International Cuisine Spices Up Dining Scene
Rutherford County may be in the heart of Middle Tennessee, but finding cuisine outside your culinary comfort zone is easy.
Polynesian, Latin, Greek, Thai, Indian, Mexican, Italian and Mongolian cuisines – you’ll find them all here, no passport required.
Omni Hut in Smyrna is the oldest Asian-style restaurant in the state, and its Polynesian fare is the real deal.
Hand-cut steaks, kabobs, seafood, egg rolls and more – they’re all created with fresh ingredients from authentic, proprietary recipes.
“All our recipes are our own, so anything you order will be a little different than you’ve had before,” says Polly Walls, daughter of the restaurant’s founder, Jim Walls. “Our Tahitian Tid Bits are a sweet and meaty appetizer great for nibbling. They’re bits of pork brisket marinated in our own teriyaki sauce and cooked to a golden brown.”
Shrimp Panamanian is another popular dish, featuring giant prawns marinated in a wine and herb sauce, dipped in batter and deep fried.
“We serve it with our homemade duck sauce and Dijon honey mustard,” says Walls, who now owns and operates the restaurant under the watchful eye of her father.
While serving in the U.S. Air Force in Hawaii in the early 1940s, Jim Walls befriended a Chinese American who introduced him to Asian and Polynesian style cuisine.
“He started collecting recipes and dreamed of opening a restaurant one day,” Polly Walls says.
Jim Walls opened Omni Hut in Smyrna in 1960 after retiring from the service, and the restaurant remains a local favorite.
It’s easy to see why the tiny restaurant has not only survived, but thrived, for nearly half a century. Eye-catching Hawaiian and Polynesian artifacts adorn the walls and ceiling, and festive tiki torches and creative light fixtures abound.
“There’s always something to look at. And on the flip side, there’s always something to dust and clean,” Polly jokes. “There are several non-replaceable items, and some things are original to when we opened in 1960. It’s worth seeing.”
Cuzco Peruvian Restaurant in Murfreesboro offers international cuisine of a different sort.
“Americans are already familiar with Mexican food, and it was my dream to start introducing Latin dishes to them,” says Maria Zambrano, owner of Cuzco.
Customer favorites include rotisserie chicken marinated in wine, fresh garlic and beer; ceviche, or fresh seafood cooked in lime juice served with lettuce and sweet potatoes; and parihuela, or seafood soup made with fish, shrimp and mussels.
“Our rice pudding is also very popular,” Zambrano says. “I’m not bragging, but a lot of people tell us it’s the best rice pudding they’ve ever had.”
The Bunganut Pig in Murfreesboro is an Old English-style pub known for its Shepherd’s Pie – ground beef and vegetables topped with mashed potatoes, melted cheddar cheese and seasonings. Other favorites are fish and chips and The King’s Good Ole Burger, a half-pound Black Angus beef burger with all the fixings.
“People dig that because we use ground filet meat in our burgers instead of regular ground beef,” says Lee Lasater, general manager of The Bunganut Pig. “We also accommodate a lot of special orders. We sell a lot of club sandwiches, and some guys will ask for one piece of sourdough bread, one piece of white and one wheat.”
The restaurant also serves brunch on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Bunganut Pig is reminiscent of bars and pubs you’d see in London, with a bevy of posters, signs and artifacts the previous owner brought back from a trip there.
Rutherford County offers a wealth of options for gourmet globe-trotting.
A sampling of additional international restaurants includes the Greek-themed Parthenon Steak House, Bangkok Thai Cuisine, Golden Eagle Mongolian Stirfry and The Clay Pit, which serves authentic Indian cuisine.
