For professional cook and food stylist Amanda Frederickson, the year 2020 will ever be memorable: and not for what happened in the pandemic, but what happened despite it.
In April, she debuted her first solo cookbook, Simple Beautiful Food, followed by the August opening of her first restaurant, Radish Kitchen. Both received rave reviews.
Radish Kitchen is tucked in West Nashville’s new office-retail-dining complex Sylvan Supply. The fast-casual concept mirrors her cookbook and exemplifies her approach to cooking. Food should be fresh, healthful, and uncomplicated, appealing to the eye and delicious to the palate. To that end, Frederickson has designed eight “Signatures” in globe-trekking flavor profiles, which can be prepared as salad, grain bowl, pita wrap. Each, too, is clearly designated with dietary concerns: vegetarian, dairy-free, contains nuts. Also, any Signature can be ordered in family-size.
Step up to the counter and place your order. (Or order online for easy takeout.) Choose your format and then your greens: spring mix, romaine, or baby kale. You’ll see the team assemble your meal in minutes. Take a safe-distance seat inside the restaurant, or outside at one of the tables on the campus terrace.
Overwhelmed by the abundance of fresh fare? Try the Hot and Crispy, a Panko-encrusted chicken breast baked to a toothsome crunch. (A recipe favorite from Frederickson’s cookbook.) Cut into strips, the chicken is arranged with Napa cabbage, pickled red onion, and sliced radishes (yes!) over greens, and finished with buttermilk ranch and a dash of hot sauce. You get the pleasure of fried chicken without the added calories.A fillet of tamari soy glazed salmon is the centerpiece of West Coast Radish, surrounded by a brilliant color wheel of veggies: avocado, edamame, carrots, tomatoes, and cukes. If you order it as a grain bowl, you’ll appreciate the juxtaposition of temperatures: warm, freshly grilled fish and quinoa-rice blend, countered by chilled vegetables and the carrot-ginger miso dressing.
Star protein of both Rad Thai and Rad Cobb salads, the steak is grilled to an ideal medium rare, and makes each rendition full and satisfying.You don’t have to be vegetarian to love the Falafel Fattoush. The herby fried discs come paired with some expected elements: chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, and romaine in a pita wrap, along with some unexpected ones. Bringing dimension to the assembly are fresh mint, crunchy garbanzos, a swipe of red pepper-walnut dip, and a side of lemon-Za’atar vinaigrette for drizzling or dunking.Of course, you may build your own wrap, salad, or bowl. With a choice of three bases, six proteins, 24 toppings and nine dressings, the variations are endless.There’s a little something for your sweet tooth—tangy, soft serve vanilla yogurt. Embellished with a drizzle of honey or cloaked in homemade chocolate magic shell, it makes a nearly guilt-free finish to your meal.
“I started Radish Kitchen because this is the way my family and I like to eat: fresh, healthy, and fast,” says Frederickson. “I am the mom of two little ones under 3 so everything needs to be fast these days. I also wanted to create a place where I could serve my food to the Nashville community in an accessible way. Radish Kitchen is truly a reflection of my cooking and my cooking style.”
Radish Kitchen, 4101 Charlotte Avenue in Sylvan Supply, Building G #10, 615-953-7058; radishkitchen.com