DINNER REVIEW FOR MIEL AND THE NEW BASTION COCKTAIL BAR IN NASHVILLE

Hey y’all,

Ok I may or may not be watching the Grammy’s while stuffing my face with pizza even though I have already eaten my “healthy” dinner tonight. This my friends, is why I don’t have abs. Ugh.

First off, I hope you wonderful humans had a magical Valentine’s Day. If you didn’t then fret not, there is always next year and remember it is just a day! My husband and I had a babysitter and got a free night out of the house to try a couple of hip Nashville spots this weekend. For all you locals I thought I would give you a review and even for any of you guys who plan to travel to good ole Nash Vegas in the future.

MIEL.  343 53rd Ave N, Nashville, TN 37209

Ok I am a self-proclaimed food critic. Mainly because I simply love to eat. A lot. However, I’m highly critical of most places even if overall it was good. I’m not a big raver about restaurants unless I’m truly impressed. With that being said, GO. TO. MIEL.

I have a Nashville bucket list of food I try to mark off each week, which is becoming more and more difficult with our booming growth. I was excited to mark the French restaurant Miel off my list. Tucked away on 53rd avenue in Sylvan Park (my old stomping grounds), the parking situation and location caught me off guard. Unless you park at Hattie B’s across the street you are gonna struggle to find a spot. Let me follow that up by saying once you get inside that won’t even matter to you. It is beyond adorable inside and feels extremely intimate, while still maintaining a simplistic vibe. I also really loved the open kitchen concept with the chefs.

So we sat down a little too close for comfort to the couple beside of us and ordered a couple of drinks. Matt ordered his usual scotch, I ordered my usual champagne cocktail. I’ll just go ahead and say it was so delicious, I in fact, had two. They give you an amuse-bouche to start and also fresh bread with butter. I’m quite a fan of chefs that begin the meal with an amuse-bouche. I feel it lets you know what is on the chef’s palate of what’s to come. I was pleasantly surprised and I thought it was a small bread roll of some sort. Then I bit into it and man was I overwhelmed with the kick of the tangy cheese packed inside it. We started the meal off with an octopus appetizer sautéed in butter with lima beans and peppers. I personally had never had octopus but my husband is quite the food experimenter so i felt the need to be bold in my choosing. I was delightfully pleasant with my choice. It was truly tasty after I got the suction cup visions out of my head.

Our meals. I’m not kidding when I say both of our entrees were divine. Matt had the steak medium rare with sautéed kale. I had the pork shoulder with gnocchi. It had the most audacious yet balanced flavors of food. Beyond appealing. We accompanied those with their brussels sprouts, maple and pancetta. The brussels were enriched with flavor. We were so stuffed we couldn’t fit in dessert but they give you complimentary teaspoons of honey with bee pollen after your meals to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Fabulous job Miel. I will be back.

BASTION. 434 Houston St. Nashville, TN

This new hotspot bar is located in the Houston Station building. Our last name in the street name and in the building name. I’m sold. Strategic Hospitality ran by the Goldberg brothers, who are known for popular Nashville spots like Catbird Seat, Pinewood Social, Le Sel, Patterson House, have collaborated with chef Josh Habiger to open Bastion in South Nashville in the Wedgewood area of town.

“I just wanted to create the type of place that I want to hang out in; a place that isn’t pretentious. Beers, shots, a few simple cocktails, along with some other elements that we hope will make it a great place to go,” Habiger said in a statement.

Pretentious it is definitely not. The only complaint I would say is I’m not sure how they would fit a large number of people that they should expect to gather as a trendy new bar in Nashville. I loved the atmosphere. Very industrial just like the building they reside in; painted and exposed brick, couches and chairs sectioned off to chat with friends, benches lined around to give more seating. Their bartenders were so friendly and helpful and seemed to really know their shit. Their drink menu was BOMB. I, no joke, gulped mine down so fast that my husband turned for a moment and when he looked back he gave me a look like, “really Ashley?!” See above picture. I can’t help it, it was mouth-watering. For a reference, I ordered the Jack of No Trades (obviously another champagne cocktail, but with vodka this time). Love this place. I doubt I would go out of the way to go there again unless I’m meeting up with friends but if I am in the area, I will 100% be stopping through.

Shew that was hard to do while simultaneously watching Lady Gaga rock the Grammys in her David Bowie tribute but I managed it. Hope you guys enjoyed my reviews of our evening. Here are a few pics we snapped of the night 🙂

Xo,

Ashley