My Life's A Trip

Husk Nashville is located in a cool converted

While eating my way through Nashville during my recent trip, I was excited to try Husk, which is the second outpost of James Beard award winning chef Sean Brock’s Charleston restaurant of the same name.

Husk interiors

I was very excited to eat here after hearing some good buzz and my Sunday brunch started off great with a terrific Bloody Mary, garnished with prosciutto and pickles. Unfortunately, it was all down hill from there. Don’t get me wrong, the space is beautiful and I love the idea of their garden and their “let the market dictate the menu” philosophy. But the service was flawed enough to make the meal frustrating.

Willie Nelson in the kitchen

The service was sub-par for several reasons. My server’s dirty nails and lack of attention to detail made it seem like she rolled into work after an all nighter somewhere. I did not mean to stump her by asking for almond or soy milk (hey– most restaurants offer a non-dairy alternative). I was told “we only have regular milk.” She even had her supervisor come over to tell me this a second time. There was no explanation as to why– perhaps the chef has strong feelings about whole milk? Just “do you want the coffee anyway?” I kept my now-cold coffee.

Deviled eggs look delicious

The biscuits and gravy

I turned my attention to the food. Sticky buns are served at brunch and they were tasty. I started with the $8 White Lily Biscuits with Black Pepper and Sausage Gravy. The biscuit was fluffy enough, and the gravy had a nice smokiness to it, but the meat-to-gravy ratio was off.

The burger looked delicious. I wish I had ordered it.

Since the chef owns another, successful restaurant in Charleston, the rookie errors seemed out of order. I made the mistake of ordering the Fried Chicken Monte Cristo with TN Cheddar, fried farm egg, and Potato Hash for $15. It looked beautiful. But the friend chicken was HELLA SPICY and that wasn’t mentioned anywhere on the menu. Apparently spicy friend chicken is a thing in Nashville. While I learned this hard way, I don’t think it’s too much to ask it say it on the menu. I overheard other guests who had the same experience waiting in line for the restrooms saying “the menu should have stated ‘spicy.'”

Shrimp and grits

The SPICY friend chicken Monte Cristo

There were just too many small slip ups here between the menu and the servicethat I don’t feel that I recommend checking out Husk for any other reason than the fabulous Bloody Mary. If you go, request a table downstairs.

Husk