Chicago restaurant Charlie Trotter’s closed in 2012, and the famous chef-owner who contributed his name and considerable talents to the establishment passed away the following year. After more than a decade, Charlie Trotter’s son Dylan has reopened the restaurant at 816 West Armitage St. as a pop-up, hosting intimate tasting menus and special events.
As part of the new model, Charlie Trotter’s has established a Guest Chef Dinner Series, and some of Nashville’s most vaunted culinary talent has been invited to show off their chops at the “Nashville in the North” dinner on Saturday, Feb 28. All four chefs have received Michelin recognition and represent some of the best Nashville has to offer.
Josh Habiger of Bastion actually came to Nashville from Chicago, where he worked in several popular restaurants and bars. After helping start up The Patterson House, Habiger reinvented fine dining in town with The Catbird Seat. He’ll be joined at the Chicago dinner by his fellow founding co-chef at Catbird, Erik Anderson. After a few years of melting our brains with inventive dishes, Anderson moved to the Bay Area, where he has led Michelin-starred kitchens at Coi and truss and currently operated Barndiva in Healdsburg.
Trevor Moran is another star recipient for his work at Locust, and spent a few fantastic years at The Catbird Seat as well. You never know what Moran will contribute to a menu, but you can wager that it will be creative and delicious! (And there will probably be razor clams involved.) The fourth member of the Million Dollar Quartet will be Sam Jett of Audrey. A longtime protégé of Sean Brock, Jett has a facility for fermentation and preservation that fits in perfectly with his dedication to Appalachian cuisine.
While I don’t expect too many of you to make the trip to Chicago for this dinner, I will point out that it’s currently easier to get a reservation for the Guest Chef Dinner than it is to score a seat at Bastion or Locust. Just sayin’ …
Before Chef Jett heads to the away game in Chicago, he’ll be the host for a different collaboration. On Tuesday, Feb. 10, Audrey is bringing the team from the upcoming Tuscan steak house Bacco to their kitchen to offer a sneak peek of the Four Seasons’ signature restaurant as part of Dine Nashville: The Music City Way.
Additional chef collaborations and meal deals are on offer for February
The five-course family-style dinner will bring together elements of Appalachian cooking and Tuscan traditions in what should prove to be a fascinating experience. Four Seasons Hotel Nashville executive chef Derek Simcik and Bacco chef Nicky Miscia will lead the Italian team as they prepare for two seatings at 5:30 and 8 p.m.
The menu looks truly inspired, starting out with a variety of sharable small bites for the table, including fermented and grilled salt risen bread with marinated white beans (Chef Samuel), bruschetta spuma di mortadella with mortadella mousse, sweet-and-sour cherry mostrada and pistachio (Chef Derek) and olive “ascolane,” a stuffed olive with meatball and gorgonzola (Chef Nicky).
A seafood salvo follows, featuring salmon crudo, grilled octopus and a potato pastry called millefoglie. Three handmade pastas will showcase some of the chefs’ favorite ingredients, ranging from a beef and pork sugo to spicy Calabrian ’nduja and pumpkin.
The main course will revolve around one of my favorite Tuscan dishes ever, Bistecca alla Fiorentina. Expect a massive porterhouse steak paired with balsamic-braised pearl onions by Chef Derek, roasted henosis mushrooms with pickled garlic from Chef Sam and cannellini beans with stewed tomatoes and guanciale by Chef Nicky.
Tickets for the chef collaboration dinner are available for $114 plus tax per person and can be booked via Resy or by calling Audrey at 615-988-3263.
