FOLK, ROLF & DAUGHTER'S SISTER RESTAURANT

It didn’t take long for Rolf & Daughters to be discovered. As locals spread the word among their circles about this fabulous local eatery, Bon Appetit featured Rolf & Daughters as its #3 best new restaurant of 2013. After that, the secret was out. Since the restaurant opened in 2012, diners have been captivated by the care that chef and owner Philip Krajeck puts into pasta making, for which the restaurant is renowned. Now, as fresh pasta is being rolled at Rolf & Daughters, pizza dough is firing in the oven across town at Folk, the new East Nashville eatery Krajeck opened in mid-April.

“The commonality is the ethics and motivation behind the sourcing of ingredients,” Krajeck says of the two restaurants of which he is both chef and owner. Stylistically, there are parallels — the food is bright, with a seasonal approach. On paper, the ingredients seem simple. Radish, butter, sea lettuce. Tomato, mozzarella, basil, parmesan. Royal red shrimp, Old Bay, lemon. On the plate, the ingredients are transformed into something more complex than anything we could have imagined. “There are a lot of things that go into the process, even if it comes off simple,” he explains. “Rolf and Daughters is more modern, more progressive, more contemporary in the way we construct dishes. Folk is more classic cooking, with a little more of a classic European influence.”

When conceptualizing Folk, Krajeck asked himself what space he wanted to be in and what food he loved making and eating — because those things are intertwined. “I want to create a restaurant that is as appealing to as many people as possible. We are here for everybody.” The space he chose to be in is a former A&P grocery store in East Nashville’s McFerrin Park. “I love being a part of restoring old spaces and doing creative things with them,” he shares. The bar and dining room offer a combined 108 seats, not many more than Rolf & Daughters. That is where the similarities between the spaces end. Warmed by exposed red brick, wood planked ceilings and wood floors, Rolf & Daughters is cozy. With white-washed brick, an abundance of plants, cool colors and soaring ceilings, Folk is bright.

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