East Nashville's Comfy Cafe Roze
Arriving from the Big Apple, Julia Jaksic-noticed very few Music City restaurants or cafes opened all day. Back in New York, as a restauranteur, she would get up at 10, piddle around, then be ready to eat at 1pm. That was fine in a city with inifinite food served all day long, but here in Music City, she found a shortage of such. Hence, the concept for Cafe Roze, her beautiful cafe in East Nashville where you can get breakfast and lunch all day long and dinner after 4pm. "On the menu, I try to have something for everyone." And she does, from a Dinner Bowl of coconut curry broth, rice and vegetables to Steak Frites to a Grass Fed Burger (with beef from Pinewood Farms. ) "Healthy-ish with just enough decadence around the edges to keep it all interesting."
The cafe is cool and sleek, one long wooden banquette, pastel pink tables, cement floors, and a white embossed tin ceiling--one of the things that drove Julia to the building. "I got this place while still in Singapore, sight unseen. A friend face-timed me so I could see it." (Julia was formerly with Jack's Wife Freida, and has the restaurant Employees Only in NYC and Singapore along with Cafe Roze.)
"I love this neighborhood too." "While we were getting everything ready, neighbors would poke their heads in, unannounced, both to introduce themselves and to give fair warning: "You know this place is cursed, right?" Only because it's been a number of restaurants before hers, and none for very long. "It's okay," Julia would reply. "We just had a sage bonfire."
The night we were there, the sun blazed in, causing us to select our table by it's shade. But within 15 minutes the sun had set and folks were happily seated all along the long wooden booth. We started with drinks, a Black Abbey beer for my friend and a "Beetini" for me. The concoction of fuschia beet juice, vodka, St. Germaine and lemon served in a martini glass was refreshing and perfect.
For Starters we ordered the Mussel Roast, which we expected in a large bowl with mussels in their shells. What we got was a diminutive bowl of the cutest mussels topped with a pink radish in a beautiful silky green herbed cream broth. We fought over it and all but licked the bowl. Julia then brought us a serving of the Chili Eggplant, which honestly, neither of us paid much attention to on the menu. The quinoa coated eggplant was perfectly fried creating a creamy eggplant filling with a rustic Charred Orange Vinaigrette. It could well be the dish of the evening.
For entrees my friend had the Simple Pasta which, with the addition of anchovy, was divine, and for me the Harissa Chicken over Polenta and Broccolini, a vegetable, unfortunately left in the dust these days by kale and arugula. The chicken was a beautifully flattened and bronzed half chicken, which was everything we wanted it to be. The Shaved Celery Salad with ricotta salata and hazlenuts, which preceded our entrees was a bit plain, but I also haven't stopped thinking about it.
How is Nashville going for this New York transplant? "It's been a really interesting learning curve." Julia explained. "People actually cook here. I mean, they have such fancy kitchens in Nashville. In NYC, I think I cooked in my apts.' kitchen maybe twice a year tops." As Nashville changes and grows everyday, we're sure Julia will keep learning, but her food is totally there already.
