The Most Refreshing Dishes at Nashville Steakhouses
As summer gets closer and temperatures continue to soar, the steakhouse scene in Nashville keeps heating up. Fittingly, the city’s hottest restaurants know how to keep things cool during the scorching season. From high-end and contemporary steakhouses to timeworn classics, these are some of the best dishes to try at Nashville steakhouses this season.
Union Common: This gorgeous, popular hot spot (packing in the crowds since its premiere in 2014) is especially endearing during the summer months. That’s thanks to a particularly bountiful chilled seafood selection, which includes the likes of smoked mussels, jumbo lump crab with green onion-yuzu aioli, lobster tail and its signature Midtown Platter bursting with shrimp, oysters, crab, lobster and mussels. That’s not all though; the seared yellowfin tuna with arugula, watercress and blood orange vinaigrette makes a nice entree option, especially when followed by a trio of gelato for dessert.
Jimmy Kelly’s Steakhouse: From a sizzling-hot newcomer to one of the oldest classics in town, Jimmy Kelly’s Steakhouse has been a local fixture since 1934. That’s plenty of time for the restaurant to establish a refined portfolio of fan favorites, many of which are popular summer staples. This includes pan-roasted mussels swimming in Chardonnay and garlic; the “Original Faucon” salad studded with bacon, hard-boiled eggs, blue cheese and chopped iceberg lettuce; fried oysters with bracing horseradish cream sauce; and the house cheeseburger, served on a kaiser roll with a freshly ground patty made from aged tenderloin, rib-eye and sirloin.
The Southern: Inspired by culinary traditions of the deep South, The Southern pays homage to a region that knows a thing or two about keeping cool in the summer months. For dinner, that means delicacies like blackened fish tacos with avocado aioli, seared scallops with asparagus and lemon-butter sauce, buttermilk-splashed Caesar salad with shaved country ham, spicy deviled eggs and a blueberry shortbread crumble topped with coconut milk ice cream.
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse: Here’s a fun fact that most people don’t know about. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse offers a rotating seasonally three-course dinner menu starting at $44.95. Featuring a bevy of optional dishes per course, these are bright, fresh dishes not typically available among the standard dinner dishes. For summer, this means appetizer selections like roasted tomato and crab soup flecked with fresh basil; or a butter lettuce BLT salad loaded with crisp bacon, blue cheese, grape tomatoes, red onion and basil-cucumber ranch. Diners get to accompany their meal with a side, like creamed spinach or creamed sweet corn infused with fennel cream. Then entree options include 6-oz. filets with shrimp, a stuffed chicken breast, almond-crusted king salmon or a BBQ shrimp dish. For dessert, it’s a tropical toasted coconut and pineapple bread pudding made with rum creme anglaise and macadamia chocolate bark.
Kayne Prime: Here’s another contemporary take on the steakhouse tradition. Along with burly, succulent cuts of beef, the boutique restaurant outfits its menu with a miscellany of unconventional, often seasonally inspired creations, like duck confit tacos sweetened with grape tomato salsa; Wagyu tartare with BBQ chips; a pickled vegetable salad with cornbread croutons; red snapper with yuzu avocado puree; and chicken with smoked hazelnut gremolata. And there’s a lot more where these came from.
