Birthday at The Catbird Seat
What does a food blogger like me choose to do for her birthday? The same thing she chose to do for her wedding anniversary – The Catbird Seat, of course.
Yes, I’ve written about my experience there before, and as a general rule, I don’t do repeat posts on here, but there are certainly exceptions. Some meals are just too wonderful not to share.
Plus, I have new information that perhaps not all of you are aware of yet:
Each year Food & Wine magazine chooses 10 chefs as “Best New Chefs”. This year, Nashville’s own Josh Habiger and Erik Anderson, the amazing guys behind The Catbird Seat counter, made the list!
See, that’s them on the cover.
They, along with one other co-chef team, pushed the number of chefs in the 2012 issue to 12 instead of 10. Do you think Food & Wine did that on purpose? You know, 12 in 2012?
Anyway- a huge congratulations to these guys on this honor…very well-deserved!
Dry Riesling + Sake + Maple Syrup, carbonated with lime
Now on to my meal.
Unlike my last visit when I was 4 months pregnant, this one was booze filled. And I loved it.
The woman responsible, Jane Lopes, the beverage director of The Catbird Seat, deserves a mention as well. She creates some unique cocktails as well as chooses interesting wines and beers that truly add another dimension to the dishes.
Chatham Oyster, cucumber, yuzu vinaigrette
I’m not going to bore you with a lot of writing today. These gorgeous plates are like works of art, so I’m mostly going to let them do the talking.
(Except that I forgot to take a photo of the obscene fried cornbread ball filled with bacon mousse. Yep, you read that correctly. We’ll call it a Picasso)
Beef tartar with juniper, horseradish, burned bread, smoked roe, and rosemary salt
This was the most complex tartar I’ve ever eaten – floral, salty, herby (is that a word?) – it was definitely also the best.
Ramp Vichyssoise, watercress, pork belly, carrots, violet
If only I’d recorded the noises coming from the 4 of us girls as we ate this pork belly….
Halibut, favas, black garlic, lemon pudding, sorrel
Each of us ranked our top 3 dishes of the meal when we finished, and this was my #1. Halibut is my favorite fish, and I am infatuated with favas thanks to my China experience. I could eat this every. single. day.
Pigeon with white asparagus, shaved porcini, pigeon liver mousse, lovage, and charred green asparagus jus
The #2 dish for me was this pigeon. Because who doesn’t want a pigeon claw for their birthday?
Lamb with onion milk, toasted curry oil, charred peaches, and morel mushrooms
The lamb ranked #1 for a couple of my girlfriends, and I certainly didn’t leave even a tiny nibble behind on my plate either.
Hay-infused caramelized yogurt, strawberries, chamomile, and toasted wild rice paired with Tripel Karmeliet beer
Hay-infused yogurt? Where do they come up with this stuff? Honestly, for those of you out there that are doubters and don’t understand how a meal could be $100, this alone should explain it. The time and effort that goes into concepting and executing each and every element of all the dishes is astounding.
If you ask me, $100 is a bargain.
A ginger gin cordial
It’s my birthday and a magical ginger cocktail appears in front of my face. Ginger. How did Jane know that this would make my night?
Maybe it wasn’t created specifically for me, but it might as well have been. With gin, ginger, cardamom and lime zest, I can’t imagine a more perfect birthday cocktail.
Next, it was on to desserts. Three of them to be exact. The one above and below was so gorgeous that it deserves two photos.
Cucumber semi-feddo, lime sherbert, toasted rice crisp, cucumber balls, Thai basil
Gorgeous and delicious. It’s kind of like when you meet a guy that’s really good-looking AND super sweet. Then, as conversation goes on, you realize he’s also smart. And funny. That’s this dessert. Surprising you with every bite.
(Guys reading- I don’t mean to leave you out. Just imagine it’s a beautiful girl. With all that other stuff too)
“Bacon and Eggs”
Maple infused egg custard with bacon crisp served in a real egg shell.
First – Yes, this was as decadent as it sounds.
Second – Can you imagine what a pain in the a** it is to make these delicate little bowls out of real egg shells?
Pineapple gelee’, vanilla cake, cherry crisp, bourbon balls
After all that, I’m quite sure you want to visit The Catbird Seat yourself, right?
