When the house owners of Curry Boys BBQ made the choice to color the quaint bungalow at 1304 McGavock Pike vivid pink, let’s simply say that the East Nashville Fb group received a bit of riled up. The previous house of Lou is certainly eye-catching now, and actually, there’s historic precedent — a number of houses in East Nashville was once painted in vibrant colours that exposed the quirky character of longtime residents earlier than gentrification.
Chinese language takeout, Neapolitan pizza, Asian fusion and Southern ice cream are coming collectively on the East Aspect
However that’s OK. As demonstrated by my Scene colleague Margaret Littman in her current characteristic on the continuing evolution of Riverside Village, there’s room for all kinds of individuals and personalities, and you may’t say Curry Boys doesn’t put on its character on its sleeve. As quickly as you enter that bungalow, you’re confronted with afun and cheesy cowboy paraphernalia, starting from a Toy Story Woody doll to boots hanging like Christmas stockings from the mantel.
That represents the Texas facet of the San Antonio-based chainlet of barbecue joints/curry homes. Whereas the decor does replicate some Asian affect, it’s extra obvious on the menu. From a cocktail record that features drinks made with Thai basil, yuzu and lemongrass to ingenious curry bowls accented with down-home Central Texas smoked meats, Curry Boys is a beautiful amalgam of cultures.
Curry Boys BBQ getting its pink paint job, November 2024
On my first go to to a restaurant, I wish to ask the workers what has been instantly fashionable, and native companion/co-owner Adam Lathan was completely satisfied to oblige. He’s additionally one of many house owners of The Gumbo Bros, so I already trusted his recommendation on spicy, flavorful meals. After all, as an proprietor, he recommended nearly all the pieces on the menu, so then it was my flip to oblige him.
We began out with an order of pulled-pork nachos lined with an intriguing curry queso that was creamy and complicated. An additional hit of honey sriracha added one other layer of flavors to enrich the candy and smoky pulled pork. When you’d advised me prematurely that considered one of my favourite dishes from my first meal at Curry Boys can be a salad, I wouldn’t have believed you. However certainly, I’ve been attempting to re-create the umami-rich fish sauce/citrus dressing from their Thai inexperienced salad. It was that good!
Curry Boys BBQ’s sides
For primary dishes, we sampled two curry bowls. The primary was the Brisket Smoke Present, made with Prime brisket smoked over put up oak wooden on a big rotisserie smoker in the midst of the welcoming again patio. Served atop rice and a deeply flavorful inexperienced curry, it was a wonderful illustration of the Texas/Thai gestalt of the restaurant. The second curry was the Good Luck Cluck, smoked rooster thighs with a yellow curry. It was additionally wonderful, however I want I had taken Lathan’s recommendation to order one of many curries with egg noodles in lieu of rice for some distinction. That was quite a lot of rice, and I believe the noodles would have held up higher as leftovers since we ordered approach an excessive amount of meals.
Aspect dishes should not afterthoughts at Curry Boys. We actually loved the cooling impact of the recent herb and cucumber slaw together with the creamy curry corn. Even add-ons like housemade pickles, chili crisp and fried shallots have been clearly well-thought-out additions, particularly with the chilled egg noodles that may go effectively with nearly all the pieces on the menu.
It’s important to love a restaurant that embraces creativity with out being overly critical. The pitmasters at Curry Boys pay nice care to their smoking, however they’re greater than keen to get a bit of bizarre as soon as the peerlessly smoked meat comes off the rotisserie. And it’s a great sort of bizarre. Sorta like portray their constructing pink!
