04-03-2025
Turkey and the Wolf is now open in Nashville; here's what to order
Turkey and the Wolf Icehouse opened in East Nashville officially March 1, with customers lined up down the block before the sandwich spot even flipped over the open sign.
This is the second location of Turkey and the Wolf for chef Mason Hereford. The first, located in New Orleans, had Bon Appetit's Andrew Knowlton waxing poetic over a collard green sandwich. The writer, claiming to have been rendered "drunk on mayo," also declared Turkey and the Wolf America's Best New Restaurant for 2017.
Except it wasn't just the mayo's influence. Food and Wine magazine recognized Turkey and the Wolf as one of the most important restaurants of the decade and declared, "This goofy-ass place is seriously excellent."
The place is seriously goofy, which is part of what makes it so charming. You may be handed a unicorn on a stick instead of a number to mark your table. Your cocktail may arrive in a Winnie the Pooh glass, your sandwich on a collectible McDonald's plate.
The opening menu is small, with additions to come, but for now your order is obvious: get that collard green sandwich. It's vaguely Reuben-like with its toasted rye, cherry pepper Russian dressing and melty Swiss cheese. There's also some crunchy slaw and then the umami-rich, slow-cooked collards that make this sandwich what it is. And this is a sandwich you need in your life.
And also don't sleep on that spicy-sweet cabbage salad, with thinly sliced jalapeños and a dressing of coconut milk, fish sauce and Sriracha punched up with lime, herbs, tamarind. It's finished with fried garlic and toasted sesame seeds and it's simply fantastic.
Not as show-stopping but still very good is the restaurant's wedge salad, which comes absolutely smothered with garlicky everything bagel seasoning, blue cheese dressing, fresh dill and crunchy bits of bacon over perfectly chilled iceberg lettuce. It's perfectly refreshing.
The restaurant's Mama Tried burger, an ode to a Big Mac, special sauce and all (which is undoubtedly Duke's heavy), is exactly what you'd expect: a messy, drippy burger that you want to eat on Turkey and the Wolf's huge, pretty outdoor space which will surely be full at all times when the weather warms.
The bologna sandwich is massive, and served on slabs of buttery toasted white bread. It's texturally fantastic with its shredded iceberg lettuce, crisp house-made potato chips and fried bologna, though the sweet-hot mustard is sweeter than you'd expect.
More additions to the menu are on the way.
You can buy beer by the bucket from Bud to Bell's Two-Hearted. There are some basic mixed drinks including a Ford's gin and tea with lemon and a Barq's and Buffalo Trace bourbon.
There are more frozen drinks coming in time for the warmer weather. But for now grab yourself a seriously refreshing frozen French 75, a sweet, lemony gin and champagne concoction, frozen and blended.
It's perfect for a lazy weekend afternoon.
What: Turkey and the Wolf Icehouse is now open. It has an expansive lawn full of picnic tables and a heated tented seating area near the kitchen. Dogs and children are welcome.
Where: 800 Meridian St.
When: Hours are limited for now, but will expand. Currently, the restaurant is open 11 a.m.-4 p.m., closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville restaurant: NOLA-based Turkey and the Wolf open; what to eat
