The Scene Revisits Dinner at Marche; Chelsea Bistro in Whites Creek 'Is Wonderful'

The Nashville Scene's Steve Cavendish takes a look at much-loved East Nashville pioneer restaurant Marche to see if dinner there has caught up with its booming breakfast and lunch, and finds that it still falls short. Stating that breakfast and lunch "consistently exceeds [his] expectations," Cavendish admits that dinner at Marche is "[c]learly...supposed to hit [his] sweet spot, and some things really did," such as the short ribs, stuffed pork loin and the apple and roasted squash salads. "But occasionally the kitchen veered - sometimes in execution, sometimes in conception. Twice we ordered the roast chicken, and twice it came up a little dry, with disappointing skin." Also noted was "the bread pudding with creme anglaise [that] set the form back a few years." In the end, he decides that "[t]here's a legitimately great dinner place in there, built on a small menu of European-style comfort food and bistro favorites. But it needs that extra level of execution to set it apart in a Nashville food scene awash in locally sourced, seasonal farm-to-table fare." [Nashville Scene]

In other Scene reviewing news, contributor Nicki P. Wood checks out French restaurant Chelsea Bistro in the unlikely location of Whites Creek, and posits that "there's a true French bistro...in Whites Creek, and it's superb[.]" Wood finds very little fault with the food, praising chef Garrett Pittler's take on such bistro classics as mussels mariniere, escargot, frites and the croque monsieur. Revealing the only possible caveat:

A Whites Creek friend who went along for one of our visits said, "I have concerns about whether we are too redneck for this. My neighbors like to shoot guns for fun."

So yeah, Whites Creek may not be the new Green Hills. But it has a bistro, which has a cellar. Let's split the difference and call it the new Green Acres. Just arrange your face and say, "That's wonderful." [Nashville Scene]

· Dinner's good at Marche, but not as fine as lunch and breakfast [Nashville Scene]
· Chelsea Bistro, a true French bistro, comes to Whites Creek [Nashville Scene]