Wild Iris

   I feel terrible that it has literally taken me two months to get to this post!  Wild Iris must be done justice, though, so I couldn't just slap something together. It was Valentine's Day, well, the day before.  V-day is generally known to me as my parents' anniversary.  I guess they felt bad for me dealing with the beginnings of what has turned into an absolute nightmare and the fact that Louis was still in Afghanistan so they forced me to go with them.  I'm really not joking about the forced part.  I didn't want to go, I wanted to stay home and work.  When we got there the hostess almost had a fit because three people showed up for a reservation for two.  The place was packed (it's not a very big place) but the man who ended up being our waited glanced at the schedule and quickly rearranged a couple things.  So, first thing's first, make reservations.

  Upset as I was, the first bite of food sent all my problems away for the night.  The salad was literally the best salad that I have ever had.  It's funny that the menu refers to it as the "baby arugula" salad.  It is so much more!  It had pecan crusted roasted beets, sage goat cheese, bourbon figs, and a Tabasco sorghum vinaigrette.  It sounds like everything would compete against the other elements, but the flavor profiles are similar enough with the basic theme of sweet, salty, savory so it all works together.  The vinaigrette is very light; it almost disappears.  There is just enough to bridge the elements with the fresh, peppery lettuce.  The pecan crusted beets are one if the best things I have ever eaten.  If you don't think you like beets, these will change your mind.

   My dad ordered the antipasto platter.  This is something that could have gone very boring, but just reading the description, you know it's going to be something special.

"Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus, Salami Boursin Cheese Roulades, Country Olives,

Sundried Tomato Relish, Manchego, Caper Berries"

The salami is an artisan sausage.  The creamy, herby boursin cheese is homemade as is the beautifully sweet and tangy sundried tomato relish.  The caper berries are giant.  Literally.  And there was a tiny surprise on the side of the plate.  White anchovies.  Wow.  I can't say these are for everyone, but they are so amazing!  Briny, fishy goodness that automatically makes you think of the Mediterranean.

   For the entree, my mom had the scallops with roasted garlic gnocchi.  It sounds like a strange combination but it was delicious.  The super soft gnocchi somehow go perfectly with the diver scallops.  The menu said there was a mushroom broth, but it was more like a ragout.  It is to die for either way!  My dad had the cashew crusted salmon with butternut squash ravioli, fig jam, and a chimichurri salad.  Again, things that sound odd together, but work in a way that can't fully be explained.  Normally, I am not a huge fan of nut crusts.  They can be scorched and bitter and often the texture just isn't right.  Wild Iris can go ahead and crust their entire menu with nuts for all I care because they have perfected it!  (I don't have pictures because the lighting in the restaurant is limited and I was getting frustrated of just getting totally unusable crap worse than the antipasto pic, lol!  Also, we all wanted to eat.)
   
   I had the herb crusted tuna with spaghetti squash rollatini stuffed with portabellos, broccolini and ricotta salata with roasted red pepper and black truffle buerre blanc.  The tuna was not actually herb crusted; at least, not at all what I would ever consider to be herb crusted.  It was well seasoned and cooked to a perfect medium-rare.  Those two things are the most important elements of good tuna anyway.  The flavors in the rollatini were wonderfully balanced.  However, it was a little over salted.  The sauce.... yeah, that's a lick your plate kind of sauce. 

    Dessert is not something I usually order out, but when you go to a nice place.... You have to do it.  The menu was pretty standard:  creme brule, chocolate torte, cheesecake, blah blah blah, boring.  Then our waiter mentioned the last dessert.  Banana Pudding Cheesecake.  Yes please!  It sounded too good to turn down.  The crust is vanilla wafers and bananas are pureed into the cheese base.  Fresh whip cream and caramel sauce finish it off.  Decadent and heavenly.  *Sigh*

Wild Iris

127 Franklin Road

Brentwood, TN

615-370-0871