Out, About: It’s officially patio season

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The temperatures are finally up and the sun is finally out — enough for everyone you know from colder states to try to come visit.My season of guests begins with my aunt and uncle arriving from the D.C. area next week. And they’re big foodies like me, which only raises the pressure.

There are few meat-and-threes left. I’ve already managed to get a reservation to Locust. And either way, all of the above feels a bit too… inside, given the sunshine.

It was when I started to consider my breakfast plans with them that the (maybe not-so) obvious hit me: The Wash.

Pretty much a picnic

You’ve probably at least passed The Wash, if you’ve not already been. The car-wash-turned-microrestaurant-hall in East sits just off Gallatin, near its intersection with Douglas.

And let’s get it out of the way: Parking is atrocious. But once you hike over from street parking or having caved and paid the nearby church lot, you can look over the menu at each former stall and order from your favorite(s) to sit and eat on the large patio. You can pick from spots directly in the sun or shade, and some seating is near the big heaters for those still-cool spring nights.

Alexis Marshall covered the unique dining experience as it opened a couple years ago, but since then, there have been some changes.

Initially, everything was a lunch and dinner spot, but since then, at least Soy Cubano expanded its menu to include breakfast items I’ve not had outside of friends’ homes growing up in South Florida. The first sip of my café con leche — the true Cuban latte (stop putting sweetened condensed milk in your versions, Nashville!) — made me legitimately emotional. I thought I was being a little dramatic, but actual WPLN Cubans, Marianna Bacallao and Rob Sanchez, had similar reactions. And now, the dinner hours extend too with late-night hit, Sweeza, which serves a chopped cheese quesadilla that rivals the best bodegas in NYC.

There are six stalls: Leche De Tigre (formerly called 2 Peruvian Chefs, but same ownership), Soy Cubano, Sweeza, SS Gai (Thai fried chicken), East Side Pho (from the geniuses behind East Side Banh Mi), and Bay 6 (a bar named for its location).

So, maybe I’ll see you next time I’m out eating on the patio — choripapas from Leche, picadillo from Soy Cubano, mango sticky rice from SS Gai and boba from ESP. (If I see you while eating Sweeza, we’re both out past our bedtime!)