eastland cafe

i can't say enough nice things about amanda, dana, michael and the rest of the staff! we dined here in april and had a couple snafus, but nothing that i would say was earth-shattering. however, amanda saw to it that our nextdinnerfor two was on the house to make up for any issues! we were floored! our visit last saturday was wonderful! in a time when customer service has taken a back seat to revenue in many establishments on this side of the river, it's refreshing to see an en restaurant place it's patrons above itself. will definitely be back!

the perfect choice!!!!. we came to nashville for our son's wedding in early august, and hosted a rehearsaldinnerfor 20 the evening before the event. having never been to nashville before, my wife worried about choosing a good restaurant. adding to the pressure, our new in-laws are in the restaurant business.

my wife contacted several prospective restaurants and, fortunately for us, the stars aligned and she found eastland cafe. boy, did henry and his staff ever surpass our expectations. from the first long-distance phone call to the presentation of the check, they were professional, courteous, attentive, and determined to satisfy us and our guests. henry worked with my wife to tailor a full menu that met all of our guests' tastes, and at a very reasonable price. from the appetizers to the main course and some of the best desserts i've ever seen, the chef outdid himself. we had great meals throughout the week we visited nashville, but this was clearly the best of them all. our servers knew the menu and their wine list, and were attentive and good-natured without being intrusive. and our guests raved about the meal. mydinnerchoice that night, an incredible gulf shrimp dish, even made a grit-eater out of this northern boy, my only complaint is that i ate too much and was too full to finish the apple donuts i ordered for dessert.

if you find yourself in east nashville and hungry for a great meal in a relaxing, welcoming atmosphere, this is definitely the place you want to try. henry, you and your staff are the best, and we can't wait to visit you again!!!!

great food, but too noisy.dinnerwas delicious. for appetizers we had homemade potato & thyme gnocchi w/ bacon, pecans, sour apple, greens, brown butter, and apple cider reduction which was superb. the flavors blended so well together and the gnocchi was perfect. the fried gulf oysters w/ radish, sriracha, lemon, micro greens were excellent - the oysters were tender and crunchy; not greasy. fordinneri had gulf shrimp w/ asian noodle & vegetable salad (cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots & cabbage), coconut curry sauce, peanuts, thai basil & cilantro salad which was very tasty; just delicious. my friends had the tn raised strip steak w/ baby potatoes, grilled asparagus, béarnaise sauce which was a large portion and excellent, and the seared/broiled king clipper fish with sweet cream corn and caramelized beets also excellent. for dessert we split, the peach and blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. it was fine, but not memorable. the blackberries overpowered the peaches.
service was excellent. our waitress described in detail, and with enthusiasm, the dishes we were intrigued by. she was very attentive and responsive. she gets an a+.
now for the bad news …. i rate the ambiance an "f". it was so unbelievably loud. i've never had to yell in a restaturant to those at my table. it was a combination of kitchen noise - clanking pots and dishes, customers and some music in the background. we couldn't hear each other talk which only added to the decimals. the three us each left with a headache. the wall between the kitchen and dining room should go to the ceiling (add a fan in the kitchen if necessary) and add sound absorbing acoustical tiles to the ceiling.

three of us went fordinnerw/o a reservation. the hostess was quick to seat us and brought water for us. the waitress was efficient, but not overly friendly. my son and i ordered the strip steak and my wife ordered chicken. the meals were all seasoned well, but my steak was full of gristle...sometimes steaks are bad, so that is the risk you take. the french onion soup was one of the best i have had anywhere.

nice. it's one of those "hot spots". the kitchen is overworked, the servers are dancing about the dining room, there are huddles of people waiting in the corners for a chance to sit down, and an ominous "hustle bustle" fills the air. could i suggest a reservation on a busy night?

i cut the line at the front door, dodged the hungry groups people, and sat right down at the bar.

my first impression of eastland cafe from a romantic standpoint is, unless you've actually gotten past that period of uncertainty, and no longer are awkwardly making small talk with your date, don't come here as a pair, it's just not that romantic. however, come for an earlierdinneror lunch, sit outside on the lovely back patio, and you may score big. but who said this was a review of the "best place to precede with lovemaking"? i did... and this is precisely what has been on my mind recently.

food is love, love is food. okay, i'll spare you the vague idioms. we eat to nourish ourselves, that is fundamental. but we also eat to share social interactions, to mutually experience a pleasure that is of culinary excellence. or to just be in the company of loved ones while do what we primal beings do best, eat.

we impress people with food. we expose ourselves and our friends to new flavors of food and beverage. we try to get laid by spending exorbitant amounts of money at fine restaurants. we get drunk and confess our love or hate for someone or thing. food is also hate, sometimes we hate ourselves, so we eat more... and more. then we hate ourselves for doing that; a closed circle entraps. sometimes we hate certain ingredients or certain methods of preparation. sometimes we have such a good palate, and have acquired exotic tastes, that anything 'run of the mill' is hated or at least looked down upon.

food is social too! unless you are like me and go out to fine restaurants alone, only to critique the food.

the eastland cafe is not on my list of fine restaurants in nashville to review. i knew this by making a judgement based on the menu, website, and customer reviews. i had no lack of faith that eastland was a good restaurant, i just knew it wasn't in the same league as for instance, it's slightly more posh other half, park cafe. i ate at eastland last night only because i wanted a full page of the park/eastland story. this would hopefully supply me with enough data to complete my evaluation on park cafe, a finer dining establishment to be reviewed in my blog.

sitting at the bar in eastland cafe, i ordered a first course entitled, 'goat cheese brulee with local honey, grilled flatbread, oven roasted tomatoes and peppers, balsamic syrup, and chives. to pair, an ice cold prosecco, a near perfect match. my appetizer arrived, there was nothing brulée about! it does mean burnt in french, and not only was there no burnt goat cheese, there really wasn't much of a goat cheese feature in this goat cheese dish at all. merely a ball of goat cheese on the side of the plate. i was hoping for something more like a custard. but, that cheese, flatbread, and honey were such a match for the prosecco, that i was happy, enough.

i cut right to the dessert, peach cobbler, a special that night. it was a quaint preparation of lightly cooked peaches, sugar, and butter, topped with a light pastry. fundamentally good, but missing a kicker ingredient; cinnamon or ginger would have supported the peach nicely.

however, the real problem lingered in the wares. the mini, cast-iron skillet this cobbler was prepared in, still exuded that lovely metallic taste. total failure; the peachy goodness had been all barred up with metal. oh well, the muscat washed away the woes and that terrible flavor, and set me slightly past sobriety.

i settled up with the bar tender, telling her all about the experience i just had. it was easy to complain about the food to the bartender. bartenders generally consider themselves the least connected to kitchen and therefore take the least amount of personal blame for kitchen blunders. a completely invalid argument it may be, it alleviated me of maintaining tact when i bitched about the food.

i left and went to rosepepper cantina for a mexican beer.