Garden to Table: Restaurants Growing Their Own

Nothing signals freshness more enticingly than a kitchen garden wrapped around the exterior of a restaurant. When we see zucchini sneaking across the path to the front door, we halfway expect it to whisper, “Pssst, there’s ratatouille inside.” Even the most succinct effort at agriculture adds flair and freshness. For example, at International Market in Belmont, there are pots of fresh mint on the patio, along with chef-owner Arnold Myint’s grandmother’s makrut lime trees, which she brought from Thailand when Arnold was a baby. The trees are “treated like gold,” says Arnold, who still uses their leaves in spicy mushroom poh thaak soup and in his IM Royal gin-based cocktail.

Any gardener knows that maintaining plants is not for the faint of heart, especially in peak heat of a Nashville summer. So, active beds of fruits, vegetables and herbs deliver a clear sign that someone’s dug in, committed to creating healthy, beautiful food in concert and rhythm with nature and the seasons, like the culinary green thumbs behind these kitchen gardens:

Miel

Be careful not to trip over an errant eggplant at the front door of restaurateur Seema Prasad’s Sylvan Park establish- ment, whose tiny, tidy urban yard blooms with lush vegetables, flowers—even a fig tree—just around the corner from Char- lotte Pike. A sculptural plate of sautéed garden greens with apple, walnuts and Champagne vinegar, showcases kale, arugula, cabbage and more seasonal leaves from the front garden, along with chips made from root vegetables grown in the nearby raised beds. Meanwhile, fresh thyme and basil make their way into the artisanal drinks roster, which also includes a half-dozen nonalcoholic concoctions on any given day. @mielrestaurant

Hathorne

Along the busy Charlotte Pike corridor, under the glow of the McDonald’s sign, chef-owner John Stephenson and his team grow a small kitchen garden of raised beds on the side of their patio. The fig tree, whose leaves made their way into infused oils, is gone. But the grapevines sourced from Green Door Gourmet are starting to fruit, and the garden plot is filling out with herbs that find their way into inventive plates such as tagliolini with leek, aspara- gus, peas, oregano, pickled ramps, black garlic and breadcrumbs, and pan-seared fish with grits, hominy, chimichurri and preserved tomato jus. @hathornenashville

Husk Nashville

Step toward the carriage house of the historic residence-turned-restaurant on Rutledge Hill to find lush kitchen gardens that double as an agricultural laboratory. Through these well-manicured beds, 

Chef Ben Norton and his team explore the heritage of Southern food practices, such as seed saving and pickling. While poring over the Farmers’ Almanac, Norton & Co. produce crops to build ever-evolv- ing menus dotted with chow chow, mint, sorrel, fennel bok choy, hyssop and lem- ongrass, along with a cocktail list infused with the bounty of the season. @husknashville

The Yorkshire Deli

Drive west via Highway 70 to The Land in Kingston Springs for a glimpse of the British tradition of situating a tearoom in a garden center—or is it a garden center around a tearoom? Either way, Lesley Mortimer-Wallace and Genevieve Neace’s charming café, Yorkshire Deli, and Joy Boven’s native plant–focused garden center, Wonder Gift & Garden, go together like tea and crumpets.

Stop by the garden center to purchase some pollinator-attracting plants, then take a break in the cozy teahouse or under the patio umbrellas to snack on caprese made with tomatoes grown on site; olive oil cake with lemon, thyme, sea salt and edible flowers from the surrounding garden; or egg-and-cress sandwiches made with eggs from hens on The Land. When you’ve polished off your last finger sandwich, exit through the garden shop and grab a few cucumbers.

We love these unique collaborations. But better hurry, they might not last long.

One of the best things about Nashville is collaboration among creatives, and particularly in the food space. Beautiful marriages happen when breweries and bars without food merge with chefs without bricks and mortars. Here are some clever culinary combos to check out:

At L’Orange European Bistro in the barn at Williamson Family Farm, Chef Christophe Moulin and Steph Sphire-Moulin, design director, transport you to France for a night. The farm provides produce for the menus, along with a dreamy ambiance, until the couple moves to a bricks and mortar. The monthly Supper Series features four courses with wine pairings and signature cocktails. @lorange_bistro @williamsonfamilyfarmtn

The Ranch at Jackalope in Wedgewood- Houston has hosted numerous food trucks over the years, and their current food partner is Five Points Pizza. @jackalopetaproom @fivepointspizza

Pssst... Living Waters Brewing and Headquarters Coffee are serving Secret Bodega breakfast burritos. @livingwatersbrewing @hqsnashville @thesecretbodega

In the corner of Rice Vice tasting room at Proper Saké Co. saké brewery, Mister Son’s Chef Son Pham is serving Vietnamese comfort food that frequently rotates and always overdelivers. Look forward to pop-ups all over town soon. @mistersonsnashville @propersake_ricevice

Parked adjacent to Honeytree Meadery is the Bad Luck Burger Club food truck run by “the bad bois of burgers.” @badluckburgerclub @honeytreemeadery

Dreamburger brings the dreamiest smashburger to the parking lot at Vinyl Tap record store and bar in East Nashville. @dreamburgernash @vinyltapnashville

After breakfast (pickup and delivery only) at the Beginner’s Luck club, brand-new Lil Ricky’s Chinese Takeaway slips in to prepare Southern-inspired Szechuan cuisine for pickup at Midtown Foods at 614 18th Ave. N. @beginnerslucknashville @lilrickys