The Deer and the Dove, with its game-focused, whole-animal-celebrating menu, is an adventurous diner’s dream—but even if you’re more traditional, it’s the place to take a risk and try something new. Acclaimed chef Terry Koval knows his way around all parts of quite a few animals, along with plenty about how to pair them with fresh produce. He makes anything unusual or unfamiliar on the menu far beyond edible and well into the territory of delicious. Koval, winner of the 2023 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast, provides a menu that is a feast to read, as well as eat from, with six sections and more than 30 offerings.
We highly recommend starting with one of the openers: several different boards that comprise vegetables, local cheese, house-cured salumi, or all of the above, with delicious seasonal treats like thick-cut mortadella studded with pistachios, Sequatchie Cove Coppinger with its ash-threaded center, pesto hummus, and apple butter. These openers pair perfectly with a bottle of “Thoughtful House Wine,” such as the red blend from Abruzzo, Italy. On the “plants” side of the menu, the weekly salad pickings are always a good idea, especially when accompanied by fermented black garlic buttermilk dressing.
To continue your very own tasting menu, move on to small plates: coffee-dusted seared venison, two pieces served perfectly medium-rare and accompanied by seasonal vegetables, is the height of game sophistication and the perfect portion to save room for the “novelties” section of the menu, with options like grilled beef tongue, beef heart tartare, sweetbreads, and bone marrow + snails. You can’t go wrong here, but the beef tongue, shaved thin and served crudo style with a trout tonnato sauce, is superb, earthy, and utterly devourable.
If you’re feeling more traditional, there’s still plenty available. Among the larger format plates, the burger is a great place to start: a flavorful patty of dry-aged beef richly slathered with thyme mayo, truffle cheese, and bordelaise and topped with mushrooms and caramelized onions. There’s also pasta such as crab-stuffed tortellini; seafood from Spanish octopus to whole trout with clam escabeche; duck, pheasant, lamb…the list goes on.
Believe it or not, we had room for dessert, and the tahini caramel cake with buttercream icing has a hint of savory to complement the dinner menu. You can also go French with crème caramel or the dessert cheese plate, or Southern with a fried apple pie.
Koval says this slow food kitchen is his dream restaurant, and as a result it’s also a diner’s dream to eat locally produced food in the cozy, rustic space perfect for a special occasion or a regular weekly dinner.
And Tuesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., you can get a bagel breakfast sandwich and locally roasted coffee at next door sister spot B-Side, along with pastries and café lunch fare.
