The new bar menu at Napa Café in East Memphis offers a number of memorable small plates, but to start, remember three words: Smoked Trout Tart. Although dainty in appearance, the tart is rich and satisfying from a blended filling of mascarpone, cream cheese, and smoked trout inside a delightful pecan crust. On top of each slice, horseradish whipped cream and a sprinkle of capers shape a playful finish, and alongside, a peppery salad of arugula and crispy leeks is dressed with a bright vinaigrette.
Justin Fox Burks
The Smoked Trout Tart at Napa Café features a blended filling of mascarpone, cream cheese, and smoked trout in a pecan crust.
Owner Glenda Hastings calls the shareable plates a “Taste Around the World” because each dish explores ingredients and cooking techniques from different global cuisines. Consider the menu’s goat cheese, coated with tempura batter, deep-fried, and drizzled with black pepper honey, or Zen Guacamole, inspired by Asian seasonings and served with taro root chips. Blackened catfish, a Southern favorite, gets re-imagined, as well, stuffed into wontons and plated with tomato bacon gravy. And for a mini-trip to Thailand? Try Thai Basil Steak on rice with spicy “pucker up” sauce. “I love Thai food,” Hastings says, with her signature enthusiasm. “It’s my favorite.”
Justin Fox Burks
Justin Fox Burks
Justin Fox Burks
Justin Fox Burks
Hastings, who opened Napa Café 20 years ago, credits her collaborative cooking team, headed by Victor Williams and Mike Schwarz, with interpreting her vision, inspired by travel and her own eclectic tastes. Candied Millionaire’s Bacon, served slightly chilled in a copper mug, followed a trip to San Francisco where Hastings tried a similar dish made with pork belly. For Napa, she used bacon and added more spice for a feisty nibble with seasonal cocktails or the restaurant’s celebrated wine list: “It’s a little savory, a little sweet, and a little spice. One bite, and you’ve got what you need in life.”
Priced from $5 to $9, the menu’s dozen or so plates (tacos! creamy gnocchi! firecracker shrimp tacos!) are served at Napa’s horseshoe-shaped bar and at the armchair seating and row of banquettes nearby. As Hastings explains: “We want people to come in, not just for special occasions and rehearsal dinners, but for a quick bite to eat from a menu that has a little bit of everything.”
Napa Café, 5101 Sanderlin Center(901-683-0441)
