Rustic Kitchen

Touting handmade pastas and an award-winning wine list amidst opulent ambience is Rustic Kitchen, a Mediterranean-inspired gem so unique that it even has its own live cooking show.

What’s there that I can’t get anywhere else? In the Kitchen, a weekly live cooking show starring the charismatic Chef Kim McLendon. Weekend visitors can choose to dine in the main dining room, or snag one of the coveted chairs in McLendon’s kitchen. Home chefs, Food Network addicts, and food aficionados alike will enjoy the three-course dinner–and generous wine pairing–as they watch her prepare their main course in an hour-long interactive dining experience. Previous cooking shows have featured Short Rib Stroganoff and Spaetzle, Scallop and Shrimp étouffée, and Beef and Taleggio Tortellini.

Anything to look for this summer? In the Kitchen’s summer dish will be Crab and Coconut Stuffed Sole served with a lime beurre blanc. At the bar, you’ll find seasonal cocktails like white sangria, cucumber-infused martinis, and spiked Italian ice martinis.

What’s Rustic Kitchen’s best-kept secret? Pastas that are made fresh daily in-house. During lunch, you’ll spot chefs rolling and cutting fresh dough in the open pizza kitchen in preparation for dinner service. The noodles later emerge in handcrafted dishes like Tagliatelle Bolognese–rich egg noodles smothered in the authentic creamy meat sauce–and Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccolini–the traditional southern Italian pasta served with sweet fennel sausage sautéed with fire-roasted tomatoes.