Simple, yet elegant home-style Vietnamese cooking served in a contemporary urban setting is the hallmark of Hang and Aaron Rosburg's restaurant, Far East Nashville.
Within their sleek renovated space at 11th and Fatherland, minimalist sensibilities prevail. Modern glass-topped tables line a small, open room where windows and mirrors framed in an Asian motif adorn walls of vivid color. Rustic stained concrete floors anchor the room; white-black conical pendants suspend from the ceiling.
In like manner, Hang Rosburg presents the traditions of her homeland's cuisine. With only two appetizers, two sandwiches, one pho and less than a dozen entrees, her taut one-page menu mirrors that spare room design.
Spare, yes, but not meager: Each dish abounds in freshness and flavor, using ingredients true to the culture. There is beauty in that simplicity. For diners unfamiliar with Vietnamese food, this model is an undaunting and authentic introduction. For those who already love this food, Far East Nashville is a welcome dining option.
Start with either a glass of fresh-squeezed limeade or iced jasmine tea, both attractive and refreshing beverages, and sample the appetizers. The fried spring rolls were crispy, filled with a savory, ground meat mixture and served with the distinctive fish sauce. The fresh rolls were more subtle and salad-like, soft rice paper wrapping vermicelli rice noodles, shrimp, cilantro and greens. Be sure to get the hoisin-based peanut sauce to enliven the roll. So that you can further personalize your food, each table is set with bottles of hoisin, sriracha and soy sauces, as well as a crock of sweet chili paste.
No Vietnamese dining experience would be complete without a bowl of phò. Considered a national dish, this beef noodle soup is complex — relying on a rich, clear broth infused with ginger, and star anise — and fragrant.
The Far East Nashville version had all the soul-satisfying components. Served in a large white ceramic bowl, our steaming phò brimmed with a slurpy nest of rice noodles, lean, tender shavings of flank and sirloin steak, and crisp bites of scallion and white onion. Per tradition, it was accompanied with a side plate of enhancements: bean sprouts, sprigs of Thai basil, chili pepper slices and a wedge of lime.
Part of the experience is playing with the flavors, adding different ingredients to impart more heat, tang, aromatics. Unaltered, our phò was quite good, but it improved when we stirred in pieces of basil for a spicy clove and licorice nose. Bean sprouts added another texture and light crunch. Following our server's advice, we sprinkled a dash of hoisin and sriracha sauces along with a squeeze of lime. Greater than the sum of its parts, the phò had a remarkable layering of flavors that undoubtedly holds curative powers.
Food makes the wait worthwhile
As each entrée is individually prepared, the wait can be a little long during peak serving times. On one visit, there was some lag time between appetizer and entrée, but each was cooked with care and worth that wait. Of the three entrees sampled, it would be difficult to choose a favorite. The Ginger Chicken had bite; nice juicy chunks of breast and thigh meat were laced with pungent strands of ginger that had almost candied in the cooking process: bright and bracing.
In the Lemongrass Chicken entrée, the same quality of chicken was cooked in a deeper, more complicated red caramel sauce, bittersweet with citrus notes and sautéed onion.
We were pleasantly surprised by the fish sauce grilled eggplant with ground pork, a seemingly unlikely combination. Here, the amber, salty condiment, a key staple in Vietnamese cooking, brought a unifying finish to lean, stir-fried meat, wedges of eggplant and batons of green onion.
All generous-sized entrées were served with a large dome of jasmine rice, garnished with cilantro.
Our waitress was informative, efficient and friendly. She assured that the kitchen had an ear. As the restaurant has only been open since late July, the Rosburgs are fine-tuning the menu. At this writing, there were few vegetarian options, and with the number of such requests, new items to accommodate will be introduced. For now, tofu may be substituted in many entrées. Desserts will be available in the near future.
The Rosburgs are off to a fine start. They are using high-quality products: fresh, lean meats and poultry, fresh produce and herbs in the creation of their recipes. The aesthetic of their space is pleasing. With the exception of one dinner item, the ribeye, all prices are less than $10. And they are refining the menu to better serve their customers. With this attitude and these elements at work, traditional cuisine and contemporary tastes harmonize. Far East Nashville should go far.
