The Catbird Seat...my birthday dinner. Unbelievable!!!

Ronni

Well-known Member
Location
Nashville TN
I couldn't understand why the restaurant my son treated us to for my birthday was called The Catbird Seat. So I looked up the phrase. "The catbird seat" is an American English idiomatic phrase used to describe an enviable position, often in terms of having the upper hand or greater advantage"

Ha! OK then now I get it. The restaurant isn't a traditional one by anyone's definition. The seating is simply one, large U shaped table running around the perimeter of the room, inside of which is where the food is prepared, right there, by the chefs, so that you can see everything that's going on, and interact and chat with them while they're working. It was one of the most, if not THE most, enjoyable dining experiences I've ever had!!

Cameron opted for the three additional supplementary courses with the regular 13 course menu, so we ended up with 16 courses with wine pairings for most of them! Because of the enormous quantity and variety of food, the courses themselves were each very small...appetizer small. Though they were small in size, they were unbelievably good in taste. I ate things I would never have expected could taste so good, but there wasn't one menu item that I wasn't completely blown away by...though some of them were so beautifully presented that it seemed a shame to eat them!!!

We chose to have cocktails first at the Patterson House, right next door. Beautiful place. Tasteful, dynamic, traditional.

This is the bar, (see those stunning tin ceiling tiles??? Gave Ron all kinds of ideas for our kitchen remodel!!!) and our selections for our second round: On Your Six, Reluctant Entertainer, and Old Fashioned.

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On to the restaurant and the meal! This is the ethereal looking elevator we rode up on! The restaurant by comparison seemed very utilitarian lol!
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See what I mean about the kitchen? We're having so much fun!
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Next post...THE FOOD!!
 

The menu. Though it wasn't like we had choices, we were just presented with that to describe what the chefs were preparing for us. And then one random selection of the food choices. I think this was on the menu just as "flowers." It was delicious! And And then my teeny tiny birthday cake that I was presented with when they found out it was my birthday!


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And finally I made a few collages of the food selections. I can't post everything, but will give you an idea.

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Thanks, Ronni. I'm happy you had a wonderful time. Your pics are beautiful. What a lovely job they do with presentation. What did you actually eat? What was your favorite bite?
 
I second what Keesha said! Also...if you get a chance can you name what some of the bites were...I’m curious.

I can’t make out all that’s on the menu..when I stretch it...it gets blurry.

OK, lemme see if I can solve that.

Hmmm...well the enlarged pages won't post, so here's the transcription.

Quince fritter and smoked beef tongue
white asparagus, mastic, sheep's cheese
peas, wintergreen, sea grapes, unripe melon juice
flowers
sea urchin, black truffle

oyster beignet, leeks, paddlefish roe
bay scallop, rambutan, rose geranium
bonito and okra
pig head and stone crab
crayfish, green apple, lovage
duck tartare, cashew rose

port, black walnut tapenade, violets
pig's blood and black currant
dark roux ice cream and sharry
guava, sea water meringue, black olive
pork rinds

There were wine pairings with every one or two courses. When Cameron invited us, it was on the condition that we Uber there and back, for our safety. After a while I could understand why...we can both hold our alcohol really well, but nonetheless we were somewhat hammered by the end of the meal lol!!!
 
OK, lemme see if I can solve that.

Hmmm...well the enlarged pages won't post, so here's the transcription.

Quince fritter and smoked beef tongue
white asparagus, mastic, sheep's cheese
peas, wintergreen, sea grapes, unripe melon juice
flowers
sea urchin, black truffle

oyster beignet, leeks, paddlefish roe
bay scallop, rambutan, rose geranium
bonito and okra
pig head and stone crab
crayfish, green apple, lovage
duck tartare, cashew rose

port, black walnut tapenade, violets
pig's blood and black currant
dark roux ice cream and sharry
guava, sea water meringue, black olive
pork rinds

There were wine pairings with every one or two courses. When Cameron invited us, it was on the condition that we Uber there and back, for our safety. After a while I could understand why...we can both hold our alcohol really well, but nonetheless we were somewhat hammered by the end of the meal lol!!!

Oh my. Interesting menu. That’s a lot of food, much of which I’ve never heard of before.
Im glad you didn’t drink and drive. Cameron is a smart lad.
 
Oh my. Interesting menu. That’s a lot of food, much of which I’ve never heard of before.
Im glad you didn’t drink and drive. Cameron is a smart lad.

He is. He's protective too. :love_heart: And to add to all those wine pairings, remember that we also had a couple of stiff cocktails before we ever made it to the restaurant, so the Uber was even more welcome!!


Very interesting menu but one I would enjoy trying...except for maybe a couple items.

Did you like everything?

Also, same question as RR..what was your favorite?

CeeCee, I ate all of every single thing they put in front of me. We all did, none of us left even a crumb lol!! They presented the food with quite a flourish, explaining every item, what was in it, how it was prepared. When given the verbal rundown of several, I flinched...but ate them anyway. And was so pleasantly surprised that they were delicious, every single item without question just a delight!

Hard pressed to name just one favorite. The pork (I think I mistyped it as port) with black walnut tapenade and violets was unbelievable. So was the pig head and stone crab. And the white asparagus with mastic was to die for! Honestly though, there isn't one item I wouldn't gladly eat again in a minute!!

It helps that I'm a foodie and there isn't much I won't eat...I'm not terribly picky. Even so, it was a surprise to me to discover that there wasn't anything I just sort of tolerated...it was all absolutely delicious!
 
He is. He's protective too. :love_heart: And to add to all those wine pairings, remember that we also had a couple of stiff cocktails before we ever made it to the restaurant, so the Uber was even more welcome!!




CeeCee, I ate all of every single thing they put in front of me. We all did, none of us left even a crumb lol!! They presented the food with quite a flourish, explaining every item, what was in it, how it was prepared. When given the verbal rundown of several, I flinched...but ate them anyway. And was so pleasantly surprised that they were delicious, every single item without question just a delight!

Hard pressed to name just one favorite. The pork (I think I mistyped it as port) with black walnut tapenade and violets was unbelievable. So was the pig head and stone crab. And the white asparagus with mastic was to die for! Honestly though, there isn't one item I wouldn't gladly eat again in a minute!!

It helps that I'm a foodie and there isn't much I won't eat...I'm not terribly picky. Even so, it was a surprise to me to discover that there wasn't anything I just sort of tolerated...it was all absolutely delicious!


Im the same! Only thing that made me flinch was tongue which I don’t like but if prepared well...no problem.

Im going to have to see if there is a similar type place near my son or daughter that they can take me to on my birthday...I know they would enjoy it too.

Im guessing it wasn’t cheap, so I’m sure I couldn’t afford on my own and wouldn’t even enjoy going by myself:)
 

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