I respect that.It’s no secret that Tennessee has a great food scene, but not as many people know that the Volunteer State also has more than its fair share of iconic bars as well. She made sure there was plenty of space between us. To fully respect social-distancing guidelines, my server placed my water glass on the table next to me to allow me to reach for it after she walked off. To meet pandemic guidelines, the restaurant is at limited capacity for seating, and servers wore masks at all times. The long bar at the front of the restaurant, large booths along the wall and plenty of outdoor seating with heaters allow for good social distancing. So the space complements the temporary change in menu.īooth dividers have glass embedded with a natural design, and the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows bring the outside in. Interestingly, the original architecture at Flying Squirrel brings nature into play, much like buildings in Japan do. Where: Flying Squirrel, 55 Johnson St.Hours: 5-9 p.m. I'm telling you, this is my new favorite food. It comes on a plate with Japanese mayo and a drizzle of black garlic molasses. For a local touch, Springer Mountain chicken is marinated and dredged in a batter of egg and potato starch, then fried twice to get it really crispy. While on the subject of comfort food, what about fried chicken? In Japan, they call it karaage. It translates simply into "grilled how you like it." Sounds like comfort food to me.Īt Flying Squirrel, it's assembled like a pizza, with a "crust" of cabbage and onions battered and grilled then topped with oko sauce and lots of fun things, like toasted sesame seeds, glazed shiitake mushrooms, orange peel, pickled ginger and more. Too bad I was on my own, because half the fun is seeing the expression on your mate's face when he or she tries different foods for the first time, such as the Japanese pancake - okonomiyaki. When combined with the delicious broth and topped with local mushrooms from 2 Angels Farms, a little kale and pickled bean sprouts, along with a marinated 6-minute egg - or not, if you're vegan - it's a thing of wonder.Īt Flying Squirrel, the dishes are meant for sharing. The shiitake-seaweed base is seasoned with tare, a blend of soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar. He tried a dozen times before it came out right, with the exact blend of seasonings and heat to bring it to perfection.Ĭontributed Photo by Anne Braly / Flying Squirrel's ramen, created by executive chef Sanders Parker, has a shiitake-seaweed base seasoned with tare (a blend of soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar), then topped with mushrooms, kale and pickled bean sprouts. Executive chef Sanders Parker says he took the "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again" approach when coming up with the recipe. I was especially impressed by the ramen, the best I've ever had. The ingredients complement each other for explosions of flavor. But once you get beyond that, you're in for food that excites the palate. For starters, the names of dishes are unfamiliar to most of us in the area and largely difficult to pronounce unless you're fluent in the Japanese language. While restaurant officials considered temporarily changing the name to the Flying Squid, they later said they decided not to over worries it would cause confusion and lead to limitations. In this case, the Southside eatery will be adding more Japanese favorites in addition to its regular menu. Flying Squirrel is a culinary chameleon, changing its menu with the season.
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