Nathan Zucker
Last spring, fans of Firefly Grille were saddened by owner Curt Cole’s announcement that he would close his quirky Green Hills eatery. For more than 17 years, diners had tucked into the cottage, one of the few remaining on Bandywood Drive, for his modern American cuisine served with a funky New Orleans vibe. Firefly was known for its hodge-podge décor of twinkle lights, Mardi Gras beads, Tibetan prayer flags, tinsel, paper lanterns, decoupaged posters, and photos. After 40 years in restaurant service (Cole was a founding partner of Midtown Café), and facing some health concerns, the native Nashvillian was ready to retire.
But, when hospitality is in your blood, and a health issue becomes miraculously corrected, retirement feels dull. Cole missed his restaurant life. Reinvigorated, he felt ready for a comeback. He gave the Bandywood cottage a makeover inside and out and christened it with a new name: Cole’s Kitchen.
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Nathan Zucker
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Nathan Zucker
Gone are the red doors, dark walls, and jumble of kitsch. In this iteration, Cole’s has a clean and minimal look—the outside is sleek charcoal; the interior rooms are opened up and brightened in white. Billed as “your home away from home,” it offers a handwritten menu (just as it had for Firefly) that combines down home and upscale comforts within a moderate price range. It’s the kind of place where, lunch or dinner, you can come in for a glass of wine and an order of mussels in garlicky broth, a comforting plate of roast chicken over brie-laced mashed potatoes, a casual meal of burger, skinny fries, and a brew, or a vegetable plate. A round up of squash casserole, collards, glazed carrots, and white truffle mac-cheese could be just what you need.
Entrees include healthful options such as the seared salmon and asparagus on polenta cake in a pool of tomato-arugula jus. Hearty appetites will relish the 18-ounce double-cut pork chop, served atop a puree of sweet potatoes and crowned with creamed kale.
For dessert, look no further than Ann’s Coconut Cake, which is like the best from-scratch treat your grandmother might have made. It was a favorite back in the Firefly Grille days, and continues today. You can get a whole cake, or slices to carry home.
In a time when the small indie restaurant has become an endangered species, it’s heartening that Cole had the gumption to come back, and give diners a modern but homey choice.
Cole’s Kitchen, 2201 Bandywood Dr., 615-383-0042; colesnashville.com