Five Fuzzy Facial Features

With as much travel as I do for work, I like to have some degree of consistency and reliability to my trips. Having been to Nashville many times, I have found that my hotel of choice is the Embassy Suites near Vanderbilt. Despite my frequent stays, until this week, I had yet to try the new restaurant and bar inside the hotel, Five Odd Fellows.

Passing underneath the entry sign showing five silhouettes of men with beards, mustaches, and other trendy attire, one walks into the fairly wide open bar area, with stools and tables scattered on a whole half. Their “Happiest of Hours” runs from 4 to 7 and features $3 draft beers, of which there are six, and $3 off appetizers (Bambinos on their menu). As some of you may know, Embassy Suites has a complimentary happy hour that starts at 5:30, so I usually didn’t have a reason to visit Odd Fellows, but after a long day at the office and rainy weather, I decided to try their fare.

During happy hour, rosemary, maple, and duck fat popcorn, usually $4, is brought with compliments. It’s salty, sweet, crunchy, a little sticky, and addictive. I ate the whole bowl before I knew it. The beer cheese soup I tried next was thick and rich, but not gloppy at all. It was made with a porter beer and topped with pretzel croutons and crème fraiche. It was delicious and the portion was generous, especially at the happy hour price, and it will fill you up.

Continuing my browsing of the Bambinos, I tried the duck and chicken liver pate and cheese board. The pate was served in a glass tube flanked by apples, smoked cheddar, toasted baguette and pickles. The bread and cheese tasted like something I could have bought store brand, but the pate was slightly sweetened with maple and was smooth and creamy.

Maple lacquered pork belly was also sampled, charred and crunchy on the outside, with the layers of thin fat in between the meat. The cubes were served atop pickled red onion and bibb lettuce, making for a smoky, crunchy, slightly sour lettuce wrap.

Finally, I sampled the “Drake and Boar” burger, a combination of ground duck and pork. The patty didn’t have the dripping juiciness of a high-fat beef burger, but rather a complex mélange of game, pork loin, and spice flavors that were complimented well by the lingonberry aioli smeared across the brioche bun. Served aside (very lightly topped) parmesan fries with a smoky, slightly sweet, slightly chunky bacon ketchup it served as a filling entrée.

Business travel isn’t always glamorous, but that doesn’t mean you can’t eat well and conveniently.