Just driving onto the property at Southall Farm & Inn will set your shoulders at ease. Surrounded by the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee, the 300+-acre property occupies its own private holler. The starkly modern architecture of the inn and event buildings stands out against the pastoral setting, which houses a manicured kitchen garden, hillside apple orchard, greenhouses, and man-made pond.
This idyllic backdrop sets the scene for January, Southall’s main restaurant, which overlooks the property through floor-to-ceiling windows and pulls much of its inspiration (and ingredients) from right outside the door. Pass through the hotel’s all-day cafe and bar, Sojourner, and you’ll come into the dining room, a study in modern farmhouse chic with a vaulted ceiling, a striking fireplace, mod lighting, and a marble counter framing the open kitchen. It took more than 6 years to develop Southall’s agricultural elements, all to serve as a resource for January’s kitchen team. Chefs Andrew Klamar and Nate Leonard lead the charge, pulling products from the greenhouses, fields, preservation room, orchard, and beehives right outside.
The menu changes daily—an illustration on each menu even marks that evening’s moon cycle—but remains rooted in classic techniques. There are excellent Parker House rolls, standing like puffy soldiers in a linen-lined basket (the accompanying butter is folded with Southall honey) and a decadent Parisienne gnocchi set atop a bed of spinach, bacon lardons, and gruyere. You might find a sweet potato and apple soup studded with edible flowers and trout roe or oysters served “chowder style” with the meat removed from its shell, cooked into a chowder, and returned to the shell with a housemade oyster cracker on top. Seafood dishes shine at January, like a succulent cut of arctic char hidden under a ring of fresh greens and flowers and settled into a pecan salsa macha. And flavors shine bright in mains like a short rib served on the bone under a cloak of green curry and lime sauce. The pastries change often and are exceptional, too.
The extensive wine list at January might be one of the area’s most impressive collections—true aficionados can take their turn on a vertical from the extensive list of Burgundies. Cocktails like the spiced old-fashioned incorporate ingredients from the property, too. Meanwhile, service is pointedly personal and welcoming without being overwhelming—a detail that attracts locals as well as guests of the resort.