Reservations open up exactly 30 days out, so it’s a good idea to mark your calendar for the date you need to get online to make them. For even more detailed tips on securing a spot, check out this piece written by my buddy Chris.
The Catbird Seat
1711 Division Street
Nashville, TN 37203
The one meal I had there was, without a doubt, the best meal of my life. $100 is pretty much a steal, especially if you compare it to the price of comparable meals in larger cities.
Thinking that we should go for our 1 year anniversary in August!
Agree Allyn!!
Great recap! I’m going back again in two weeks and can’t wait!
Is this in celebration of your birthday or “just because”?
Awesome! I need to know what camera you are using. Love the photos! I love the bacon and eggs.
Thanks Lannae! Believe it or not, it’s just a little point and shoot, set on macro. I absolutely love it! It’s a Canon S90.
Those were some gorgeous shots. Curious ?, are those edible deco on the menu in the first picture?
Oh yes, those are little cookies they gave us at the end. They also do similar ones at the very beginning that are savory!
Yup going for my birthday – because they are out of town this week (Aspen) and next week (Blackberry Farm), the 30th was the first Saturday I could get. Close enough :)
You can celebrate your birthday month of June like I do the whole month of May! ;-)
Loved reliving it all over again thru your post! The pictures are soooo good – why don’t mine ever turn out like that?!?
What a fabulous meal!!!
Thanks for taking us along for the ride!
For sure, that is tops on my list of restaurants where I want to eat.
Now that I’ve done Mangia. :-)
Thanks so much for stopping by: I really, really appreciated it!
I did a follow-up post that contained an interview with Nick, as well, which I think turned out great. I’d love it if you’d take a look at that one, too, if you haven’t already.
So what is the total cost for dinner if you get alcohol? Also, is tip included in that $100? Trying to figure out what a dinner for two would cost.
It’s an additional $40/person if you choose to do the standard drink pairings. Add tax + tip, you’re looking at around $180/person. If you don’t want to do the drink pairings, there is a small wine list where you can order by the bottle. (but I highly suggest doing the drink pairings!)
Hi Beth! I searched about The Catbird Seat and found your post. Tonight my husband and I have reservations and I’m so excited but also a bit nervous. Is there a dress code? I am also wondering since I live an hour from Nashville and we do the drink pairings if we will be able to drive after our meal? I might need to make a last minute hotel reservation? It is a belated birthday and anniversary celebration so we are going all out!
As for dress, I would say to just look nice…no need to over do it though. Nice shirt and jeans for guy, cute sundress for girl…
On driving after- I’m not sure what to tell you. For a guy the amount of alcohol might not be too much. I know that I personally left there with a pretty good buzz the last time I went. If you can afford to, I would probably err on the side of caution and get a hotel room. Of course, if you’re in a situation where you can make a last minute decision (no kids at home?), then I bet you could find a hotel nearby that has a room available if you didn’t want to make a reservation in advance. There are actually 2 hotels w/in close walking distance to the restuarant: Embassy Suites at Vanderbilt and HIlton Garden Inn, both on Broadway.
Have fun!
Great review. Loved the details and photos. My husband and I were drooling looking at them. After hearing rave reviews from a coworker and friend I FINALLY remembered to log on at 5:30 one morning last week and scored a reservation for the husband’s Bday. Yay! Re the $40 drink pairings, are those only cocktails or is it wine and cocktails? Did anyone in your group try the $75 reserve pairings? If so, is that only wine? Thanks!
Hi Bethany!
The drink pairings (both of them) are cocktails, wine, and could even include a beer. On a previous visit to Catbird last fall, my husband did the reserve pairings. While they were great, we enjoyed the $40 pairing just as much, so I’m not sure we would splurge on the more expensive one again.
Enjoy!!
Thanks! That’s exactly what I wanted to know. I’m loving your blog! Keep up the good work. :)
Pingback: favorites : catbird seat « nashvillebynicole
i’m DYING to go there this weekend. no reservations available. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?!? tragedy!!!!
yeah, it’s a tough reservation to score. You basically need to be online at midnight when the date you want opens up!