To cap off my first evening in Nashville, I wanted to grab drinks at one of the trendiest spots in town: City House. The Germantown restaurant and cocktail bar opened in 2007, and Chef Tandy Wilson has been named a James Beard nominee for Best Chef Southeast.
The changing menu features fresh produce and house-cured meats. And, they're also known for their pizzas. We had a reservation and arrived about 10 minutes early, and she said she can accommodate us at our reserved time. K. So, we went outside and had a seat on these large wooden logs, which fashioned a makeshift fire-pit area, before returning inside.
The inside is not super large, but there are metal accents meshed with wooden tables that made for this modern meets traditional vibe. Sound seems to reverberate off everything, so it gets quite noisy.
Once we saw the menu, we changed course. The drinks looked amazing (really amazing), but there's no way I could NOT try something off this delicious food menu. Cavatelli, brisket, zucchini, tomato, black pepper and pecorino pizza? Sour corn cake, white beans, yellow squash, mint, red wine vinegar? And those pizzas - peaches, cottage cheese, mozzarella, vidalia, fennel and black pepper? Yes, please.
The pizza was good. It wasn't great. Maybe I was expecting more of a flavor explosion, a la the grape & gorgonzola pizza from Pies & Pints. This was much more mild, and the peaches weren't fully sweet. And, that's fine. The flavors were just kind of muted. But, still not a bad pie.
In fact, the couple next to us was asking us about our pizza, and we told them it was good. They were trying to figure out what to order, but weren't sure if they wanted to commit to an entire pizza. We actually had two pieces leftover (and with restaurant after restaurant on my wish list, no time for leftovers) that we insisted they have. What else were we going to do with it? They were super excited to get a taste without having to order an entire pie.
The waiter at one point asked us where we were from and he said one of his friends, who is this homeless traveler, is moving to Charleston from Los Angeles. We questioned "West Virginia? Or South Carolina?" He assured us Charleston. We looked baffled and wondered why that would be the place he'd choose to be a vagabond, and the waiter replied that his friend was tired of being around intellectuals (so, apparently you go to the land void of intellectuals: West Virginia). Oh. Ok. Subtle dig there.
So ... the pizza was good - not the best I ever had. And the service could be a little less snobby, I think. I'm sure that's part of the draw. Next time, though, I definitely want to snag a drink ... as long as I can keep myself from ordering the entire menu.
Grade: B
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