Split Identity

Like Clark Kent, Elliston Place eatery switches from mild-mannered breakfast/lunch joint to sophisticated dining establishment

by Kay West

Le Peep Grille & Ombi Bar, 2214 Elliston Place, 320-5350. photo: ericengland.net
 

Late on a Saturday morning, Le Peep Grille & Ombi Bar are buzzing with energy, awash in sunshine pouring through the windows that front Elliston Place at one end of the shotgun space. Youthful servers in basic black zigzag briskly between the long wooden banquette that climbs the wall to arch overhead like a roof and the blond wood tables lined up against the steel mesh curtain that delineates Le Peep Grille from Ombi Bar. There is not an empty seat in the main dining room, populated by a 0-to-60 demographic that could be the cast in a Target store ad.

At one table, an attractive older woman with steel-gray hair has one leg extended onto the lap of her handsome and similarly aged dining companion, who tenderly wraps his hand around her bare foot as they lean across their eggs Benedict and omelet to exchange a brief, happy kiss. Across from them, two couples and two toddlers are squeezed into one table; a high chair pulled up to one end contains a baby, though not her plump little arms, which toss shredded pancake and potato onto the floor below. Next to them, two tables are pushed together to accommodate a party of nine casually dressed twentysomethings who appear to have dragged themselves out of bed for the purpose of ordering something to absorb the alcohol from the night before, and some hair of the dog for good measure.

Behind the gleaming copper bar that fronts the grill and warming racks, a half-dozen cooks are engaged in the frenetic choreography and controlled chaos of a slammed kitchen, weaving in and out of one another’s way as they juggle sauté pans and plates. It all composes a cheery tableau, fun to be a part of, no matter which role you play.

The following Wednesday at 9 p.m., the same dining room, now dimly lit by chic overhead lamps, is nearly empty, the spare still-life composition broken by three tables of two diners apiece. At the bar on the Ombi side, a half-dozen chicly dressed and coiffed young men and women study the martini menu, asking model-handsome bar manager Terry Raley for a recommendation.

That’s the night-and-day difference at Le Peep/Ombi, which opened last May on the site where T.G.I. Friday’s long stood. for years, the building anchored one end of what was known as the Rock Block, in the days when the Exit/In was the only game in town for cutting-edge live music. While the bands play on at the Exit/In and The End, and the Gold Rush still fuels up a scruffy crowd of musicians and students with cold beer and bean rolls, the block doesn’t rock like it did two decades ago. The crowds that swarmed the street way back then are now tucked into bed well before the first show starts, and their kids have a slew of entertainment options to choose from in Music City 2006.

Everyone has more dining options these days, too, a fact the Le Peep/Ombi owners are well aware of. Weekdays, their intent was to draw upon the large medical community that works in the blocks north of Elliston; though the Monday through Friday breakfast business doesn’t tally the same numbers as weekends, midday always bustles, with most patrons forgoing the breakfast menu for lunch items like salads, burgers (thumbs up to the house version, which comes topped with a fried egg), pita sandwiches and a revival of Ireland’s classic steak and biscuits.

The 20-year-old Le Peep chain has more than 70 locations in 15 states. This is the second Le Peep in Nashville; the Belle Meade store opened seven years ago and serves only breakfast and lunch, closing daily at 2:30 p.m. The parent company allowed local investors to add their own Ombi concept to the Elliston Place location.

The breakfast menu is standardized by Le Peep’s corporate kitchen, which goes so far as to register and trademark several items on their website menus, including the Gooey Buns, Mom’s Sassy Apples, crepes, some omelets and scrambled eggs, and the “signature” Peasant potatoes. Le Peep franchises are contractually obligated to serve this last item, a pile of pitiful diced ’taters. Eaten as a side dish, they are not worth the effort it takes to stab them with a fork and lift them to your mouth. They are put to much better use as the foundation of a Skillet, which then adds two basted eggs and various items like cheese, chopped bacon, ham, mushrooms and other veggies. Four out of five hangover sufferers recommend the Desperado Skillet, a pile-on of chorizo, green chilies, salsa, cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses; shake some hot sauce on that baby and sweat out those nasty toxins.

When the clock strikes 4, Le Peep begins to morph into Ombi, a modern, sophisticated environment for cocktails and dining. Concrete, granite, steel, aluminum, copper and glass are the elements in dashing designer Patrick Avice du Buisson’s tool box; framed and hung on the rear wall of the bar are blow-ups of his first scribblings for the plan. The layout, from front to rear, features a small lounge of high tops, the main bar, the open kitchen and copper bar (which seats five), and a private dining room/media room with a tall table for 12. If a group hasn’t reserved the private room, singles and small groups can be seated there to mingle with other singles and small groups—a MySpace for diners. The most requested seating on the Ombi side of the room is at the long, tall rectangle of concrete and steel that straddles the interior and patio; the glass door that cleaves it in two is raised as soon as the weather warms.

The evening menu has kept most of the starters put in place by opening chef Anthony Bates, such as the chicken Parmesan egg roll, served aside a pool of tomato puree swirled with basil oil; the cheese-and-olive plate; bruschetta with earthy tomato-and-olive tapenade; skinny fries served in a sundae glass with three dipping sauces; and a shrimp cocktail that has changed its summer condiment of cool melon salsa to a spicy Bloody Mary sauce. Build your own cocktail supper in the lounge with three or four of these, or one plate of the brawny Colossal Onion Rings, hand-cut, wrist-band-sized slices of sweet, fresh onion dunked in tempura batter, deep-fried to a golden turn and delivered to the table steaming hot. These already are a leading contender in the fried food category in the Scene’s 2006 Best of Nashville issue.

New chef Josh Tallman, most recently of Martha’s at the Plantation—as fine an incubator for young talent as one could hope for—is still feeling his way through the short entrée list, but bless his heart for replacing the skinless, boneless chicken breast with the perfectly crisped, fragrantly herbed, butter-basted roasted half-chicken, which he lays astride a mound of creamy risotto studded with meaty mushrooms and roasted chunks of butternut squash, a bistro-type dish that works beautifully. The mahimahi, on the other hand, should desperately be seeking another side; the wild-mushroom cream sauce that swathed the black-pepper fettuccine was so glutinous it took my fork prisoner and completely overwhelmed the fish. Ubiquitous and frequently dull salmon gets a kick with an infusion of cilantro and nestles up to a circle of creamy smoked cheddar polenta, which benefits from a dollop of roasted red pepper hollandaise. The fresh catch special one night was superb: trout, lightly breaded in ground almonds, pan-fried in butter and simply seasoned with coarse salt and cracked pepper. Specials allow a developing chef to fly solo; time will tell how Tallman does in his first turn as pilot. So far, his passengers are enjoying a smooth ride, but he should also be encouraged to try out some loop-de-loops just for the fun of it.

Thanks to its national and local reputation as a reliable, comfortable and affordable choice for breakfast and lunch, Le Peep thrives by day. When darkness falls, Ombi shines with its dramatic design, stylish decor, hip vibe and custom menu, though thus far, its attributes have been discovered by too few. The Rock Block isn’t what it used to be, and never will be again, but given a chance and a new direction, Elliston Place is well-positioned to reclaim its slice of Nashville nightlife, and Ombi is a fine place to start.