360 Bistro
You might say "where there's Will there's a way." That is, at 360 Bistro where Chef WIll Uhlhorn is doing some seriously great cooking. This was a bit of a surprise at a restaurant that has been in the staid Bellemeade neighborhood at the Highway 100 and 70 split for over ten years. The most I knew of it was that it was behind the Harris Teeter, that was shuttered a couple years ago. We popped in for dinner on a quiet Monday night and couldn't have been happier. Manager and Nasvhillian, Brett Allen is super accomodating and happy you're there. Memphis born and City Grocery (Oxford MS) trained, Chef Will Unihorn has assembled a simple unpretentious, yet irresistible menu that changes daily. If some morels or chanterelles happen to walk in the door, the pasta changes accordingly. Ditto for greens and other seasonal produce. Like most of the good cooks in town, Will uses Alan Powell of Nashville Grown for his foraged produce, Wedge Oak Farms for chicken and eggs, and also the farmers of Bells Bend and Old School Farm, both a stones throw from West Nasvhille.
The first delight was the ipad that was set on the table, which proved to be super smart as it had us ordering cocktails we hadn't planned on. What we also didn't plan on, was a menu with so many yummy sounding dishes that it was hard to choose. And the dishes sounded refreshingly simple--none had an exhaustive list of every ingredient in the dish, that frequently wears you out before you order. We started with an amazing, homemade farro tagliatelli dotted with argula, parmigiana reggiano, and wild mushrooms, all in a yummy cream sauce. A scrumptious goat cheese toast with marmalade, garlic and tatsoi followed. Next Will sent out a scallop dish that was maybe the stand out of the night--sea scallops with braised pine nuts, satsuma butter, and cauliflower. I would have sopped up all the butter sauce with the homemde sourdough bread if our attentive server hadn't cleared it away. Our entrees of roast chicken breast with heirloom beans, peppers, roasted onion, pepitas, and thyme and the transcendental crispy cod in an orange soy butter with overtones of tahini, were both as good as they sound.
I took a gander at the dessert menu, while my partner was happy with his Spanish fino sherry, and succumbed to the Creme Caramel with smoked maple sugar, that was the creamiest and best I've ever had.
If you want a comfy, cozy, laid back neighborhood restaurant, without a hipster crowd to compete with, and seriously great food, 360 Bistro is your place--all the way around. We'll be back...soon.
