Subsequent Chunk: Unhealthy Thought | Bites

Once I first heard that chef David Breeden was coming to Nashville for some mission, I used to be instantly curious. Whereas he wasn’t the chef at The French Laundry on the one event years in the past once I was lucky sufficient to dine there, I do bear in mind listening to how disenchanted Thomas Keller was to see him go away that kitchen after nearly 20 years working collectively. At the moment, I began doing a little bit extra analysis and found to my shock that I most likely had eaten chef Breeden’s meals beforehand, again when he was working at Wolfy’s — the pioneering Decrease Broad bar that I frolicked at regularly within the ’90s, catching experimental solo reveals by Victor Wooten and the catchy swing of BadaBing BadaBoom.

If I bear in mind accurately, there wasn’t loads of intricate tweezer work on the dishes of Wolfy’s menu, however it was greater than stable pub grub. So the throughline of Nashville to Yountville to Nashville already fascinated me earlier than I heard that Chef Breeden was coming to revamp the menu and lead the kitchen at Alex Burch’s Unhealthy Thought following the departure of opening chef Colby Rasavong. Having simply acquired the one Michelin recognition within the area for sommelier excellence, Burch didn’t need to lose the momentum through the chef change, so he reached out to an enormous hitter he had met by way of his former co-worker Josh Habiger of Bastion.

Now that Chef Breeden has settled into his new kitchen, I figured it might be time to test in and see what has changed and what hasn’t. (By the best way, a disclosure: This was not an nameless assessment go to. The reservation was in my identify. And although I didn’t see Burch or communicate with Breeden that night, they knew I used to be coming.)

That shouldn’t matter anyway, as a result of from what I’ve at all times witnessed at Unhealthy Thought, they’re equal-opportunity hospitalitarians, treating all their patrons with the identical attentive service and chill vibe. Lo-fi beats nonetheless set the tone, at the least through the early-bird dinner hour after we had been there, and the previous church remains to be one of many coolest eating rooms on the town. Being the early diners, we availed ourselves of the completely satisfied hour from 5 till 6 p.m., with chosen $10 cocktails, $5/$10 wines by the pour and $4 Narragansett beers.

Gone is the Lao-centric delicacies of chef Rasavong, changed by hearty Southern American fare. For instance, a starter of pimento cheese and aji pepper jelly served with baked “firecracker” saltines was phenomenal and wholly surprising. Breeden drops lowbrow, high-concept touches all around the new menu, with gadgets like “Bacon and Eggs” — which is definitely a superbly cooked 6.5-minute sous vide egg served with tremendous smoky bacon lardons, creamy mascarpone grits and a Parmesan sabayon.

Whereas I actually miss Colby’s scallop-stuffed crepe with that delicate tuile, I’ve to say that I believe the present hamachi crudo is each bit nearly as good as the previous administration’s variations. Exact knife work and complex plating actually permit the yellowtail to shine by way of, and the addition of a little bit citrus and a few crunchy pepitas added a pleasant brightness and texture to the dish. 

Breeden undersells and overperforms with a dish he calls merely “Nashville Strip Steak.” The superbly cooked strip steak from Snake River Farms had sufficient intramuscular fats to eat extra like a ribeye — an extremely tender ribeye. Plated with a toasted potato blini, nutty aged Comté cheese, caramelized onion jam and a compound barbecue butter, it was a spotlight steak in a city that’s at present overflowing with nice steakhouses. 

The final dish we tried was one other stunning presentation with a punny identify. The “Rooster and Dumplings” was as far out of your grandma’s model as you possibly can think about, and sorry Meemaw, however that’s factor. The “chickens” in query had been hen of the woods mushrooms — earthy, savory and woody. Potato dumplings linked with the earth once more, and the sauce supreme lastly introduced an actual hen to the celebration with a creamy velouté.

So yeah, change is tough. Numerous us liked the playful French/Laotian menu that was filled with surprises and late-night trade occasions at Unhealthy Thought. However when the owner-operator of a restaurant is as proficient a sommelier as Alex Burch, generally you need to problem him to give you pairings for much more various kinds of delicacies. The wine choices we loved that night had been by no means what we’d have anticipated, however there wasn’t a miss within the bunch.

I’m undecided if Chef Breeden is planning to remain lengthy at Unhealthy Thought, or if he’s simply there to assist with the transition and reimagining of the menu and kitchen. Just like how the Nashville Predators simply went by way of the NHL commerce deadline and shipped a few of their gamers off to different groups as “leases” till the tip of the season, generally a change could make a corporation even higher than the sum of its components.

Now that Unhealthy Thought is on the Michelin radar, it’d simply be time to make a run for the Cup!