It's New Menu Tryout Time

Tags Menu, Bar, Restaurant, Nashville, Website

On to the new menu. For appetizers, we’re working on a new sweetbreads presentation with pine nuts, raisins and olives. We’re also working on a new ravioli, which includes duck confit and Taleggio cheese. We’re working on a sweet pea tendrils dish. (Don’t tell Olive Oyl and Popeye!). And we also want to do the mini lobster rolls with fresh hearts of palm, sort of a rearranging of the “Knuckle Sandwich” we featured this week with the fabulous stone crab claws special.

And we’re really proud of our our market vegetable plate. We’re just starting to get in some new vegetables of the season, such as radishes and greens from one of our favorites, DW Farms in Pulaski, Tenn. (www.dwfarms.com). Vegetable specials will be changing daily from now until the end of summer.

For entrees, we’re testing out a couple of halibut dishes. And we’re searching for the right rib-eye to replace the tenderloin on the menu. We’ll have two or three specials every night this weekend and beyond. Feel free to come up to the line and put your vote in on your favorite new items. That will really help us put the new menu together.

As for Terry and the Ombi bar, he’ll be featured in the upcoming May issue of Nashville Lifestyles magazine. He’ll be sharing the recipe for his popular D’Arbo cocktail, which if you haven’t tried yet, you should. “It’s named after the elderflower syrup I use it in,” Terry explains. “It’s an elderflower martini, basically.”

The recipe for the D’Arbo:

—2 ounces Reyka (Icelandic vodka)
—1 ounce Torrentes white wine, from Argentina
—Splash of white elderflower syrup, from Austria. (Terry orders it from www.GermanDeli.com. There’s no local source.).

A reminder that Ombi offers drink and food specials, in the bar area only, from 4–7 pm every day but Sunday. Terry’s delicious D’Arbo will set you back $8, a $2 discount from the regular cost for that and other specialty cocktails. It’s $6 for your choice of premium vodka martinis, $5 for classic rye Manhattans, half-price for draft beer, wine by the glass and white sangria. And the whole bar menu is full of tapas and other discounted menu items, all under $10. So start your evening out right!

I’ll list the upcoming events in a moment. But preceding that, on behalf of everyone here at Ombi, I want to thank everyone for coming out to pack our restaurant and so many others for last Tuesday’s Dining Out for Life, which benefited a much-loved charity, Nashville CARES. What an awesome evening!

COMING UP:

—Don’t forget the Albert Seltz Vineyard Wine Tasting hosted by Village Wine’s very own Hoyt Hill, this Thursday, May 8 at 6 pm. Here’s the lineup: 2006 Pinot Blanc Reserve ($17.99); 2006 Riesling Reserve ($17.99); 2006 Gewurztraminer Reserve ($18.99); 2006 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Zotzenberg ($34.99); 2003 Sylvaner Sono Contento ($34.99); 2004 Sylvaner Sono Contento ($34.99); and 2001 Sylvaner, la Colline aux Poiriers Late Harvest ($56.99). The tasting is $10, and if you stay for dinner afterward, you’ll receive a 10% discount. Please make reservations so that we may best accommodate you by calling Ombi, 320–5350.

—On Tuesday, May 20 at 6 pm, we’ll again be hosting Village Wines’ Hoyt Hill for a tasting of Georg Muller wines. The tasting is $10, and if you stay for dinner afterward, you’ll receive a 10% discount. Please make reservations by calling Ombi, 320–5350.

—With the last day of Metro Schools set for May 22, I’m serving as restaurant chair for Generous Helpings 2008, 6–9 pm Wednesday, May 28 at the Nashville Convention Center Ballroom, which benefits Second Harvest Food Bank. You can get tickets and read more about it at www.secondharvestnashville.org. Here’s a brief summary from the website: “Generous Helpings is a culinary benefit and silent auction supporting Nashville’s Table, a Perishable Food Rescue Program of Second Harvest Food Bank. A portion of the proceeds also benefits the Culinary Arts Scholarship Fund at Nashville State Community College. Now in its fourth year, Generous Helpings features “tastes” of gourmet appetizers, entrees, desserts and beverages by more than 30 of the area’s finest independent restaurants, wine purveyors and breweries.” Cost is $40 in advance, $50 at the door
VIP patron tickets are available for $125, which includes valet parking, special seating area, access to VIP bar, listing as patron in the event program, special wine selection and a thank you gift. Participating Restaurants: Ombi, Watermark, Mambu, The Culinary Arts Center at Second Harvest, Ovations Catering, Nashville State Community College Culinary Arts, Park Café, Chaffin’s Barn, Pied Piper Creamery, Cabana, Eastland Café, Midtown Café, Sunset Grill, Tayst, Tin Angel, Mirror, Kalamatas, Margot, Marche, Zola, Noshville, Chappy’s on Church, Flyte, Radius 10, and Veggie Café.

‘Til next time,

Laura Wilson

By Laura Wilson on May 1, 2008