(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- For almost a decade, Nashville has acted like the Las Vegas of the South for out-of-state restaurateurs who set up shop to appeal to the tiara-clad bachelorette crowd. The venues are big, which also works for the metro area's skyrocketing population—up 21% in the past 10 years.
More recently, though, artistically minded, highly credentialed chefs have chosen to plant their flag in Music City, rather than a major dining hub like New York. The proximity to good farms and a vibrant creative industry has encouraged endeavors such as chef Sean Brock's first solo restaurant, the Appalachian tasting-menu spot Audrey, as well as the acclaimed, vegetable-forward Lou, from Los Angeles expat Mailea Weger.
But the most thrilling restaurant in the city right now is Locust, a spare space nestled among clothing boutiques in the 12 South neighborhood. From Friday through Sunday only, a maximum of 130 diners a day get to experience chef-owner Trevor Moran's rotating menu of a mere five items.
One option, which is always available, stands above the rest: steamed dumplings, bound by wrappers so translucent that even a farsighted diner could admire the mix of vibrant green onion and pork within. Each order, priced at $20, comes with 12 dumplings. Sometimes, says the chef, “people may order 10 or more baskets, no joke.”
“It is hard to just let a dish be simple, elegant, and delicious,” says Kevin Fink, chef-owner of Austin's lauded Emmer & Rye. But, he adds, “those are the most craveable dishes. Locust is jam-packed full of those.”
Moran's casual approach is a surprise, considering his highly decorated background in fine dining: He spent years cooking detailed tasting menus at the pioneering Danish restaurant Noma, ranked No. 1 by the World's 50 Best Restaurants, as well as at Nashville's renowned Catbird Seat. (See below.)
Ingredient sourcing is key to the Locust formula, starting with sustainably raised pigs from nearby Bear Creek Farm. The free-range Berkshire- and Duroc-breed hogs eat apples and sake lees—the fermented, pastelike byproduct of sake production—which ultimately yields meat with “lots of good marbling,” Moran says. The extra fat makes his dumplings incredibly unctuous. He uses one 300-pound hog every month, which affords him enough meat for about 800 dumplings a day. And he uses cuts from every part of the pig: One day the blend might include the neck and ham, on another the jowl (cheek) and belly.
Moran puts equal effort into the delicate dumpling skins, which are based on transformative gyoza he tasted in Japan. They're made with a proprietary mix of flours, hot water, oil, and salt, then folded over into half-moons right before the dumplings are steamed. Without those steps, the chef says, the superfatty filling “just busts its way through.”
The dumplings are served with a neon orange-red sauce made with vinegar-steeped seaweed and a chile oil blend of slowly fried spices and peppers—a tangy mix of Sichuan flavors and acid that balances the dumplings' richness.
Dover sole with seafood butter sauce features uni and more caviar.Photographer: Andrew Thomas Lee
Word about Locust has spread since its October 2020 opening. “I text Trevor for a table,” says former Catbird Seat chef Ryan Poli, “and he's like, ‘Dude, there's nothing I can do, we have nothing available.' ” Locust opens reservations two weeks in advance, and “we fill up straightaway, within an hour,” Moran says.
Beyond the dumplings, patrons can sample weekly specials such as fried shrimp mousse brushed with shrimp head oil and glazed in a sour-spicy chile sauce. There's also Moran's build-your-own beef tartare hand roll. It comes touched with horseradish oil, as well as steamed California-grown white rice, seasoned crispy rice, green onion, nori sheets, freeze-dried capers, and mayo made from smoked pickled eggs. Patrons can kick it up with ossetra caviar.
The second-most popular dish at Locust is a Japanese shaved ice dessert known as kakigori. Using a Swan ice shaver and blocks of crystal-clear cubes, Moran shapes square mounds of ice, layer upon layer, with house-made syrups and sauces. Options include a take on tea and biscuits and more unexpected flavor combinations such as marzipan mousse blanketing layers of passion fruit curd, crispy pastry pieces, whipped almond cream, and bergamot zest, all drizzled in salted caramel.
The restaurant's simplicity extends to the drinks menu, which features only one beer—Orion Okinawan lager—plus a can of sake, an in-house bottled Toki whisky highball, and five crisp wine options. Staffing, likewise, is minimal: Six employees maintain the three-days-per-week schedule, which is “unusual for sure,” Moran says.
As a result, there's no spending on extraneous ingredients, allowing him to invest in the quality of the ones he needs. The dividend is a dish that's being talked about within his busy city of Nashville—and far outside it, too.
The Other Reservations to Book in Music City
AudreySean Brock's ambitious Appalachian-roots tasting-menu restaurant is named for his maternal grandmother. It offers specialties such as thinly sliced country ham glazed with sorghum amazake (a fermented drink usually made with rice) and dotted with the popped grains.
The Catbird SeatEighteen diners can fit around the cozy, U-shaped counter here. For the past two years, chef Brian Baxter has plated inspired seasonal dishes with Japanese and European accents, such as plump uni capped with fermented rhubarb and rose cream.
LouMailea Weger flipped a 1930s craftsman bungalow into a warm and inviting all-day cafe where small vegetable plates shine alongside natural wines. Dishes here—like fermented carrots with cumin vinaigrette and crème fraîche—are bright and seasonal.
FolkChef Philip Krajeck, a local legend for his Italian spot Rolf and Daughters, serves more casual food at this three-year-old hot spot in East Nashville. The specialty is naturally leavened pizza with toppings such as spring leeks and ramps in mustard vinaigrette, topped with raclette cheese and mortadella.
PeninsulaIn an unfussy, tavernlike space, chef Jake Howell is gaining attention for his unconventional flavor combinations. Don't miss out on the grilled maitake mushrooms with white chocolate sauce.
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