In the heart of downtown, it serves up everything from stuffed banh mi sandwiches and pan-seared bao to tacos and Prince’s Hot Chicken – a dish that has been a local hero for more than a century. Just be warned that its XXX Hot option is well named.
Once you’ve dipped your toe in the culinary waters, three restaurants run by three charismatic figures from China, the US and India offer excellent eating and perfectly reflect Nashville’s cultural diversity.
Duolan Li was born Hohhot in China’s Inner Mongolia, moved to Beijing and then to the US aged six. In 2012 she opened her first restaurant, in Charleston, South Carolina, which she called Xiao Bao Biscuit in homage to the food cultures of China and the US South. Her second restaurant opened in 2022 in East Nashville at 830 Meridian Street, this one called XiaoBao.
The funky decor channels a 1970s vibe and features what Li calls “remnants from my Chinese childhood – vintage Thermoses, photos, tin cookie jars. It’s personal to me, as it speaks to a China that I remember but that no longer exists.”
The cuisine is described as “Asian comfort food”, but Sichuan dishes play something of a starring role.
“Our dan dan mian put us on the map. We source our hua jiao [Sichuan pepper] from a purveyor we met in Chengdu, because it’s a yearly harvest and we like to get the freshest produce. But Mala Marketplace in Nashville also sells products from Sichuan,” Li says.
Li’s husband, Josh Walker, is a chef; he opened Xiao Bao Biscuit with her and is regularly in the kitchen in Nashville, while Li often works front of house. She explains that “I am also a critic – I can be a tough one!”
The couple’s approach works beautifully.
Smacked cucumber and kohlrabi were doused in black vinegar, hua jiao and garlic to give the palate a roller-coaster ride. Next bing, a small round flatbread, came topped with whipped feta, charred aubergine, ginger, spring onion and the restaurant’s own chilli garlic sauce, which was dangerously good.
With a restaurant full of happy diners – and a queue to get in – business is clearly good. Li says other restaurants in the new culinary hub of Meridian Street “have been incredibly supportive, great neighbours, especially Sean Brock”.
Brock is arguably Nashville’s most famous culinary name, a star chef with a portfolio of four restaurants in the city including Audrey (809 Meridian St), just a short walk from XiaoBao.
Raised in rural Virginia, he has been instrumental in what he calls the “repatriation” of Southern cuisine. The winner of multiple James Beard Awards and author of numerous cookbooks, he has become a familiar face on TV, thanks to hosting Mind of a Chef, produced by the late Anthony Bourdain, and featuring in the popular Netflix show Chef’s Table.
Audrey, named for his maternal grandmother, is Brock’s flagship and a tour-de-force of relaxed, sustainable and dazzlingly delicious dining.
After kicking off dinner with seriously creative cocktails in the restaurant’s elegant upstairs bar, Audrey’s “Feast” menu option at US$99 per head is the best way to appreciate the breadth of what is on offer. It comes in four “waves”, totalling 10 dishes, but the portions and flow are both well balanced.
To start, a skillet of Cherokee white cornbread – named for the blue and white corn used – with sour corn butter and nuggets of crispy pork rind was a joy.
Shaved country ham with peanuts, dried Appalachian berries and Steen’s cane syrup celebrated the south, while fried apples with toasted buckwheat, yuzu and sorrel showed the integration of global ingredients.
A sublime grilled skewer of scallop and king trumpet mushrooms with peach and fennel dipping sauce was followed by “Audrey’s chicken and dumplings”, which were decadently lifted with black truffle.
Hickory-grilled catfish with lady peas – a Southern delicacy – joined Carolina Gold rice and tomato gravy in a fabulous savoury denouement, before seasonal fruit cobbler with cornmeal biscuits and vanilla bean ice cream wrapped an epic dinner.
Brock explained what makes Nashville special. “The best thing about Nashville is the influx of creative minds. I’ve seen Nashville change a lot, all for the better. It has become a place where people in all different industries and art forms who dream big can come and be supported – and have the stage.”
Maneet Chauhan, executive chef of Morph Hospitality Group, was born and raised in the Punjabi city of Ludhiana. She came to the US to study at the Culinary Institute of America – and has not looked back since.
A judge on the TV cooking show Chopped for 15 years, an author and a consultant with American Airlines on its first-class menus, she is one of the highest-profile Indian culinary figures in the US.
“Coming to America, I realised the dismal situation and perception of Indian food,” she says. “In England, Indian food has a very revered place because of the history that we share. I almost had a fiduciary responsibility to show America the beauty of Indian food, to make it approachable and fun – and not tone down the flavours.”
Her portfolio of restaurants included the popular broadly pan-Chinese spot Tansuo, which sadly closed earlier this year; fortunately, her eponymous eatery Chauhan Ale and Masala House (123 12th Ave N) is still open, where she deftly combines Indian and local flavours and ingredients, for example with her take on nachos with lamb keema, served like a chaat with tamarind chutney.
Likewise with the Nashville hot chicken pakora, Chauhan’s “Ode to Nashville”.
“Our secret is the spice blend,” Chauhan says. “We use Kashmiri chillies, Indian curd chillies which have been soaked in yogurt and then dried so there’s a tartness. I also add some chipotle, even though it’s not Indian, as it has a smokiness.”
One of her most popular dishes is the seriously decadent chicken tikka masala poutine. Steaks are cooked on skewers in the tandoor, while nan breads are topped with French onion and short rib.
Chauhan is clearly very happy in her adopted home, flying the flag for India, while appreciating Nashville’s supportive dining scene.
“It’s amazing because a lot of really cool restaurants are getting the nod. The fact that Yolan was named the best restaurant in the US according to readers of Food & Wine magazine was incredible,” she says, referring to the fine Italian restaurant run by chef Tony Mantuano in The Joseph Hotel.
“Nashville has a very cosmopolitan vibe and feel to it. Food is moving away from obvious places like New York. The thinking is that to have diverse food, you need to go to one of those cities.”