, after late, alcohol-soaked evenings at Cantrell’s, the rock club that used to exist a few blocks down the street. Cantrell’s patrons often segued to Mack’s after the band packed it in, hoping a plate of greasy eggs and some hot black coffee would get them sober enough to make it home. Mack’s was a haven for starving students (the ones on scholarship at nearby Vanderbilt) and struggling musicians, who fondly remember the early ’70s, when Mack’s offered the cheapest meat-and-three deal in town—just 95 cents, with free second helpings on the veggies. Mack’s was also popular among the Metro police force, who showed such loyalty that, on some nights, you could have taken roll call at the counter.
Late last year, Lin Cameron, a former co-owner of Sunshine Grocery on Belmont Boulevard, took over the lease at Mack’s—which got its name from its first owner, Guy “Mack” McFarland, and must, under the terms of the lease, continue to be called Mack’s Cafe. Since Mack retired in the early ’60s, there have been several changes of ownership, each of them allowing the quasi-diner to slide further and further into seemingly irreversible shabbiness and grime.
Cameron took on what many might have considered a hopeless challenge. After closing the restaurant in the fall, she gutted the building and began the renovation. Mack’s reopened in mid-March with a fresh new look—scrubbed floors, new paint, refurbished seating, revamped restrooms, a brand-new kitchen, and—most shocking of all—a no-smoking policy.
But Mack’s facelift is more than skin deep—the menu has undergone a pretty remarkable makeover as well. Some longtime Mack’s fans aren’t happy about the changes. At the very least, they’re having a hard time adapting.
On my first visit to the new Mack’s, I ran into a friend who remembers eating there a couple times a week in his pre-yuppie days. He took one look at the menu and snorted, “Foccacia! For crying out loud. If anyone had ordered foccacia in the old days, they would have gotten punched in the nose!”
There is indeed foccacia on the new menu at Mack’s—along with other exotica such as grilled-shrimp tacos, a Yucatan platter, albacore-tuna salad, seafood gumbo, empanadas, California salad, and—can you stand it?—grilled tofu in peanut sauce. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP.
You can still do the meat-and-three thing at Mack’s. It’s just that the meat might not be meat at all. It might be, well, grilled tofu. And one of the threes (actually two, of course, in the honored meat-and-three tradition, for $6.95) might be mustard mashed potatoes, hummus, tofu salad, roasted roots, or posole blanco with chilies. Cameron says she was excited at the prospect of trying new recipes.
While there is a whiff of healthy food in the air, it’s not all sprouts and beans. Mack’s offers two plate-lunch specials daily, Monday through Friday. Since I’ve only been there on Tuesdays, I’ve been given the same choices each time—chicken with baked sweet potato dumplings or eggplant lasagna. I tried the chicken and can recommend it, particularly on the dreary, damp days that have been a hallmark of the spring of ’98. The big chunks of white meat are cooked casserole style, and the dumplings seem more like big biscuits. I had to ask the waiter to remove the plate to keep myself from eating the whole thing.
The choices available on other days are beef stew or grilled tofu (Mondays), roast beef or seafood gumbo (Wednesdays), grilled beef kielbasa or empanadas (Thursdays), and salmon cakes or roast pork loin in mole sauce (Fridays). Breakfast is served daily as well.
Salads are of entrée proportions. The peppers, eggplant, onions, and squash in the California salad had been marinated in olive oil, and perhaps some balsamico, before being tossed with big chunks of fresh mozzarella and served atop a bed of mixed greens. The Yucatan platter was a pleasing mix of flavors—guacamole, fresh shrimp salad that was light on the mayo, and a fruit chutney, served with a basket of tortilla chips. The grilled-shrimp tacos, at $11.95, are the most expensive item on the menu, and I don’t think they’re worth the price, at least not in their current incarnation. Six grilled shrimp, a scoop of guacamole, a bed of steamed white rice, and a few spoonfuls of chutney come with a basket of warm tortillas, but none of the separate parts was particularly tasty. Even taken together, they didn’t prove very memorable.
From the sandwich board, I loved the roasted veggie—slices of creamy avocado and mozzarella cheese with a zippy pesto spread—but I’d prefer a more rustic, country-style bread. The turkey sandwich, with its thick slices of baked white meat, fared better on the soft wheat loaf. The grown-ups in my party liked the plump, juicy cheeseburger better than the kids did. (It wasn’t the flat, gray patty they are accustomed to.)
All sandwiches (most are $5.95) come with a side dish. My favorites were the spicy posole blanco, the black beans, and the mustard mashed potatoes. The corn, however, had no more flavor than the bag it came in and the greens would have benefited from a little bacon grease—or even some salt.
Only order the foccacia of the day if you’re craving a loaf of bread. A generous slice, it’s baked with cheese, onion, and peppers baked on top. It’s filling, but you wouldn’t want to make a meal of it.
Pastry lovers will be easily lured to the display case in the front room. It’s chock full of cream puffs, éclairs, chocolate croissants, napoleons, and other French pastries, thanks to Michel Julien, who used to have a popular French bakery in the Lion’s Head area and who now supplies area restaurants.
Service was slow on each of my visits. Even when my table was one of only three occupied, that was still the case, so I’m placing the blame on the kitchen. Once business picks up at Mack’s, and I’m betting it will, they’ll need to get into gear back there behind the scenes. People come to Mack’s for a quick bite, not a lingering lunch.
While Nashville has lost many of its most beloved historic buildings over the years (Save Jack!), it has somehow managed to retain many of its dining landmarks. But even the most venerable can use a pick-me-up once every few decades. In Mack’s case, the change is for the good. It ain’t your father’s greasy spoon anymore.
Mack’s Cafe is located at 2007 Division St. (327-0700). Open Mon-Fri. 7 a.m.-2 p.m; Sat. 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
