Named for a Bully™ train, Prime 108 pulls a fresh dining experience into Union Station

 {mosimage}Prime 108 is not a steakhouse. The name alludes not to a grade of beef, but to a train called The Bully 108, the first engine to come through Nashville’s Union Station. One-hundred-and-seven years after chugging into the city’s central shed, Prime 108 now lends its name to the culinary centerpiece of the newly renovated Union Station Hotel.

When a new ownership group, including Florida-based Turnberry Associates and local Corner Partnership, took over Union Station two years ago to launch a $10 million overhaul of the historic property, they also took the matter of the hotel restaurant into their own hands. Rather than rely on a restaurant tenant—such as Arthur’s, which had previously served as the hotel’s on-site dining room—the team opted to build a new proprietary concept. Aptly named chef Tom Cook, who oversaw room service and catering during the yearlong redo, took the helm of the revamped property’s food and beverage service. With Cook as executive chef, Theresa Everette—formerly of Cakewalk Café, Bound’ry, Zola and F. Scott’s—heads Prime 108’s lunch and dinner, and Jeff Lewis oversees breakfast.

With three distinct menus and a kitchen open from the crack of dawn to nearly midnight, Prime 108 offers one of the city’s most comprehensive serving schedules outside of a 24-hour diner. And while it might take some getting used to the idea of a casual fine-dining experience in the location of the staid, dinner-only Arthur’s, Union Station is poised to become an all-day dining destination.

Few restaurants have an approach as impressive as the walk through the hotel’s grand lobby to the doors of Prime 108. Dallas-based luxury-hotel designers ForrestPerkins revamped the historic hall, with excruciating attention to detail and respect for the turn-of-the-century craftsmanship. The 65-foot-long barrel-vaulted ceiling has been restored to showcase the intricate stained glass, whose decorative motif has been replicated in a stone mosaic around the lobby floor. Clean lines, highly polished woods and a restrained riot of colors—more merlot, cranberry and chartreuse than a traditional oriental-carpet palette—update the interior and bring warmth to the cavernous proportions of the room, which despite being a private hotel, stirs a sense of civic pride.

Around 10 a.m. on a recent dreary morning, we sauntered down from the Scene office to check out the breakfast offerings at Prime 108. In the brightly lit room fronting Broadway, the restaurant offers a cheery morning meal, with omelets, pancakes, a breakfast panini with Benton’s prosciutto, French toast and fresh-squeezed juice. Oatmeal soufflé put an elegant spin on a meal of rustic roughage—a bowl of plump, moist oats and cranberries steaming below a crispy top layer of cereal. And we swooned over a generous bowl of piping-hot, puffy beignets drizzled with local “moonshine” honey.

{mosimage}

As the only diners in the restaurant at that odd hour (with the notable exception of Mark Bloom, one of the hotel’s owners, who has been a fixture in the building since it reopened), we found ourselves sinking into comfortable chairs, gazing up at the stained-glass lunettes and lingering over coffee, hypnotized by an undulating soundtrack that would be at home in the meditation antechamber of a new-age spa. The meal, which clocked in at $24 for two before tip, was on the pricey side as breakfast goes. But looked at another way, it was pampered luxury within affordable reach.

Our lunch experience did not leave us with the same glow. The most attractive of our meals, seared scallops, arrived on a long rectangular plate, with a flight of three scallops settled on colorful nests of delicate homemade pasta. The scallops, which lacked any brown seared edge, were overcooked in the center and tinged with a metallic aftertaste, and the overriding flavor of the meal was butter.

The chicken salad panini with spinach, mozzarella and lemon-pesto aioli, served with delicious homemade potato chips, was an appealing sandwich in and of itself, but not worthy of its august surroundings—or its $11 price tag. Another attractive presentation, the American Prime Beef Sliders, arrived with three small burgers topped with portobello mushrooms and pimiento cheese, plated with decadent onion rings. Unlike their more famous fast-food namesakes, these thick burgers were charred on the outside and dry on the inside, resulting in sandwiches that could more appropriately be dubbed “lodgers.”

In the early days of the restaurant’s reincarnation, the open-plan room with 22-foot ceilings still lacks a human scale, a fact our servers were quick to address without prompting. Banquettes are on the way for the center of the room, the chandeliers will be lowered, and the fireplace will burn during the winter—all of which should lend more intimacy to the formidable space.

But while the dining room still lacks warmth, the richness of the lobby pours into the adjacent cozy lounge, which is at once contemporary and congruous with its historic home. With black lacquered floors, a glowing blue wine cooler and sumptuous seating areas of low chairs and sofas in rich leathers and fabrics, the space updates the idea of “clubby” with modern lines and decor that are equally feminine and masculine—not to mention smoke-free. At one end of the room, a portrait of Jack Nicholson with his menacing “Here’s Johnny” grin leers knowingly at guests.

When we first asked if we could dine in the bar, we were told yes and were given an abbreviated menu that was virtually the same as the lunch menu. When we prodded, we were told that, of course, we could order from the full dinner menu.

Depending on the size of your party, dinner at the bar is the best way to enjoy Prime 108. Grab faux-crocodile stools at the bar, tufted with green silk and topped with black granite, and ask sommelier Ryan Peck what’s good. An alumnus of Capitol Grille, Peck knows his food and wine and is happy to pick out the perfect pinot to bring out the cranberries in the pork. (If you want a friend for life, ask Peck for a bottle of Kendall Jackson—Prime 108 inherited the wine collection from its predecessor, and Peck is just waiting to drink down the KJ to free up space for more boutique wines.)

From the list of specialty cocktails, we ordered a margarita (Patron Silver tequila, Cointreau and fresh lime juice) and a 24-Karat martini (vanilla vodka, Amaretto, Chambord, Rose’s lime and O.J.), which reminded us—fondly, actually—of the childhood cough lozenges Sucrets.

We started the meal with the litmus test of crab cakes. A series of three plump, meaty cakes arrived with a delicate drizzle of citrus beurre blanc and colorful garnish of mango chutney and avocado. The starter could more than serve as a meal. We also enjoyed the corn-lobster bisque, delivered in a graceful, sculptural white bowl with a froth of cream and two generous bites of lobster meat. Unlike many versions of bisque that aren’t much more than salt-flavored cream, Prime 108’s interpretation showcased a rich flavor of seafood.

The applewood-smoked pork loin with baked apples and cranberries was exceptionally thick, but chef Everette managed to deliver the meat tender, juicy and redolent with a smoky flavor that balanced the earthy, sweet sorghum glaze.

The highlight of our meal was the pan-roasted halibut with lobster risotto. The beautiful still life of seared fish—moist and flaky inside a crisp exterior—over creamy risotto was garnished with a plump fist of lobster meat, orange and yellow roasted baby carrots and homemade Yukon Gold chips.

The menu lists eight à la carte items—including risotto du jour, asparagus with prosciutto and spinach soufflé—but our entrées came with enough accompanying fruits, vegetables and starch to keep them interesting and filling without additional sides.

From the short list of desserts, among them crème brûlée and poached-pear cheesecake, we opted for chocolate meringue cake. The presentation, with fresh whipped cream, plump raspberries, blackberries and a fig, was an exquisite complement to the jewel-box color scheme in the bar.

With Prime 108 still in its infancy and a built-in clientele of hotel guests, the team has done little to advertise the restaurant or build a local presence. But if they get the kinks out—assuming they can make that big, empty (and gorgeous) room into a welcoming, bustling atmosphere—they will indeed have something to boast about to tourists as well locals.

Prime 108 opens daily for breakfast at 6:30 a.m. and serves dinner until 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.