Smiley’s Soulful Kitchen
3623 Gallatin Pike
Nashville
615-506-8109
Chef John Smiley is a bit of a showman. The gospel minister and musician makes the rounds at his new restaurant Smiley’s Soulful Kitchen in East Nashville, shaking hands and chatting with the customers. Ask him about his gospel group, Minister John Smiley and The Voices and you’ll get a big grin. He promises to work those gospel sounds into the restaurant mix some day. In the meantime, some family recipes are good reason to visit. Check out grandpapa’s fried corn bread. It’s rich and a bit sweet thanks to some sprinkled sugar on top. Just try to keep yourself from asking for more. Grandmama’s banana pudding is a winner too, thanks to a bit of nutmegy spice. It all adds up to welcome comfort food, something East Nashville could always use more of.
The dining room is large and done up in a country yard sale kind of hodge-podge. Elvis graces one wall. CDs for sale can be found behind the counter. The menu is standard meat and three for lunch and dinner.
A pork cutlet comes out well breaded and tasty, if not a bit small and lacking the promised and much needed gravy. Smothered ain’t smothered without gravy folks. It’s quickly remedied and comes with an apology by the kind waitress. Green beans and ham hocks hit the spot even if Cole slaw proves a bit boring. Mac and cheese is sticky, a bit uninspired and needs some seasoning.
Next visit brings an excellent baked chicken breast: nicely seasoned, meaty and perfectly juicy. The stand-out hand-cut fries and potato salad are worthy sides. Once again that corn bread is gone in a minute. There’s a few more veggie possibilities here than the usual meat and three menu. Vegetarian Lasagna and Egg Plant Parmesan encompass the small, but appreciated vegetarian section.
Veggie Eater: I am generally reluctant to accompany Meat Eater on the meat and three and barbeque restaurant rounds because, needless to say, they are generally not terribly veggie friendly. I am often relegated to eating half-hearted salads and mediocre sides with suspect ingredients. But Meat Eater assured me (and showed me the menu to prove it) that there were at least two veggie entrees on the menu here, both of Italian origin. I have in fact cried before at bad Italian food at restaurants and thus tend to shy away to prevent a public nervous breakdown. Thankfully, there was no need for the water works here. I asked the waitress for her recommendation between the Veggie Lasagna and Egg Plant Parmesan and she directed me to the Veggie Lasagna. Of course, because I ordered it, they were out of it (this is the story of my life), so Egg Plant Parm. Granted, this is not my grandfather’s Egg Plant Parm, but it was surprisingly good. Thick slices of eggplant are breaded and fried, served over wide egg noodles with a slightly sweet, savory, and herby sauce. I believe it’s topped with Swiss cheese (odd, I know, but it seems to work) and the obligatory parmesan. On the side is a big old piece of garlic bread toast. It’s a rather large affair and kept me happy at lunch the next day. There are limited veggie options here, but enough to placate a veggie eater.
Meat Eater: We paid just $20 with tax and tip on one visit and I paid $12.50 on another visit. You can check out Minister Smiley’s group here.
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5 comments:
my family and I went to Smiley's a few weeks ago and were NOT impressed. We went on a Saturday when it is chefs choice. My daughter got chicken and dumplings and apples and I got a Reuben sandwich. The Reuben was so messy, it almost fell apart, have never had a Reuben with thick diced pieces of meat instead of slices - too tough to chew. And the fries tasted and looked like they had been kept warm in the oven. We were not impressed at all. Rather go to Bailey/Cato.
Sorry to hear that anon. I did find the lack of gravy on my smothered pork chop a bit concerning. I think they're still getting their legs in the kitchen. The fries we had were excellent.
This is my new favorite meat in three in East Nashville!! I work late many nights and don't always have time to cook for my family. Thankfully Smiley's has been doing that for me...and best of all the food is delicious, the prices are VERY affordable...and the family running the place is great! Please give them your support. I'd really like to see this business stay!
my co-workers and I have just left Smiley's and will never return to this "restaurant" again. Mr. John Smiley, the owner and "chef" was extremely rude when we asked if we had been served the wrong fish by mistake. He informed us that he uses a high grade filet of catfish, which we were not accustomed to eating as we are apparently accustomed to eating the "b" word of the catfish and left the table with an attitude.
The tea and coleslaw were extremely sweet, the greens were sub-pair to say the least, and the spaghetti was disgusting. We also asked for tartar sauce which was ordered before the meal, it was stated to be homemade (disgusting) and brought out at the end of the meal. The only highlight was the server (Erica, I believe her name was)and the french fries.
I've only been to Smiley's once, but I had the Reuben and thought it was delicious. It was messy (because of the buttery toast on which it was served), but the meat wasn't at all tough or hard to chew.
My fella ordered a hamburger, though, and was not impressed. It wasn't bad, but it was certainly no better than something we could make at home.
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