Elemental is the perfect name for the newly opened restaurant by owner Charlie Loomis, former executive chef at Greenlife Grocery. Whatever you order, you can trace it back to the earth, whether you’re eating beef raised in a hormone- and antibiotic-free environment, or greens and other vegetables grown locally and raised free of pesticides. Not only that, but the staff at Elemental makes all of the stuff other restaurants buy from wholesalers. When my Sequatchie Cove Steak Salad arrived during my first visit to the restaurant, I knew someone had made the croutons and spicy buttermilk dressing only a few feet from where I sat.
There are no secrets at Elemental. Just inside the door is a large chalkboard listing every source of food: Anson Mills, Cloudcrest Farm, Noble Springs Dairy, and many more names grace the black surface. Picture going to a grocery store, picking up a box of processed food, and reading the ingredients. Now picture stepping through the door at Elemental and reading the list of local providers.
Beyond the podium at which the smiling host stands is a long counter that stretches nearly the entire length of the dining area. On the other side of the counter is the food preparation area. You can literally watch the chef slapping your piece of fish from Pickett’s Trout Farm on the grill and cooking it to perfection.
While you’re waiting for your food to arrive, you can soak up the ambience and take in the view. Located at the front of North Shore 2, the restaurant provides an uninterrupted panorama of Manufacturers Road. The windows that encase the building allow plenty of natural light to spill into the dining area, which provides the perfect amount of illumination for the stainless steel ductwork, the brick walls and columns, and the charming picnic table style booths.
My server at Elemental was ready to answer all of my questions about the food. During my first visit, I made her job easy by already knowing what I wanted. The description of the Steak Salad on the chalkboard outside the restaurant had eliminated my need to look at the menu, although I browsed its selections anyway as a formality. I was pleased to see an approachable yet diverse assortment of dishes.
As I waited for my meal to arrive, I sipped on a glass of vanilla almond red tea made with reverse osmosis water.
The moment of truth arrived when my server placed my salad in front of me. Sitting on top of a generous bed of crisp Romaine lettuce were several slices of slightly rare farm-raised beef, grated cheese, onions, and house made croutons. What really caught my eye, though, was amount of dressing on the salad. It looked as though the person who had made it had coated each piece of lettuce individually to make sure every forkful had the tang of the buttermilk.
I was already in love.
I speared a piece of beef, dabbed it in the dressing, and took my first bite. When you eat food grown naturally and prepared in a way that respects and preserves its origins, you can taste the difference. Not only was the beef incredible, but mixing it with the dressing sent my taste buds into overdrive.
By the time I had cleared my plate and enjoyed a ludicrously good Salted Caramel Apple Tart for dessert, I was already planning my second visit.
Elemental is the brainchild of Charlie Loomis, former executive chef at Greenlife. When Whole Foods purchased his employer, he decided to act on his lifelong dream of opening a restaurant that would offer food made with responsibly sourced ingredients. It was a bold step, but one he was clearly ready to make.
There is no cheating when you buy regionally grown organic food and prepare it in the way nature intended. As a chef, you will need to bring all of your skills to bear on each dish you prepare. At Elemental, not only can you taste the earth in each bite but also the handiwork that went into turning those ingredients into an unforgettable culinary experience.
Oh, and the parking is free.