First Bite: Judith Tavern

Last week was definitely a momentous one for Henrietta Red chef Julia Sullivan. It kicked off with a favorable mention in the The New York Times as part of a story about chef Thomas Keller. Columnist Melissa Clark praised the fact that “the chefs he’s mentored over the years have spread out, applying the discipline, passion and wit they picked up in his kitchens to their own cooking, often in accessible and unpretentious local restaurants like Henrietta Red in Nashville.”

Still basking in the afterglow of that kind comment, Sullivan celebrated opening night at Judith Tavern, her new restaurant in Sewanee, Tenn. I grabbed an early-bird reservation for opening night and made my way there to discover for myself what she had been working so hard on for months. The building at 36 Ball Park Road, right next to Sewanee Market, has lived through many incarnations over the years — including a laundry facility for the University of the South, restaurant concepts like IvyWild and OctoPi and, most recently, a French bistro and wine bar called Lumière, which closed after the auto-accident death of owner David Boyd Williams.

During the IvyWild period, the restaurant was a BYOB situation because there were no liquor licenses in Sewanee proper. But when the university remodeled the Sewanee Inn and added a bar — ahem — exceptions were made, specifically in the form of a bill that passed the state legislature that permitted “a facility that offers sleeping accommodations, has a public dining room, and is owned by a private institution of higher education located in Franklin County to obtain a license to sell wine, alcoholic beverages, and beer for on-premises consumption.” Yeah, so nobody else but the Sewanee Inn.

What’s good for the goose, yada, yada, yada — eventually a liquor license was extended to the IvyWild, and the building's subsequent tenants — including Judith. Still, Tennessee laws are arcane, and the space had not yet received its beer permit when we dined. I hope that will be resolved soon — and without an act of Congress.

It would surely be a shame if Judith couldn’t serve wine or cocktails, because beverage manager Patrick Halloran has compiled a nice tight list of drinks and interesting wines. I particularly enjoyed a bourbon cocktail with lime, pamplemousse, grenadine and mole bitters that was named Crushed Button — an ode to the primary customer complaint from back when the building was a laundry. Wines are available by the glass or the bottle, and the staff seems well-versed in pairing suggestions, so don’t be afraid to ask.

Judith has taken over the entire space of the building, benefiting from tall windows that run the length of the front and rear walls. The dining space is divided into a convivial front room with a marble bar with seating for a dozen patrons along with small tables placed close enough together to encourage chatting with neighbors, and a more open rear dining room with high ceilings, banquette seating and other table configurations for two to six diners. The industrial vibe of the cleaners gets a nod with exposed ductwork and structural beams — a nice counterpoint to the chill music pumping at appropriate volume through multiple speakers.

Fans of Sullivan’s work at Henrietta Red will probably appreciate both what she has retained from that menu and the new directions she is taking with Judith, although the closed kitchen is quite different from her seafood-centric Germantown spot, where you can see her lead the team. Of course, you know there will be oysters — and of course, we started with those. A half-dozen split between Gulf Coast Murder Points and Atlantic Island Creek oysters were expertly shucked to keep the briny liquor within the deep cups of the shells. Really, the natural brine was all they needed, but we couldn’t resist adding Sullivan’s extraordinary cucumber mignonette to the party. (We should have ordered a dozen.)

We also know that Sullivan is a maestra when it comes to french fries and aioli, so we ordered that as another appetizer instead of as a side dish. We were not disappointed in the least. Also excellent was a small plate of anchovy tartine, which was served on delectable bread with cultured butter and a hit of lemon and salt to make the dish pop.

My entrée of whole trout served with blistered leeks and a beurre blanc was perfectly cooked, and the sauce was a nice complement to the mild fish. My dining companion’s pappardelle was a tad cool when it came out of the kitchen, but since it seemed like the entire community came out for opening night, I’ll definitely give it some grace. Especially since it was served with huge, deeply flavorful mushrooms, tomatoes and fennel — always a favorite flavor combination.

For an opening-night service 90 minutes from her own bed, I think Sullivan is off to a great start with Judith Tavern. Sure, there were a few missteps — like that chilly pasta and a salad that never arrived — but you don’t study under Thomas Keller and get a NYT nod without a focus on continuous improvement. I feel like the pricing is fair for what we got, if not a little elevated compared to other dining options on top of Monteagle Mountain. I’m hopeful that a combination of locals who appreciate what Sullivan and her crew are bringing to the small community mixed with a little culinary tourism from Nashville, Chattanooga, Atlanta, etc., will be enough to keep this venture successful for a long time, because I intend to spend a lot of early evenings at that marble bar with Patrick serving us drinks while we slurp down oysters and chow down on those fries!