The Silly Goose is housed in the same building as Ugly Mugs and Wild Cow over on Eastland Avenue, though the space it occupies is only a fraction of the size of those two businesses. You could be forgiven for not expecting much from a business working in such limited quarters; if that’s the case, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn that the Silly Goose is another fantastic addition to the East Nashville culinary scene.
The Silly Goose
There aren’t any whopping entrees with whopping prices on the Silly Goose menu. Instead there are salads, sandwiches, wraps, and the main draw, couscous. There’s plenty of vegetarian-friendly fare available, with eggplant and portobello dominating many of those offerings. The dishes are made with fresh ingredients from local purveyors like Delvin Farms and Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese. But best of all, there’s not a single item on the menu that goes for more than ten dollars. At Silly Goose, you can eat fresh and healthy without breaking your wallet.
With just a handful of tables and bar seating for about half a dozen, the dining room area inside Silly Goose is definitely on the small side. We visited yesterday for Dining Out For Life and were unsurprised to find it packed full of people when we arrived. The hostess told us there would be a 20-minute wait and offered to come next door and get us at Ugly Mugs when it was our turn, so we enjoyed a quick beverage there. Before we knew it she was there to retrieve us.
We were seated at the bar, which was lined with fresh roses in a variety of colors and was flooded with natural light. I enjoyed a refreshing basil lemonade while we looked over the menu, while Rachel just had water. Both were served in small Mason jars, a charming touch that made the two of us, both native southerners, feel right at home. Once it was time to order food, Rachel opted for the King Kong – (sesame couscous with curried shrimp, mint, ginger, cashews, coriander and avocado) – while I went for the T-Bird (roast beef, roasted red pepper aioli, blue gouda, arugula, grilled onion on Tuscan bread) with sides of greens and couscous.
The King Kong
Rachel described the King Kong as “a very eclectic mix of flavors – Asian-inspired sesame and ginger, Indian-inspired curry with little dabs of hot sauce, Caribbean-inspired mint and avocado – all pulled together with cashews and large shrimp that were artfully intertwined on the plate. I was surprised that the couscous was cold, especially because the shrimp were steaming hot. But cold couscous is refreshing, particularly when flavored with mint. Unlike some eclectic dishes, the flavors were best when eaten separately – combining the avocado, shrimp, and couscous, which were spaced apart on the plate, didn’t really enhance the flavors. The meal was light, fresh, and healthy – nothing seemed processed or from a can. If it was, they fooled us pretty well.”
The T-Bird
As for the T-Bird, the roast beef was tender, the onions were grilled to perfection, the bread was still warm from the grill, and the blue gouda added a complex tang to the overall flavor that complemented the rest of the package. My only complaint was that I didn’t get much roasted red pepper flavor in the aioli, something I’d looked forward to since roasted red peppers are a personal favorite. But even with that caveat, the T-Bird was one of the better sandwiches I’ve eaten in East Nashville. And the fresh greens and couscous made for a light, delectable side dish.
The portions at Silly Goose are quite large for the price, something which might need to change down the line but is great news in the meantime for East Nashville food lovers. As a customer, the only real downside to the large portions was that we were too full to sample the house-made ice creams on the menu, which change regularly. We’ll be looking forward to trying those on our next visit . Given how light the hit was to our wallet, how good the service was (even with Dining Out For Life filling the place to capacity) and how much we enjoyed all the flavors we experienced, that visit will probably come sooner rather than later.
The Silly Goose, located at 1888 Eastland Avenue, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11am-9pm.
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