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HUNTER HART
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HUNTER HART
Sixteen years ago, Nina Singto found her true calling after stepping in at her parents’ beckoning to help in the cafe side of King Market, the family business.
It was there she realized how much she loved cooking for people. This led to her open Thai Esane in 2014 (initially on 12th Ave. South be-fore moving to larger digs near Music Row in 2019). Ambitious, she followed by opening two other outposts of the much-loved restaurant (one in Brentwood, one in Assembly Food Hall, both mid-pandemic in 2021). But Singto had another concept in mind, and another part of town in her sights.
“I always wanted to go East Nashville,” she said. “And I always wanted to have a bar.” Her vision was more specific: It would be a neighborhood gathering place where the food would be globally driven—not solely the Southeast Asian fare for which she’d become known. The chef loves to travel and gets inspiration from everywhere she goes. Singto wanted to demonstrate her skills in other cuisines. She also had strong feelings about the ambiance.
“I wanted something different for East Nashville. A place with sexy Miami vibes and cocktails to match.” Once she locked in the Woodland Street location (the rebuild of the former Burger UP which was destroyed in the 2020 tornado), she approached Katie Vance of Powell Architecture + Building Studio. Vance understood and captured that essence in design beyond Singto’s dreams.
For sure, Bar East is a stunner, with undulating lines of the banquettes mirrored by the iridescent glass panels that suspend over a curved bar and the decorative abstract tiles behind it. The color palette speaks Miami Beach in turquoise, pastel pinks, and purples. The tall ceiling, white painted walls, and blond wood accents from community tables to bar top to panels add to the bar’s con-temporary sophistication. Like its predecessor, Bar East offers a sheltered side patio for outside dining. And Singto is most excited about the rooftop bar and lounge that will open in the spring. It has a view like no other on the east side.
Her operations manager, Jeran Williams, created prototypes for the cocktail program, and bar director Ashland Ghaffari took his ideas and pushed them over-the-top. Drinks are stylish and luscious, playful in name and potent in taste. Here’s a sampling: Wanna Pisco Me? combines pisco and vodka, lemongrass, and blue spirulina, topped with beet citrus foam. One cocktail sparked with “Nina Hot” (IYKYK) is called F--k Around and Find Out. Served in a flamingo shaped glass, it’s a fiery blend of mezcal, tequila, Ancho Reyes chili liqueur, and Thai chili, balanced with yuzu, lime, and grapefruit juices. It’s at once cooling and warming. You’ll laugh ordering Resting Bitch Face, but you’ll dig its savvy meld of gin, lavender, blackberry, lemon, and sage. Another mezcal-tequila based quaff, Bittersweet Love Affair, arrives complete with an edible rose.
A chef at heart, Singto reminds that even though the name is Bar East, it is a restaurant as well. Her menu brims with globe-trekking fare, all at a price point that, as she says, “won’t hurt your pockets.”
HUNTER HART
“I want to show off my cooking,” she says, gleefully. “And I want to bring all of these good things that inspired me from my travels.” Thai Esane fans will be pleased to know that longtime favorites such as Nina’s Drunken Noodles, Asian Sausage, and Crab Rangoon are on the menu. But there’s so much more to tempt you. Samosas and Curry Puffs. Teriyaki beef sliders. Miso Butter Board. Macho Tot-chos.
She’s rightfully proud of her Cheese Corn Flambé with tortilla chips. She adds rum to a skillet of scraped kernels, chilis and queso, which flames up and burns off at service. In the past, cheese had been her Achilles heel; when she competed on “Chopped” in 2020, she lost because she didn’t know what to do with a wedge of Limburger.
“Being Southeast Asian, cheese had never been part of my repertoire. But no more! I killed it on this one. It’s become a Bar East favorite.”
She also introduces a somewhat controversial yet quintessentially Hawaiian ingredient—Spam—to the menu. “Spam changed my life,” she says, laughing. A trip to Hawaii caused her to have second thoughts about the canned meat product, as she enjoyed it immensely while on the islands. Don’t be afraid of her Spam Fried Rice; replete with stir-fried broccoli, carrots, onions, eggs, and crispy cubes of spam. It is simply delicious. It’s been an exciting and fun challenge to bring this new concept to life for Singto who likes Bar East’s rhythm, a different beat than Thai Esane’s. She’s looking forward to warm weather when guests can enjoy the full range of the bar’s outdoor experiences. (Think sushi on the rooftop.) As Williams, puts it, “This is Nina’s playground, and she’s inviting you all to come out and play.” (970 Woodland St., 615-730-5472; bareastnashville.com)