3 hours Ago By Chris Chamberlain
It’s been a busy time for food-and-bev comings and goings, and nothing is constant but change when it comes to the Nashville culinary scene. Here are some recent updates. Whenever people tell the story about how Nashville evolved from a town where Pizza Hut won “Best Italian” in newspaper polls to the culinary destination that we enjoy today , the story of chef Tandy Wilson and his restaurant City House needs to be mentioned in the first few paragraphs.
The city’s only James Beard winner for Best Chef: Southeast has been a pioneer since he first opened his own place in 2007 in Alan LeQuire's former sculpture studio. At the time, Germantown was pretty much a dining desert, and Wilson was a big part of attracting new, younger residents to the neighborhood. The concept of farm-to-table was just starting to enter the regional zeitgeist, mainly in the form of Southern restaurants that began to extol the farmers from whom they sourced produce and listing them on their menus by name.
Wilson, however, stretched beyond simply using regional ingredients to make regional dishes. He strived to create rustic Italian cuisine while limiting himself to just a few imported ingredients, demonstrating the connection between American and Italian cuisine, where your grandma isn’t too far from a nonna. Along the way, Wilson has trained some fantastic talent in his kitchen — many chefs who have gone on to open their own successful restaurants.
One that has stuck around for a long time is Bradley Midgett, a Nashville native like Wilson who has worked at City House since 2013. Through more than a decade in that kitchen, Midgett has grown in both leadership and culinary skills, and now he is being rewarded with a promotion to the role of executive chef. Tandy will still be around and involved in the business, but he’s excited to pass the torch.
“Brad has been part of the City House team for 12 years, and during his impressive tenure, he has grown into the type of chef who has a heavy influence not only on the menu, but on the long-standing network of farmers, ranchers and purveyors we are proud to source from year-round,” says Wilson in an official announcement. “It’s been an honor to mentor Brad and watch his evolution as a chef and a leader, and I could not think of a better person to lead the day-to-day operations of our kitchen.” The kitchen crew at City House has always worked extremely well as a team, and Wilson likes how Midgett’s precision has balanced his own whimsy as they work to create new dishes together.
The duo shares a deep respect for their purveyors, always striving to put the ingredients at the forefront of new menu offerings. Midgett promises nothing will change in that regard. “In my 18-year career, I have worked at only four restaurants, but City House is where I have honed the majority of my skills,” says Midgett.
“Working for and alongside Tandy, I have gained a deep knowledge of agriculture and ingredients, cooking techniques and how to build flavors, dishes and menus. And because so much of my skill set and creative voice were developed under his tutelage, I have a great understanding of City House’s point of view and the confidence and leadership to teach our methods and philosophies to other team members from this unique perspective.” With the future of kitchen leadership ensured, City House will continue to serve dinner nightly, a rarity among many high-end Nashville restaurants.
They’re open Sunday through Thursday, 5 until 9 p.m., and 5 until 10 p.
m. on weekends. Make reservations at the restaurant website .
Over in Wedgewood-Houston, the unquenchable hunger of development is about to claim another victim. After nine years of operations at 514 Hagan St., the building housing Nashville Craft Distillery is slated for new development .
The property parcel was also home to Dozen Bakery and forced their relocation to Woodbine , but Nashville Craft owner-distiller Bruce Boeko has decided to make a career pivot instead of moving. He will officially close the distillery at the end of March, and this weekend, March 15-16, he will host the final tours of the distillery. If you’ve never enjoyed Boeko’s delightfully nerdy whiteboard presentation explaining the distilling process, you should definitely book a tour and drop by! For the final two weeks of the month, the distillery will remain open without tours, offering tastings, cocktails and bottle sales through March 30.
While supplies last, they’re throwing in a free Nashville Craft rocks glass with each purchase of a 750-milliliter bottle, including our head distiller’s current favorite, Nashville Craft Traditional Bourbon Whisk(e)y. If you’re a longtime fan, they’re also sharing the recipes for every cocktail they’ve ever served in their tasting room on their website . In addition to bottle sales at the tasting room and at the airport, Nashville Craft is offering a 50 percent discount on merch at the distillery.
Business hours are 10 a.m. until 4 p.
m. Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m.
to 6 p.m. on Friday, noon until 6 p.
m. on Saturday and noon until 5 p.m.
on Sunday. As for Boeko, he’ll be taking his engaging teaching talents to academia, where he will serve as the program director of the new Distilled Spirits Program at Motlow State Community College . I’ll miss Bruce as a representative of the local distilling biz, but Nashville’s loss is the industry’s gain, and I’m sure he will be a fantastic instructor for the next generation.
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