Nashville Food Friday: Sunset Grill

Every time Restaurant Week rolls around I use the opportunity to try new places, or ones I haven't been to in a long time. I think I went to Sunset Grill a few times for happy hour about four years ago and just never went back after moving away from that part of town. It's been open since 1990, so I figured it's about time to give it a real shot.

Sunset Grill appears to have done no updating to their decor since they opened in 1990. Let's just say that it reminded me of a Manhattan apartment of a coke-sniffing Wall Street Banker circa the late 80s. What grabbed my attention most was the artwork- apparently all done by the same artist that was probably super cool when I was in elementary school and now just reeks of the first Bush administration. I think Sunset Grill could stand to do themselves a big favor by updating their space. There's a large room with tons of windows -which is great- all they need to do is change the paint color and update the art. With how much I've been ragging on restaurant art lately I might as well start a blog called "Your Art Makes Me Lose My Appetite."

For cocktails I went with the Sparkling Cider which was made with apple pie moonshine, Prosecco and honey water. This was possibly the girliest moonshine drink I've ever had- but that's a compliment! (I am a girl afterall.) There was a very mild apple spice flavor that worked well with the bubbles. Steve ordered the Velvet Elvis which was made with Jack Daniels, Chambord, sour mix and soda. This was Steve's first time having this cocktail and while he said it was solid, he felt like the drink was just not his style.

The restaurant week menu at Sunset Grill allowed you to get one appetizer and one entree for $20.14 from a limited menu. For my appetizer I went with the half order of shrimp and grits. I really liked this dish! The shrimp were still tender and the grits had a mild tobacco spice which added heat. The pickled okra garnish was a great addition... mostly because I can eat a jar of pickled okra and consider that dinner.

For his appetizer Steve went healthy and ordered the Sonoma salad. It had field greens, apples, almonds, blue cheese and a garlic-zinfandel vinaigrette. While everything worked really well together and the apples added a nice crunch, this is the kind of salad that you find everywhere now. Despite being derivative, everything was fresh and crisp, and the apples+bleu cheese combination just can't be beat.

For my entree I chose the smoked pork chops with greens and sweet potatoes. This was the right choice for me and I knew I would like this dish as soon as I smelled it. The chop had a very smokey flavor to it and was super tender. The maple demi-glace added a nice sweetness to the smoke. I enjoyed the sorghum sweet potatoes even though I came across a cold spot in the center of the pile. The mustard greens were not really my thing. First of all, they were left as full leaves making them hard to eat as you had to dig your knife in to cut them up. Also, they weren't boiled nearly long enough, making them very tough. I pretty much didn't touch the greens after my first bite.

Steve went with the Mississippi delta catfish. The dish was served with Benton's bacon butter beans, dill remoulade and crispy shallots. Compared to the amount of food I got on my plate, this dish was a significantly smaller portion. The fish didn't have nearly the amount of Cajun spice we were expecting, making it a much milder dish. But the way the fish was seasoned worked well with the lightness of the dill remoulade and the creamy deliciousness of the beans.

Overall we had a pretty enjoyable dinner at Sunset Grill. Our waiter was very nice and super attentive without being overbearing. While this isn't really the sort of restaurant I would go to often, I was pleasantly surprised by their offerings. Thus is the joy of Restaurant Week.