Chef Colby Rasavong Brings Lao Soul — and Style — to Nashville

"Set in a former church sanctuary, the spacious, stylish dining room showcases Colby Rasavong’s wine-forward Lao approach: dishes like banh xeo — a lacy crêpe stuffed with shrimp terrine and smothered with red curry oil that sits in a silken pool of peanut, coconut milk, and ginger sauce — illustrate the deliberate “dance” between condiments and explosive, cerebral flavors. I watched Rasavong work the dining room, chatting with guests as he plates soulful riffs on Southeast Asian classics and larger-format bangers such as a whole chicken broken into five shareable preparations (including soy-sauce-caramel–sauced breast, crispy wing, offal dirty rice, handmade noodles in rich carcass broth, and a standout chicken boudin flavored with Thai bird chile and lemongrass and lacquered with tamarind barbecue). His deft charcuterie — pungent sausages and pâtés — and playful items like a Thai Banana Toastie and a cheeseburger encased in French-style pithivier all pair with one of the city’s most fun wine lists, curated by owner/wine director Alex Burch and leaning on low-intervention European selections with generous 2½- and 5-ounce pours designed to encourage communal eating." - Hunter Lewis