Welcome back to Queens’ Table, your destination for Nashville’s fabulous food scene, as experienced by fierce beauty queens! This month we dined in modern luxury while enjoying comfort food with a global influence. Our queens chose Mockingbird, a fast favorite for the Downtown and Gulch scene, and an absolute must for the growing LGBTQ crowd.
This divine venue opened August 2016, and is proudly gay owned and operated by executive chef Brian Riggenbach and front of house extraordinaire Mikey Corona. The menu is full of farm to table ingredients with cute and campy names that will have you cracking up. Our ladies sat down to a round of Tequila Mockingbird, a delicious cocktail of smoky Benhez mezcal, tequila, lime and egg white. This started our night off proper, the usual sequins and sass were flying, when the beautiful shared plates arrived.
We had the Cabbage Patch Kids, their amazing brussel sprouts, Don’t Worry Brie Happy, perfect mini grilled cheese sandwiches filled with whipped brie, jalapeno jam and chimichurri. We dare you to say no to whipped brie!
Then, La Vie En Rows, decadent savory waffles topped with herbs, feta, almond granola and garlic honey, as well as Rice Rice Baby, amazing mini rice balls stuffed with pimento cheese arancini, and tatchos, a super fancy take on tater tots, smothered in beer cheddar, scallions, lamb chili and crema. This deliciously compassionate plate is also known as “Tots for Tots,” as all the proceeds of this dish go to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
“There’s nothing better than great food benefiting a great charity,” Lily exclaimed and popped a tot.
The ladies ordered another round of drinks as we took in the inviting atmosphere. This venue is dining perfection, with a spacious second floor (indoor-outdoor dining area) overlooking the Gulch. Our drinks arrived, and we all tried something new. Casanova had the Cuba En Fuego, a tropical blend of Havana Club Rum, lime, mint, jalapeno and simple syrup.
Vidalia got fully gangster with a Jen & Juice, a mix of Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin, Thai basil, strawberry and pinot jam. “Pink and delicious, just what I need,” Vidalia said, feeling divine.
Lily had the Old Fashioned-ish. This celebrity praised beverage used bourbon, mantra chai simple, and chocolate and orange bitters. “Yessss ma’am!”
Entrees were next to come to table and painted mouths were watering. We plated Oooooh Barbacoa, an impossibly tender beef short rib with parsnip puree, roasted mushrooms, pearl onions, turnip and petite greens. We are talking melt in your mouth fancy. We enjoyed Pasta la Vista, a delightful pasta dish with broccoli pesto, pork sausage, pine nuts and Pecorino Romano. Let the kitsch meter declare “house down boots!” for this killer dish. Finally, we flew the coop for Bird is the Word, boneless fried chicken thighs, chorizo gravy and salsa verde mashed potatoes. Exquisite!
As if the corsets weren’t bursting at the seams already, Mikey and Brian wowed us with dessert. There was a rich and decadent bourbon chocolate tarte for all those chocolate lovers. There was a warm chocolate chip cookie a la mode that hit any remaining spots. But the absolute favorite was the white chocolate mousse with fresh passion fruit, candied fennel, poppy and sesame seeds. This dish is perfection. The sweet taste and flawless texture of the mousse with the tart and unique toppings is truly something to behold. This is, to say the least, an absolute must.
Our whole-hearted gratitude to the entire Mockingbird crew. Be sure to look for Mockingbird’s own Brian Riggenbach on the new season of Beat Bobby Flay on Food Network in March.
This venue is rich, luxurious, loaded with personality. Should you need a 10’s across the board venue, be sure to enjoy Mockingbird (121 12th Ave. N. Nashville, TN 37203).
Until next time fierce foodies! As always, much love and good taste from The Queens’ Table.