A very improbable example of the current Nashville restaurant scene expansion played out this year at Fonda, a recent entry into Mexican dining in the 12 South neighborhood. Fonda is a higher end destination serving authentic Mexican cuisine that represents a departure from Tex-Mex and an attempt to show the depth of Mexican culinary tradition. Starting in New York City and then expanding to Tokyo, the owners (one of whom is Jewish) felt that Nashville was an appropriate next location. What they brought to Music City was also a desire to innovate and share what was successful in New York—an original interpretation of classic Passover tradition and dishes that paid homage to their origin but also lent themselves to be represented by the breadth of Mexican culinary heritage.
It turns out that chopped liver can be enhanced by salsa verde (a tomatilla sauce) with chopped hand-boiled egg. The charoses, made with pepitas, coriander, dates, honey and apples and pear in a chunky rendition, was delicious. The pickled salmon appetizer with chiles was remarkable. All were gobbled up quickly and with relish. A surprising interpretation of matzoh ball soup using pasilla chiles and epazote was a great success notwithstanding the rich red color departure from the classic clear broth we are all familiar with. The mains dishes were also a very pleasant surprise. Who would have thought that a brisket a la Mexicana served with a mole poblano sauce would be so successful. Which is not to diminish the salmon with a chile ancho mole sauce. What is remarkable was the ability of this menu to balance the heat level to accommodate even the most sensitive palates.
Accompanying the mains were broccolini, roasted carrots, and kugel. In sum, a delightfully thought-out meal that was truly unique and mind-expanding. Appropriate Passover wine options were also offered even though our group couldn’t avoid washing things down with some satisfying margaritas.
Our group of six went to Fonda to support the initiative, the first of its kind that we can remember being offered in Nashville within the past 50 years. The food was available both as take out or for dining at Fonda. We greeted two other families also enjoying the seder dining. We enjoyed the ambience that the restaurant has managed to achieve. What we didn’t expect was such a revolutionary expansion of our culinary experience and the high level of gastronomic enjoyment. We can only hope this is just the first expression of classic Jewish cuisine in the Nashville culinary market. Kudos to Fonda!
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