The Food Biz: Sunset Grill has new chef

Also: La Paz moving from Green Hills to Midtown [From our print edition featured in Monday's City Paper]

Email | Print By Dana Kopp Franklin

Sunset Grill, one of the pioneering casual fine-dining restaurants in town, has a new chef at the helm.

Chris Cunningham has been promoted to chef de cuisine at the Hillsboro Village eatery. He reports to Brian Uhl, the executive chef who oversees all three of entrepreneur Randy Rayburn’s restaurants: Sunset Grill, Midtown Cafe and Cabana.

“Chris and I are very symbiotic in our approach to food,” Rayburn said in a release, adding that Cunningham has moved the restaurant closer to its original concept. “We've also gone back to my original formula of about a baker's dozen of apps/small plates and a plethora of entries with as many local ingredients as possible but utilizing global cooking techniques and styles focusing on high flavor essence profiles, rather than a melange of taste."

As chef de cuisine, Cunningham is in charge of crafting the Sunset menu and running the kitchen. He just introduced a new fall menu that adds appetizers like sweet-and-sour smoked duck wrapped in a scallion pancake and served with papaya salsa, toasted coconut and creme fraiche ($8.99). The new dinner menu, which can be seen on the restaurant’s Web site, sunsetgrill.com, has expanded to 18 entrees instead of 12.

Cunningham was promoted from sous chef after 3 1/2 years at Sunset Grill. He previously worked in the kitchens at F. Scott’s, Zola and Bound’ry. Working under him as sous chefs at Sunset are Trent Raley (most recently at Ombi) and Aaron Walters.

Green Hills mainstay moving to Midtown

La Paz, which has been serving up margaritas and Mexican fare for more than 15 years on Cleghorn Avenue near the Mall at Green Hills, is moving to Midtown.

Tom Nickoloff, president of the small Atlanta-based chain, said the lease was up on the Green Hills spot so the company chose to close it and relocate to the chic Elliston Place space formerly held by Ombi. He expects the new La Paz to open sometime in the first week of November.

Nickoloff cited advantages to moving to Elliston: proximity to hospital staff and other Midtown workers seeking a convenient place for lunch and after-work socializing, and a central location for expanding the company’s catering business.

In addition, Nickoloff said the company has longer-term plans to open a second La Paz in another location in Green Hills.

— For more on Nashville’s restaurant scene, visit blogs.nashvillescene.com/bites.