The West End corridor is a busy four lanes of blacktop, with its eastern nexus at the triangular junction where 16th, Broadway and West End Avenue meet, concluding about 3.5 miles westward at the quadrangle where Woodmont Boulevard becomes White Bridge Road—and just past the point that West End Avenue has become Harding Road (also called Harding Pike). Only newcomers to Nashville find the abrupt and ambiguous name changes of our streets peculiar. (Our advice: Acclimate, adjust, accept and move on. You’re holding up traffic.)
In this linear district of commerce and its tributaries lies the antidote to nearly every hunger pang—Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Latin, Middle Eastern, Old South and New American; fast food, slow food, chain food, upscale and down home; sandwiches, pizzas, burgers, barbecue, deli, steak, vegetarian, ice cream, French pastry and artisan bread.
So, amid this cacophony of categorical choices, how does a newcomer restaurant brand and draw attention to itself and lure diners? Adding to that challenge for Amerimar Enterprises, the Philadelphia-based company that opened the new Hutton Hotel in February, is countering the stereotype of the oft-maligned hotel restaurant while creating a restaurant in the company’s hotel.
Amerimar specializes in the redevelopment and repositioning of existing properties, like the Hotel Derek in Houston and the Hotel George in Washington, D.C. The Nashville building Amerimar took on, located at 1808 West End Ave., was quite the challenge in itself. One of Midtown’s older office buildings—long home to the local Social Security offices—it had grown increasingly outdated, run down and shabby over the years, in stark contrast to the sleek Palmer Plaza across the street. The disassembling of the scaffolding that encircled it for nearly a year revealed a stunning ivory structure with dramatic night lighting throwing a navigational welcome into the sky.
The lobby backs up the promise of the packaging with a balance of bold style and subdued sophistication in a setting of contemporary elegance. Seating areas defined by floor lamps, sofas, armchairs, leather settees and side tables invite guests to sit and stay. Framed art casually leans against the wall, and a large metal sculpture of a horse grazes silently in a nook off the front desk.
The Hutton not only looks good, it strives to do good as well, committed to initiatives in sustainability such as bamboo floors and furnishings, LED lighting, laundry water recycling, a hybrid courtesy vehicle and biodegradable cleaning products. A state-of-the-art technology system is another calling card the Hutton offers, along with some specialized accommodations like in-room cardio equipment, sensory rooms equipped with Wii stations, forum rooms that combine guest quarters with meeting rooms (perfect for burning the midnight oil) and two rooftop penthouse apartments.
Each element is part of the master plan to distinguish Hutton Hotel from the Courtyard Marriott, the Hampton Inn, Embassy Suites, Hotel Indigo, Hilton Garden Inn and Vanderbilt Plaza—all within waking distance in this densely populated lodging district.
The same goal of marking its territory and creating a strong identity has been set for the restaurant, located in the street-side corner of the 14-story building. The Hutton’s suave general manager, Steven Andre, points out that the restaurant is not only an independent restaurant, but it’s independent of the hotel as well, with its own general manager, an exclusive staff and even a dedicated entrance, at the top of an exterior staircase under a weather-protected awning.
1808 Grille rolls easily off the tongue, lends itself to simple signage and graphics, and bookmarks its address in locals’ personal search engines. But it’s the dining experience 1808 Grille delivers that makes a lasting impression.
The large, open room has a soaring vaulted ceiling crisscrossed by massive dark beams and suspended carved wooden lighting fixtures; its use of bare rustic wood tables, chairs upholstered in tasteful print fabric, tufted supple leather banquettes and an all-natural color wheel of soothing shades of green, yellow, brown and blue creates a warm environment and cozy mood evocative of a western lodge. The show-stopping centerpiece of the room is the stack of thick slabs of wood that undulate from floor to ceiling, creating the illusion of an open fireplace, encircled by a quartet of banquettes. Double-decker banks of paned windows are hung with wooden blinds that might best be pulled shut at night to block the mood-killing neon glare of Arby’s and BP on the other side of West End. At the same time, might we gently suggest turning the interior lights up a bit? While the soft golden glow lent a most flattering cast to my companions and me, it took the highest caliber readers in our possession and careful positioning under what light was available to discern one item from another on the menu.
But Chef Charles Phillips, formally educated at Johnson & Wales and armed with years of experience in upscale restaurants and private clubs in Chicago, Boston, New York and Washington, D.C., has a clear vision for the culinary profile of 1808 Grille. Illuminated by thoughtful creativity, mature restraint and balanced flavors, his dishes deliver top-quality product and fresh local produce on plates marked by graceful composition and unexpectedly playful presentations.
Dinner—or drinks at the zinc-topped bar and cocktail tables in the lounge—kicks off with a complimentary prologue of fat, briny olives and crisp, salted flatbreads. Chef Phillips hesitantly allows “New American” to be attached to the fare, but defines his personal refinement of the vague descriptor. “I think of a New American menu as a reflection of our ethnic melting pot. I think we have absorbed influences from all over the world, so while we tap into basics of America cuisine, it is colored by global ingredients and flavors.”
Deliciously illustrating his point among the starters are the scallops seared in a sweet orange-tamarind glazed atop daikon spouts, and citrus braised pulled pork drizzled with crème fraiche and piled on mini corn cakes in a doll-sized iron skillet, with a southwestern splash of cilantro tomato salsa. Crab and chive fritters, deep-fried to a golden crisp, prove to be irresistible, particularly when delivered in a small, paper-lined metal basket, accompanied by a squeeze bottle of chipotle-heated tarter sauce. The Middle East declares itself in the earthy roasted eggplant hummus with crumbled feta, and Spain checks in on the plate of baby artichoke hearts, Manchego cheese, Serrano ham and Marcona almonds.
Four salads each lay a different lettuce as foundation for add-ons—romaine hearts with pancetta, radish and tomato; baby lettuce with blue cheese, roasted pears and toasted walnuts; spinach with red onion, olives, roasted red pepper, pine nuts and sourdough croutons; and my favorite, a minimalist masterpiece of baby arugula and shaved fennel pristinely dressed with fruity olive oil and tart lemon, sea salt and cracked pepper.
Upholding his landlord’s environment-friendly policies, Chef Phillips commits to sustainable seafood through the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program. Thus, no tuna among the pescetarian entrees, but Arctic char—kissing cousin to salmon and trout—comes in as a pinch-hitter and, to my taste, tops ubiquitous salmon for a spot in the line-up. Phillips gives his an Asian treatment with a swab of hoisin ginger. The pan-seared striped sea bass is silky on the tongue, its mild flavor the perfect canvas for a flavor trilogy of tangy fennel, salty tasso ham and sweet sections of clementine.....