When it comes to Memphis dining, what do we want that we don’t already have?

It’s a common food topic, one I’ve batted around on multiple podcasts over the years, and “Montana” has never come up. 

But maybe it should have?

New Germantown restaurant has Western-inspired feel

It’s one of the handful of U.S. states I’ve never visited, but a little internet research on the foods of Montana and the Mountain West yields lots of beef, bison and elk, huckleberries, flatland cherries and meat-filled pasties. 

You’ll find some of those things on the menu at The Overland, a Montana-influenced restaurant that opened last week on the top floor of the TownePlace Suites hotel in Germantown’s Thornwood development. 

The restaurant was partly inspired by owner Spence Ray’s trips to Montana. The western theme is clear in the restaurant’s name and decor, which includes large, handsome framed photos of Old West gunfighters, saddled horses and snow-flecked bison, with replica elk- and steer-head art otherwise dotting the walls. 

The menu’s dedication to the concept is somewhat more partial. You can get dishes common to most upscale American-themed restaurants. There’s a simple filet (over potato and carrot puree), a salmon dish (with cheesy broccoli/potato gratin) and a “fork & knife” burger. 

The Overland opened to the public last Thursday despite, as The Daily Memphian reported earlier, the recent resignation of its executive chef, implementing its planned menu amid some kitchen changes. One imagines the restaurant will lean into what’s most distinctive if their customers do, and that would be my recommendation from an initial visit. 

What to Order: Sesame chicken at Mosa Asian Bistro

Try the elk

The elk rack was the most Western-oriented item available on a scaled-back preview-night menu last week, and the best thing we sampled. 

It’s served as separate, bone-on rib chops (visually, imagine larger versions of the more familiar lamb chop) and available as a half (two chops) or full rack. 

I had the half, and the elk was lean, tender, flavorful and not at all gamey, nicely paired with some kind of dark, tart gastrique. The sauce wasn’t described on the menu and our server wasn’t sure about it, but there seemed to be a fruit component to it. I’m guessing cherry but am not certain. 

The dish is served on a bed of “Irish cheddar” grits and smoked corn puree, a nice textural contrast though each element could have been amped up just slightly on the flavor front. The dish was completed by some just-right haricots verts (green beans, natch) and little red Peruvian peppers that offered a pop of brightness, on the plate and on your taste buds. 

Some other interesting items that seemed more in line with the concept weren’t available on our visit. They’d run out of the bison ribeye, with a peppercorn sauce and crispy Brussels, and not on the preview menu was a starter I’d heard good things about: A beef cheek empanada with celery root and chipotle aioli.

What to Order: Mike’s Hot Wings & Such

While many of the other items we sampled were less regionally specific, most were quite good. 

The peach cobbler was a hit, served in a cereal-sized bowl with a crust that had the flavor and texture of crumbly, cakey biscuits. 

A “North Mesa” salad of mixed greens was a cultural mish-mash — fried wontons, avocado, white cheddar, grape tomato and a cilantro honey vinaigrette — but a quite tasty one. The addition of a protein (steak, chicken and salmon are available) would make this a meal. 

Pimento cheese wontons seemed to be made with white cheddar, yielding a milder but pleasant taste, with a strawberry habanero jam that was delicious but didn’t really have much heat.

The full menu also includes a cornish hen with black fig and roasted sweet potato, a rotating ravioli selection and daily fish specials. One imagines trout dishes would fit the concept. 

What to Order: McEwen’s Jungle of Greens Salad

While The Overland was dealing with some kitchen disruption on the eve of its opening, from a diner’s perspective any kinks seemed run-of-the-mill. 

And if the kitchen executes, the space itself will be an attraction. It’s a cozy but comfortable fifth-floor corner nook (you enter through the ground-floor hotel lobby and take the elevator), with two interior rooms, one of which has a large bar. 

A balcony seats roughly 30 and is positioned directly across Neshoba Road from the Germantown Performing Arts Center’s outdoor performance space, The Grove. This should make an already nice atmosphere even better on event nights. The balcony also apparently has a curtain system that can enclose it on windy or rainy days, making it a year-round space. 

The Overland, 7800 Neshoba Road, is open 5-10 p.m., every day but Sunday, when it is open 5-9 p.m. Reservations can be made online using Resy.