Red Wagon Cafe
1112 Woodland St. 226-2527
Open for lunch 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tues.-Fri.; for brunch 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat.-Sun.; for dinner 5:30-9 p.m. Thurs.-Sat.
When I flew to New York City last week, it was the first time I’d been there since Sept. 11, 2001—not because of fear of another terrorist attack, but simply a lack of time and opportunity. But a couple weeks ago, I was invited to attend a dinner there honoring a member of the music industry, and it seemed the perfect chance for a long overdue visit.
The day before I was to board my American Airlines flight, the Department of Homeland Security elevated the nation’s terrorism threat level to Code Orange. Still, off I went to Nashville International Airport the following morning. The security drill was pretty much in keeping with what Nashvillians have encountered there in the past 18 months or so, but once the plane was in the air, and I had my nose in the newspaper, my anxiety level went up a notch or two. New York, I read, remains a particular target for al-Qaeda. Security has been stepped up at bridges and tunnels, the CEOs of the nation’s 66 top companies have been advised to increase security at their company buildings, and Jewish-owned businesses and hotels are also presumed to be potential targets as well. (I hate to state the obvious, but New York certainly has its share of Jewish-owned businesses.)
Held at the Regent Wall Street Hotel, the dinner itself was honoring a Jewish entertainment lawyer and benefiting the United Jewish Appeal. Security there was no laughing matter. After traveling past closed-off streets, paddy wagons, bomb barricades and heavily armed police, my companions and I were hurried out of the car and directed to a special entrance, which led directly through a set of metal detectors. We had to show photo ID to pick up our table assignments, then were directed to a secured bar. From there, we could see the ballroom below, ringed by bomb-sniffing dogs. I wondered why we hadn’t just stayed home and sent in a check, and I grew a bit impatient with some of the longer-winded speakers. For crying out loud, I kept thinking, let’s not press our luck.
Back in Nashville a day later, life couldn’t have been more different; the most pressing threat was the steady deluge causing creeks to overflow their banks. Still, even amid the relative security of Middle Tennessee, we all long for comfort and a shelter from the storm clouds, whether they be full of rain or nuclear fallout.
For me, this past Saturday night, that reassuring shelter was found in a Victorian home in East Nashville. Red Wagon Café, owned by chef Meg Giuffrida and husband Paul Burch, has been open since June 1, serving lunch four days a week and brunch on weekends. They’ve built a loyal following of fellow East Nashvillians and people willing to travel across the river for a good meal—a population that appears to be growing steadily as the area continues to be a hotbed for new restaurants. One of the reasons that Red Wagon, Margot Café, Rosepepper Cantina, Bongo Java Roasting Company, Lipstick Lounge, Family Wash and Chapel Bistro have drawn so many customers is that each has managed to carve out its own unique personality. Red Wagon’s appeal is its cheerful, easy ambiance and the fresh, flavorful food, prepared with great care by Giuffrida and her tightly knit staff. The short lunch menu of salads, sandwiches and a couple of hot plates also presents creative and tasty options for vegetarian and vegan diners, and is thoughtfully priced for the non-expense account crowd.
After building up a steady clientele at lunch and brunch, a few months ago, Red Wagon began offering dinner—in house and pre-packaged to go—on Thursday through Saturday nights. The evening menu is just as unpretentious, though like the daytime offerings, it’s interesting enough that even weekly diners won’t grow bored with the limited selection. Giuffrida draws inspiration and flavors from around the globe, but imparts those influences with subtlety and grace.
Neither of the two appetizers will spoil the appetite for the main course, and they’re perfect to nibble on while enjoying a glass of wine. The seasonal fruit and cheese plate currently teams sliced Asian pears, a pear conserve and Brie, while the Mediterranean platter boasts a trio of dips: roasted red pepper hummus, tangy olive tapenade and feta-yogurt dip. Both apps are served with sliced country bread, though the bread on the Med platter would be better if warmed or lightly toasted.
The unassuming house salad of tender greens, baby spinach, avocado slices, shaved fennel and fresh orange sections tossed with balsamic vinaigrette provides a nice counterbalance to the spicier entrées, or complements those with milder flavors. Either way, it is a first-rate house salad.
Among Red Wagon’s entrée selections, we gravitated to the one-bowl meals. In these complicated times, this approach to cooking seems just the right thing, particularly welcome in cold-weather months. And it appears to be growing in popularity as well: Susie Quick, a former Nashvillian now serving as food editor for Health magazine, has just produced a new cookbook, Quick Simple Food, with a colorful cover photo of Singapore noodles in a simple porcelain bowl. Inside are more than two dozen recipes for all-in-one dining.
The most satisfying one-bowl meals don’t skimp on ingredients or flavor, but blend them into one balanced dish, which at Red Wagon is a sturdy white bowl, a blank canvas for Giuffrida’s colorful culinary combos. Her Sicilian sweet and sour chicken is sunny and warm, red and yellow: pulled roasted chicken stirred into a fresh, chunky tomato sauce, sweetened with raisins, “soured” with capers, and placed atop a triangle of golden polenta. The Parsee shrimp, named for a region of India, is another single-bowl presentation of multiple elements punched up with an assertive pinch or two of crushed red pepper.
For those looking for other options, plenty of the entrées don’t come in a bowl, notably the austere white-on-white lasagna, a layered construction of noodles, sautéed onions, béchamel sauce and quatre fromages: ricotta, chevre, mozzarella and Parmesan. It may be more laid-back than some of Giuffrida’s other offerings, but it is richly rewarding, a creamy dream of oozing cheese. The sassy fish tacos combine cool and hot, smooth and crunchy with chunks of mildly flavored red snapper zinged by a chili-lime sauce, then layered atop a crunchy Caribbean slaw on soft corn tortillas.
From our table, we could hear the clatter and chatter in the adjacent kitchen, a busy, cheerful bustle reassuringly reminiscent of the warmth and familiarity of home. As we tangled forks over a piece of delicious homemade lemon-poppy seed cake, Paul Burch wheeled a stroller holding his and Meg’s newest creation—3-month-old Henry August—into the dining room for us to admire.
With rain pounding on the roof, the worn but solid century-old wooden floor under my feet, well-fed, in the company of good friends, and with Henry’s little hand wrapped tightly around my finger, I was warmed by the remarkable blessing of simple pleasures, fortunate to be in Nashville, Tenn. At that moment, Red Wagon Café seemed the perfect place to be.
