23 hours Ago By Chris Chamberlain
Readers of a certain age may remember, to the disbelief of the young'uns among you, that MetroCenter was the happening spot to be in Nashville during the mid-’80s. We would hop on I-265 (when the northern loop around the city was called that) to discover some of the most entertaining dining and happy hour deals outside of Rio Bravo. The development was called Fountain Square, named after the artificial geyser that sprung up out of the artificial lake in the middle of the concept, offering a view from restaurants like a frozen daiquiri stand, The Hungry Fisherman and the second Hooters location in town.
Those were heady days for young professionals seeking free taco bars and happy hour drinks, as well as one another. Alas, the bloom popped off the rose, and Fountain Square closed in the early 1990s, with most of the commercial space turning into offices and the former movie theater morphing into Watkins College of Art. The former “breastaurant” space at 2292 Rosa L.
Parks Blvd. did become an outpost of the Neely family’s Memphis-based barbecue empire, offering the only spot to enjoy a Bluff City specialty, barbecue spaghetti. Alas, the porky pasta was not long for Nashville, and the restaurant became a dialysis clinic.
But recently the space has seen a rebirth as the second outpost of East Nashville’s popular beer hall Noble’s , a project of Just One More Hospitality Group , which also owns and manages Alley Pub, Plantation Pub, Dalton’s Grill, Crow’s Nest and other properties. Hospitality industry veteran Mark White has moved from the original location to manage the new Noble’s Central, and says this represents the first new full-service restaurant development in MetroCenter in 28 years. By “full service,” he means including alcohol, because the building’s former landlords at the United Methodist Publishing House didn’t cotton to those sorts of tenants.
Now that the Methodists have cashed out to the tune of $24.5 million, White is free to offer breakfast, lunch and dinner at the new Noble’s, although you probably shouldn’t expect the same sort of late-night hours and crowd that the amiable East Side restaurant enjoys. Admittedly, residential growth has come slowly to the area around MetroCenter, but White sees it as “basically North Germantown now.
” New businesses and housing are coming into the area, and Noble’s has already seen good traffic throughout the day since opening in late August. The breakfast options are primarily grab-and-go from a small bar area just inside the front door. White’s wife has been baking fresh biscuits and other morning menu items to enjoy with a specialty coffee drink either in your car, in part of the dining room that is set up for breakfast or on the expansive back porch with a view of where the fountain used to be.
(There are rumors of a potential return of the fountain and even the paddle boats that used to putter about the pond!) “We want to make MetroCenter cool again,” White tells me during a recent visit. “Our owners are Nashville natives of the generation that remembers when it was.” In addition to new residential growth, White noted that three new hotels are currently under construction, and that should help bring more people to the area.
The restaurant represents a complete gut job and rebuild since the dialysis clinic was in residence, but they have thoughtfully restored it to the appropriate shoddiness of its past restaurant history. They lean into their lake adjacency with a vaguely nautical theme. A large bar with outdoor access from the patio runs the length of the back wall, and flexible seating options include booths, tables, picnic tables and planned benches around future fire pits.
They may also enclose at least part of the deck for the cooler seasons. Televisions showing sports circle the area above the bar, and the clientele seemed to be convivial and familiar the day that I visited around lunchtime. Sitting at the bar, you can see the Titans practice facility and indoor football field access the lake, so the sports theme feels appropriate.
Other than the breakfast items, the menu at Noble’s Central is very similar to the one at the original. Smoked meats are the highlight of the offering, with brisket, chicken, wings, ribs and pulled pork benefiting from a hearty helping of hickory as they sit in rotisserie baskets in a massive Southern Pride smoker in the kitchen. I can personally vouch for the brunt end sliders as an app or a main, and the other smoked meat I sampled were fine examples of the craft.
While I wouldn’t compare Noble’s brisket to Shotgun Willie’s Barbecue , it did have a great smoke flavor for something cooked in an industrial smoker instead of a stick burner. The rest of the menu is indeed reminiscent of the sort of craveable bar food that would have been very familiar to 1987 Chris eating at an O’Chilidayigan’s . Southwest chicken eggrolls, “tot-chos,” smoked wings and a big chef salad brought back flashes of memories dining under the fronds of fern plants, and I’m not complaining.
A secret weapon on Noble's menu is the fried catfish. Brined in buttermilk before dredging and frying, that whiskerfish was cooked to a perfect crispy golden hue and was the star of fantastic po’ boy sandwich that I plan to enjoy again. Other sandwiches take advantage of meats coming out of the smoker, and a buffalo cauliflower dish is available as a sub or a wrap.
It’s among the healthier options, but it is still fried of course. White is very proud of the Noble Burger as well as the house-prepared side dishes that can be ordered as part of a meat-and-two or a veggie plate. White is not afraid to continue to tinker with the opening menu in the future, even though it’s already pretty varied.
“We’re still figuring out exactly what kind of restaurant we will be,” he says. “The clientele will tell you.” So if you want to try it out and offer your input, head over to the new Noble's for breakfast between 6:30 and 10:30 a.
m. Monday through Friday, or for lunch or dinner until 10 p.m.
on weeknights and 11 p.m. on weekends.
Enjoy the trip through the wayback machine!.
