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HOT PROPERTY modern southern. Think biscuit bars and a ham station with hams from local farmers, both of which make little epicurean hearts go pitter-patter. A few memorable Kitchen Notes include the seasonal biscuits (October featured pumpkin and chocolate), cracklin' pork shank, Tennessee patty melt and deviled eggs—garnished with okra, naturally. Several Tennessee spirits make appearances in the cuisine, including George Dickel No. 8 in the onions on the moonshine burger, triple-smoked Corsair Gin in caramel and Whisper Creek Tennessee Sipping Cream in the Omni's chocolate pecan bar. Going Live Down the hall, y'all, is Barlines, Omni Nashville's live music venue where baked Tennessee ham and cheese, pimento cheese and artichoke dip and savory pork belly flatbread have guests stopping in for a cocktail and staying for dinner. Barlines live acts like Hillbilly Casino and other rising Nashville stars jam on the concert stage as guests imbibe sprits carefully selected from the Tennessee whiskey trail. Southerners love anything with the word "county" in it, so one of the most popular drinks is the Lincoln County Maple Smash cocktail with George Dickel No. 8, grade B maple syrup, muddled lemons and mint served over crushed ice. The Moonshine Marmalade Fizz or Bee's Knees are also stellar concoctions. Usual suspect spirits like Jack Daniels and Corsair are flanked by strong local spirits from Popcorn Sutton, Whisper Creek, Bell Meade, Prichard's, Short Mountain and Collier & McKeel. Around the corner from Barlines is Bongo Java, a destination coffee shop where the music business glitterati and Nashville natives fuel up on lattes. The hotel is directly connected to the Country Music Hall of Fame, one of Nashville's coolest attractions. In addition to the team of chefs, leading the Omni Nashville's F&B magic includes Director of Food and Beverage Rod Gopiao and Director of Operations Dawn Southworth, both recruited to come to Nashville to join Director of Sales and Marketing Tod Roadarmel and Marketing Manager Kellie Keys, who also curates the art at the hotel. Mixed drinks at Omni Nashville are often based on locally-made products, such as this cocktail made with Corsair Gin. "Nashville is all about music and entertainment, and people in Nashville love to eat," says Gopiao, who brings a jovial nature to the job he clearly loves. "There is an element of sincerity here that's just innate, which is refreshing." The training program for dinner service includes allowing servers to work closely in the kitchen with the chefs for a week so they can inspire guests. Native Pride Southworth says Nashville natives are so proud of their town and the hotel is all about embracing that pride. "It's amazing to be able to work in a bar setting and for it to truly be about this city, from the menu to the food items to where it all comes from including spirited libations," she says. Roadarmel shares her enthusiasm and says the Omni Nashville is now home to some of the city's iconic brands, like Bongo Java. "The passion for coffee in Nashville is second to none. Here self-professed coffee geeks combine the science of coffee brewing and research; you almost have to have a degree in history to do it, but the locals in Nashville love it," he says. Several Omni Nashville cocktails are seasonal. This past December, for the holidays, Southworth's team put some Tennessee flair on an old egg nog recipe with Whisper Creek Tennessee Sipping Cream, a local distiller from Speakeasy Spirits. "The food here in Nashville is very authentic—it reminds me of Denver before it went through a high energy boom—and being a part of the growth of Nashville is an honor," says Harker. "These restaurants could stand on their own outside of the hotel." www.omnihotels.com 64 / the tasting panel / january 2014 TP0114_034-65.indd 64 12/19/13 9:29 PM