It’s no secret that I’m a giant fan of Atlanta-based chef-restaurateur Ford Fry and his Nashville outposts Superica, The Optimist, Le Loup and Star Rover Sound. However there’s one other Fry joint I’ve been secretly hoping would present up in Nashville after I found it in Atlanta. Nicely, my prayers have been answered, as a result of Fry has introduced that he’s bringing Little Rey to Midtown within the former Qdoba location at 2019 West Finish Ave.
In the event you keep in mind that specific spot, it represents both the best or most tough parking zone to enter and exit between West Meade and downtown, relying on which approach you’re touring and which approach you wish to go. However I promise that the Northern Mexico-inspired menu at Little Rey will make navigating that left flip price your whereas.
I actually loved my first go to to Little Rey in Atlanta’s Piedmont Heights neighborhood, partly as a result of it was so eclectic. The restaurant appears to focus on every part, and does all of it nicely. If there’s a via line to the menu, it’s pollo al carbon — or rooster cooked over charcoal. The candy scent of smoke emanated from the eating room, and wooden was stacked all over the place to maintain the fires burning. It was like visiting one of the best cookout ever with an unbelievable number of dishes on provide.
Breakfast taco choices embody chorizo, bacon, potato, steak and a vegetarian Oaxaca model. The morning meal menu additionally consists of hotcakes and huevos rancheros obtainable on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The lunch and dinner menu revolves round grilled rooster, obtainable as half or full birds with accompaniments of your selection of corn or flour tortillas, smoked onions and jalapeños, beans and rice.
The rooster additionally seems as filling for quesadillas, tacos or chopped in a queso dip. Little Rey’s rooster wings are revelatory, smoked and served with a salsa matcha of deep-fried peanuts and chiles alongside a jalapeño ranch dressing. Different taco selections embody pork or steak off the grill, together with conventional shrimp or carnitas tacos on gentle corn tortillas.
With regards to drinks and dessert, Little Rey will get a bit of wacky, and I’m right here for it! Among the many margarita choices is pink grapefruit, which was one in every of my favourite margs ever. There are canned and draft beers, together with a nonalcoholic menu that goes deep with smile-inducing choices like Fanta orange, Jarritos tamarind and an obscure century-old Mexican deal with, Sidral Mundet, an apple-flavored soda. In spite of everything these improbable grilled meats, I can’t consider a greater dessert choice than some good soft-serve, and that’s precisely what Little Rey provides, together with fried plantains.
Are you able to inform I’m excited?
Whereas the official opening date is topic to the whims of Metro Codes inspectors, the staff behind Little Rey needs to introduce themselves to the neighborhood via a collection of pop-up occasions they’re calling the Music Metropolis Taco Tour. Listed below are the small print on the place and when you possibly can catch a preview of what’s coming to Midtown:
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Saturday, March 1: Star Rover Sound (1400 Adams St.)
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10 a.m.-2 p.m.
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Cease in for complimentary Little Rey hotcakes, breakfast tacos (bacon, chorizo + veggie), and low & cafe de olla (iced espresso + home horchata)
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Sunday, March 2: Star Rover Sound (1400 Adams St.)
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10 a.m.-2 p.m.
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Cease in for complimentary Little Rey hotcakes, breakfast tacos (bacon, chorizo + veggie), and low & cafe de olla (iced espresso + home horchata)
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Saturday, March 15: Little Rey Nook Cookout (2019 West Finish Ave.)
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Midday-4 p.m.
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Saturday afternoon cookout that includes complimentary costra-style (griddled layer of crispy cheese) road tacos (pollo and vegetarian oaxaca) and signature Little Rey taco sauces, plus hibiscus limeade
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Saturday, March 29: Little Rey Park-In Lot Social gathering (2019 West Finish Ave.)
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2-6 p.m.
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This time, strive the complimentary Little Rey quesadillas (rooster, veggie + cheese) and elotes alongside a salsa bar, hibiscus limeade and home margaritas
Hopefully, I’ll see you at one (or all) of those!
