Last week, I reviewed two restaurant highlights from my recent trip to Nashville. Music City is booming, and the historic downtown is dotted with construction sites. Trendy restaurants are a natural byproduct of the effort to turn the town into a year-round convention destination, and many of those establishments are similar.

I focused on two that are different. Etch was the brainchild of Deb Paquette, a CIA graduate who has been leading the culinary charge in Nashville for three decades. One local described it as “a party in your mouth,” which is close to the truth. The menu is creative, dishes are cooked perfectly and artfully presented, and the wine list is thoughtful and well-chosen. The Southern Steak and Oyster Bar successfully bridges the gap between funk and fusion, not an easy thing to do. It has something for everyone: freshly shucked oysters, locally grown produce, direct-sourced seafood and beef, and wood-fired grill powered by salvaged hickory.

Last week we also introduced a new column, Glass Half Full, which is a roundup of the most interesting wine, spirits and food stories on the web---all of which are selected from our usual snarky and humorous perspective.

Here are last week’s posts:

Etch Restaurant, Nashville

Glass Half Full: 6/15/2017

The Southern Steak and Oyster Bar, Nashville