Josephine
Pretzel Bread, House Mustard, Butter
Charred Snap Peas, Goat Cheese, Radish, Spring Herbs, Bread Crumbs, Honey Lavender
Bibb Lettuce, Bacon, Croutons, Radishes, Herb Buttermilk Dressing
Scrapple, Compressed Strawberries, Balsamic Vinegar
Mustard Dumpling, Pork, Mushrooms, Spring Herbs, Peas
Spring Pea Agnolotti, Candied Carrot Sauce
Risotto, Duck, Asparagus, Crimini Mushroom, Lemon
Housemade Pappardelle, Assorted Mushrooms, Pecorino
Chocolate and Salty Caramel Tart with Opal Basil, Orange Zest, Meyer Lemon, Chocolate Crunch
Considered to be one of Nashville’s most inspired kitchens it was somewhat unfortunate that a seat at Josephine’s newly launched 10-by-10 dinner could not be found during my stay, but taking the opportunity to instead dine with my mother and aunt it was just after 7:00pm that we were seated in the restaurant’s front left corner, the unforgiving chairs and pillowed banquets not exactly an ideal arrangement for a long meal, but better than being crowded around the excessively loud bar.
Admittedly far louder than one might expect for a restaurant considered by some to be ‘fine dining,’ the service at Josephine was perhaps equally surprising with a young staff that was not only a bit less refined than I’d expected, but also a bit discombobulated when it came to describing plates and presenting a bill that nearly doubled the price of a pre-ordered “Large Format” dessert I’d been quoted a price of $35 for when securing it with a credit card just two days before.
Taking a sort of pan-European approach to Southern ingredients with an ingredient steeped in seasonality and local produce it was with a few questions answered that an order was assembled, the $7 loaf of steaming hot pretzel bread arriving in a matter of minutes along with two salads including lightly charred snap peas with goat cheese and honey from which not a single unimpressive taste or texture would be found.
Onward with small plates, course two featured a pair of the more interesting plates offered on a menu with no lack of creativity and intrigue, and as much as the description of scrapple may turn some people off it can only be said the version served at Josephine is a whole different ballgame, the compressed meat treated to a light breadcrumb coating and served with elegance amidst greens and balsamic to reign in the natural sapor without burying it, a similar degree of subtlety discovered in poorly named ‘mustard dumplings’ that instead presented like pan-seared Parisian gnocchi with only a hint of the ingredient amidst a rich stew of pork, mushrooms, and peas.
Having discovered the housemade pastas in the Volunteer State to be almost universally on par with some of the best throughout the United States it was in two plus a plate of creamy risotto that savories would culminate after an unexplained thirty minute delay and although the crispy skinned duck was rosy and rich atop risotto that was marred by too much citrus both the ribbons of al dente pappardelle and tender agnolotti were picture perfect, the morels atop the former a very pleasant surprise while the sweet carrot reduction was as boldly flavored as it was colored, each bite leaving me to wonder if a better spin on peas and carrots has ever been prepared.
Having already mentioned the pricing issue related to dessert, it was equally perplexing that the already prepared tart was presented in whole tableside before being returned to the kitchen where it took nearly twenty minutes to cut, but setting aside these issues one would be hard pressed to find fault in a single aspect of the dish, a large number of discrepant ingredients coming together to form a flavor profile that ran the gamut from bitter ganache to milk chocolate rocks atop a lacquer of salty caramel while light sours from Meyer Lemon and orange zest melded seamlessly beneath the aromatics of freshly cut opal basil that lingered on the palate, if only for a moment, following each bite.
www.josephineon12th.com/
