Adele's
Waxman is most known for his appearances on Top Chef Masters, but also for being a pioneer of California cuisine and for his hip rustic Italian restaurant Barbuto in New York City's West Village.
That's where he first made a real connection with Nashville: Hometown rock star Caleb Followill of Kings of Leon started dining regularly at Barbuto whenever he was in Manhattan. The rocker and the chef developed a close friendship, and Waxman began to come to Nashville to spend time with the Kings, who share the same representation with Waxman in the form of Vector Management co-president Ken Levitan.
"I really wanted to do a new casual restaurant, and Caleb advised, 'You should do it in Nashville!'" Waxman says. "So I started looking for a place."