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Pad Thai
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Susannah Herring and Jess Rice
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Cheesecake
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Vegan Caesar
While folks on the coasts have been riding a wave of healthy restaurants for years, Nashville has been a little slower on the uptake. Here to pave a new path, though, is Avo: a raw, vegan plant-based restaurant that's as satisfying as it is inventive.
The brainchild of raw chef and detox coach Jess Rice and Hot Yoga Plus owner Susannah Herring, Avo sits within the 'container village” at the still-under-construction OneC1ty site on Charlotte Avenue. Speckled with painted avocadosthat's where the name comes fromthe outside of the container doesn't quite reveal the scope of what sits within. But step inside and you're greeted with a bright and breezy room with plenty of windows; a living plant wall hangs behind the bar, and other greenery grows in planters throughout. (Herring's sister worked with Rice to design the space, while Rice's dad helped build the living wall.)
Though the menu is raw and vegan, there's a range of satisfying dishes for omnivores, too.
'Jess eats raw, and I eat meata lot of meat,” laughs Herring. 'So we've had to figure out what someone like me needs to eat versus [someone like] Jess, whose body is used to eating raw plant-based food.”
Together, they developed a menu of dishes that cater to people who crave comfort foodregardless of whether they eat raw. Pad Thai is a tangle of kelp, daikon, and zucchini noodles that get a kick of peppery heat from a spicy almond sauce. Lasagna is layer upon layer of fresh ingredients spread with a cashew hempseed ricotta. In both dishes, the flavors and textures are satisfying enough to make you think you've stumbled onto the healthiest version of those comforting classics. Desserts are flying out the door, toothere's a seasonal cheesecake that's as decadent as its dairy-laden counterpart.
Rice, who is a self-taught raw chef, started herself on a raw diet after years of working in the music business took a toll on her body with late nights and bad eating habits. When she saw the results on her own well-being, she began helping others and eventually traveled to Bali to become a certified detox coach. Later, she trained with plant-based foods guru Matthew Kenney in California, where she picked up the nuances of plating and layering flavors. Back in Nashville, Rice started a wholesale foods operation, selling to places like The Wild Cow and Juice Bar, which got her working with Herring doing raw food retreats through the yoga studio. Herring suggested opening a restaurant together, and when they were approached by OneC1ty, everything fell into place.
'A lot of care is taken with the food, which is all very fresh,” says Rice, adding that many of the dishes are transitional. 'People who are not used to eating raw might want to come here and try the pizza because it has that bready crust that is just so fulfilling.” (It's actually a sprouted crust.)
For both Rice and Herring, the most important element is giving customers access to filling, good food like ceviche tacos and coconut noodle ravioli. Avo also has a full bar that's 100 percent veganthe avocado margarita is like a creamy, tequila-laced smoothie. Currently open for lunch, dinner, and brunch, it will eventually offer a range of foods to go.
3001 Charlotte Ave., 615-329-2377; eatavo.com