Radius10

Radius 10
The Gulch
11th Ave So and McGavock
Nashville, TN
615-259-5105

UPDATE: This restaurant is closed, and there is another restaurant in its place.

Radius 10 has been open for over a year, and is probably considered one of the dining locations to see and be seen in the music biz world of Nashville. The room and style of this place is urban, industrial, airy, sunny and visually minimalistically pleasing. It seems to have attracted the power players of Nashville.

I drive near this place everyday, and I park my car where I can see this place everyday. I get into my car at the end of each workday, I look across the railroad exchange yard that sits between my car and Radius 10, and I can see movers and shakers, and I can see hipsters starting their evening with a cocktail at the Radius 10 bar and patio. I imagine these people starting their evening out at Radius 10, and having power play conversations about who is going to keep the country music industry moving, and who is going to be dumped. I imagine the power people making power decisions for what the music landscape is going to be for the next year.

Everyday I leave work, I wonder who these people are, and what they are eating and drinking at Radius 10, and what their lives are like. I feel like the young Sabrina looking through the hedgerow stealing peeks at David and Linus and all their business friends who are wheeling and dealing during one of their posh cocktail parties.

I have been wanting to try Radius 10 for a long while, but as days passed, I felt more like the country mouse, and that I would not fit in. What the heck was I going to do? What anyone in my position would do, I lifted my head high, grabbed my camera, made a lunch reservation (cuz I heard this place was expensive, but lunch was cheaper), grabbed my friend - who happens to be the corporate attorney (gotta to have the mover and shaker factor, so lucky for me she decided on a mover and shaker profession, although she is very kind and I can't believe she is an attorney), and set out to taste food at Radius 10.

We both were impressed with what the chef/owner Brumm has done with this former loading dock and warehouse space. We were greeted by a very friendly and welcoming hostess, who seated us in the best seat of the house; it was centered by the big windows overlooking the railyard and my car. She asked if we have dined at Radius 10 before, and we said no. She was so nice, and said that she was happy that we decided to dine today, and that she hopes to see more of us, treating us like the Larabee's special guests. How strange it was to be seated where others have sat before, while I looked from afar, just imagining the Larabee-esque diner's lives. Our waiter too, he just treated us like we were his favorite cousins coming to visit him at his home. He told us he was happy that we wanted to dine at Radius 10, and he hopes that we would come again. He was just like the hostess, they said all this in a way that I believe them, and it wasn't some line the owner wanted them to say. What nice service we got!

On to the food. I decided to get the fried chicken and cheddar mac appetizer, and a fresh sea scallop salad. Each dish was large enough for a meal, so next time I know I need to order only one. The chicken and mac combo was a large bowl. The mac was made with cheddar, cream, country ham, asparagus, saucer pasta, and scallions which was topped with a few pieces of fried white meat chicken tenders accompanied with a homemade course mustard and honey dipping sauce. Fantastic! This $6 dish is the definitition of haute comfort food. It is familiar, yet complex. It made me feel cozy, yet sophisticated. I AM IMPRESSED! I LOVE THIS DISH!

I had to box up my chicken mac because it was too much, so I got to enjoy the splendor of the dish again at home! ;-) My next dish was a seared scallop salad. The greens were fresh. The scallops were cooked just right. The searing was beautiful with a delicate caramelization on the outside of each scallop, the center of the scallop was just cooked (not overcooked) and the scallop was still moist and tender. It was the perfect prepartion of a scallop! Just PERFECT!

The interior design, the hostess, the waiter, and the food just added to the stories I have made up in my mind about Radius 10 being the Larabee's estate. When I left, I really felt like Sabrina when she got back from France, sophisticated and invited to one of the posh Larabee cocktail parties. Just like Sabrina, the dining experience was everything I could have imagined as I looked on from my car from the other side of the railyard.