related items
In the illustrious roster of Nashville Originals — that collection of local independent restaurateurs — one of the most wildly imaginative collaborations is found in chefs Anita Hartel and Corey Griffith's House on Hayes: MAmbu.
It's a collaboration that has spanned more than a decade, first at Sasso's before the two launched MAmbu in 2001 in one of the few remaining Victorians of the hospital high-rise-dominated neighborhood.
With a commitment to serve high-end, provocative food in a relaxed setting, Griffith oversees the kitchen while Hartel manages the front of the house. They share an eclectic approach. As the décor of each room is an Alice in Wonderland romp — quirky andkitschy with details like retro banquettes and inverted lampshade lighting — so the terse menu takes you on a Griffith-fashioned globe trek, with assertive cuisine inspired by the Caribbean, the Mediterranean Rim and the Far East.
Food surpasses service
If the evening is not too still or warm, the covered patio in front of the house is a pleasant place to begin your dining experience.
With your mango cosmopolitan or chilled white wine, try either of Griffith's artful Asian-based starters. The Shrimp Gyozas, six plump steamed dumplings filled with ground shrimp, came bathed in a sesame-gingered soy dipping sauce, heady and soothing ($11).
More engaging to palate and eye, though, was the spicy sushi lobster roll ($12). Rounds of nori-wrapped rice, red peppers, scallions and lobster meat were tempura-crispened and placed in a sunburst on the plate. At its center was a seaweed salad mounded with a nest of fried rice noodles, encircled by two sauces, a thick sweet red chili aioli and thin hot green curry oil.
Four salads are featured on the menu, but on our visit, a special salad had been created, based on an of-the-moment find. A MAmbu friend had a tree laden with ripe figs, and Hartel had spent the afternoon picking them. With salad greens serving as backdrop, wedges of fig were paired with supple ribbons of Benton's prosciutto-like ham, candied pecans, red onion and soft goat cheese. A light, barely perceptible lime vinaigrette dressed the salad. Flawless.
The same could not be said for the service, which was cheerful yet uneven. After our well-timed appetizers and salad course, our table seemingly dropped off the service radar. There was a long gap before our waiter returned to bring bread and fill water, and longer still to serve the entrees.
When the entrees did arrive, they were fresh, piping hot and well-executed. We had ordered a menu mainstay, the creole-dusted trout ($22), and an evening special, the Korean barbecue pork chop ($21).
Honoring the intentions of that culture's cuisine, Griffith had prepared the two boneless pork loin cutlets in the authentic bulgogi manner. The meat had been rubbed with red chili, marinated and grilled to bring out caramel brown sugar-ginger notes. Plated with sushi rice and a smattering of uninspired julienned carrots, bell peppers and cabbage, the pork was drenched in a sauce not unlike the one bathing the gyozas. While it was delicious, it was not special.
We preferred the trout, which better showcased Griffith's creativity as well as his penchant for bold sweet and hot flavors. The whole boned fish was stuffed with crabmeat, lightly coated with cornmeal and wrapped with bacon before being pan-seared.
Whimsy is still served
For dessert, MAmbu's coconut cream pie was a necessary indulgence. It's not often that you find a pie like this one. Its thick custard, rich with toasted coconut, harkened to another time. And yet, the bits of walnut in the crust, the thin lines of cassis coulis drawn across the cream top and the side pour of vanilla sauce on the plate updated it.
With whimsy, fun and flavor at its heart, MAmbu offers a unique and welcome place: a true Nashville Original. When the MAmbu team remains faithful to that, a singular and memorable dining experience ensues.
