Both of these restaurants have opened within the last 6 months. Both are developing loyal dining fans. Both fit their neighborhoods. Both take their menu offerings to new and creative levels. Both focus on local ingredients. But, there the similarities end. Deacon’s New South is located in an iconic downtown Nashville landmark, the L & C Tower. Cafe Roze is almost hidden away in East Nashville. Deacon’s New South would be great for an upscale business lunch or a night-on-the-town dinner, while Cafe Roze attracts Millennials and Gen-Xers and is a hip place for coffee, tea or a simple breakfast, lunch or dinner 7 days a week.

DEACON’S NEW SOUTH

401 Church Street, Nashville

Deacon’s is owned by Andy Marshall, who also owns all of the Puckett’s restaurants. The name is derived from a nickname Marshall earned while he was in college. Chef Travis Sparks has a strong background in farming and butchering, explaining the emphasis on dry-aged meats, done in-house and robust vegetables. Read a full description here in an article I wrote for TheYums.com recently and in this one for Epicurean-Traveler.com.

Deacon’s sleek exterior.

Deacon’s dark, modern interior.

Steve and I visited for Saturday brunch and found the food to be delicious, the service extremely attentive and the decor very visually appealing.

Deacon’s dry-aged meats.

More meat at Deacon’s.

Deacon Burger with fries, sprinkled with nutritional yeast.

Where there’s meat, there has to be catsup, right? I love these one-person sized bottles.

CAFE ROZE

1115 Porter Road, Nashville

We were introduced to Cafe Roze by our granddaughter Allie who lives about a block away. She thinks it’s cool and likes the atmosphere, so we were pleased she wanted to share it with us. Again, we enjoyed brunch. The food was very good. There are lots of super-healthy choices on the menu. It’s small, and since it’s so popular with the neighbors, it tends to be rather noisy. Don’t go for intimate conversations, but DO go if you have a granddaughter who suggests it. You’ll be able to read more in an upcoming article for Edible Nashville.

Cafe Roze breakfast sandwich with fresh arugula.

Waffles, mascarpone and berries.

The Nashville area has many wonderful restaurants, cafes, diners and bistros. I just wanted to let you know about two I discovered recently. Please share some of YOUR great discoveries.