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It's rare for restaurant pros Caroline and Tony Galzin to have a night off, let alone a chance to host a dinner for friends. Since moving to Nashville from Chicago in 2012, the two have been working nonstop, primarily in various kitchens and dining rooms like Flyte (Tony) and Rumours Wine Bar in The Gulch (Caroline), and on the side with their pop-up dinner venture, Sycamore.
In 2015, the couple opened Fifty First Kitchen and Bar in the Nations, and one year later, announced they were setting off on their own to open Nicky's Coal Fired this fall. An ode to Tony's Italian-American heritage (and named after one of his younger brothers), Nicky's will put a contemporary spin on traditional Italian fare, with an emphasis on pizzas, which Tony will whip up in a four-ton, coal-fired oven, as well as pastas, charcuteries, and seasonal antipasti.
In anticipation of their opening, the couple took advantage of their down time to gather friends together for a house-prepared preview. Part research, part great excuse to feast, the event took place at the home of Will Hester and Titus Daniels, a couple that befriended the Galzins after checking out a Sycamore dinner.
'When Fifty First opened, we kept taking all of our friends there,” Will said. 'We are just such big fans of everything they've done.” In fact, the Galzins prepared dinner for about two dozen of Will and Titus' closest friends and family this past spring in celebration of Will finishing graduate school.
On the night of the Galzin's dinner, Tony kicked things off by firing up Titus' brand new Big Green Egg where, within a matter of minutes, he was pulling off perfectly charred pizzas, one topped with fresh tomato sauce, Wedge Oak sweet Italian sausage, and a duck egg; the other with pesto, fresh ricotta, and sautéed mushrooms.
Meanwhile, the rest of the guests arrived and Titus turned to his personal wine collection and opened a bottle of Baracchi Winery sparkling rosé that he and Will had picked up during a recent trip to Italy. Soon, Tony was covering the island with platters of snacks, like a caponata (eggplant and tomato salad) served alongside toasted bread, and a plate of thinly sliced spalla, made from cured whole pork shoulder. As the pizzas came out, guests snatched up slices while they were still piping hot.
'This is usually how we entertain,” Caroline said. 'People standing at the counter, having small bites, sipping wine. Very casual.”
For the main course, the party moved up to the third-floor where a glass garage door was opened up to reveal a rooftop terrace. Tony passed around a big bowl of fresh bucatini pasta tossed with a spicy 'nduja sausage and clams while everyone filled their plates. Afterward, the crowd tried out another forthcoming menu item: cherry soda and pistachio gelato floats. The restaurant will offer a mix-and-match version of house-made sodas and ice creams for dessert.
After dinner, the group gathered back downstairs around the kitchen island. The wine glasses were refilled and the party guests sipped, chatted, and shared more food.
'This is what we want the restaurant to be all about, too,” Caroline said. 'It's been nice to get this break before we open the new restaurant, but we're excited to get the doors open at Nicky's. It's what we moved to this city to do.”
