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Juxtaposing old and new, the 21c Museum Hotel Nashville presents modern art in an historic building; in like fashion, their restaurant Gray & Dudley serves modern comfort foods in refined style.
Opened in 2017 with Chef Levon Wallace at the helm, change has been a constant, while remaining true to its concept. Chef Rob Newton took over in mid-2018 and departed in late 2019. Now chef Matt Bell proudly presides over G&D 3.0.
Already familiar with Nashville—he has good friends here and has participated in fundraising dinners such as Nourish for The Nashville Food Project—Bell and his wife Amy were ready for change. The vision of 21c aligned with theirs.
For Bell, a confluence of the arts has always been vital. A musician himself, he saw the interplay of food and music as key to the experience at South on Main, his restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas. Moving to Nashville, and 21c, became another step in connecting food and art.
“The core of this connection is rooted in hospitality,” Bell says. “When you are a guest at someone’s house, you eat, listen to music, dance, talk, and enjoy the surroundings. Art perfectly amplifies food and creates a complete experience.”
To say there were challenges in providing that experience is an understatement. 2020 heralded a series of catastrophic events that would test the chef ’s mettle. Bell was scant weeks into his position when he and his wife, living then in the hotel, were awakened by sirens as tornadoes ripped through Germantown and East Nashville. Then came the pandemic and its waves of shutdowns. In June, while the couple was out of town, a freak electrical fire caused extensive damage to their home. The year capped off with the Christmas morning bomb explosion a block away from the 21c, wreaking mass destruction. And as Nashville returns to normalcy after a year filled with uncertainty and fear, so has Bell, who is back in the kitchen at G&D where he focuses on locally sourced ingredients and has introduced many new dishes to the menu that reflect the season’s bounty.
“This is truly my first summer in Tennessee,” he says. “Last summer was lost to COVID. I am excited to see the differences in the seasons and produce with central Arkansas.”
Tomatoes come to fore. His tartine speaks of summer, the rustic bread cloaked in a melt of Sequatchie Cove Coppinger, sherry, bacon, and orbs of Black Cherry and Sungold varieties. A bowl of Summer Tomato Soup, garnished with a curl of cheddar frico, captures acidy garden freshness, smoothed with a hint of cream. From the roster of entrees, the Seared Catfish, a tender fillet perched on hoecakes, is spooned with smoked tomato jam.
Constants are the array of schmears (smoked fish, French onion, white bean hummus, baked pimento cheese, egg salad), terrific to share with a friend over a glass of Muscadet Sevres- et-Main. Wraps of Boudin Rangoon impart deep soulful flavor and heat. The Crawfish Noodles, house-made pasta tossed with mudbugs, peas, parmesan, and black pepper, marries the Roman classic Cacio e Pepe with the South. Other favorites are the Tennessee strip loin over grits, sparked with the house Worcestershire sauce, and charred carrots with pistachios and plumped raisins on a swathe of whipped feta.
Having weathered so much, Bell feels positive about the future. The hotel is busy. People are dining out again. He’s back designing menus, overseeing the kitchen, preparing banquets, serving amenities. Already he’s been collaborating with beverage director Matias Yerrick on special wine dinners. It’s good to be able to interact in the community face-to-face.
“2020 taught us so many lessons,” Bell says. “I will never take for granted what it is like to have a house full of friends and family and cook for everyone. In the restaurant setting, I missed all sitting at the same table for a family meal. I am so happy to have that coming back.”
(221 2nd Ave. N, 615-610-6460; grayanddudley.com)
Get To Know Gray and Dudley Beverage Director Matias Yerrik
Matias Yerrik has assembled a compelling array of wines and developed a savvy cocktail program that complements Bell’s food. He found his passion years ago while working on his BFA in Art History. On a whim (“I was bored!”) he audited an intro culinary class. He loved its fast-paced, creative energy, which propelled him into a cooking career, and later, the world of fine beverages.
How did you come to shift your focus from food to wine?
I was humbled to work under a chef who had over 50 years experience and was passionate about wine and food working together. After 6 years of sweating it out in multiple kitchens in the L.A. area, I made the jump to the dining room. That pushed me to expand my wine knowledge through reading of dense books on wine and winemaking, as well as getting real-world mentorship from some of the best sommeliers and wine professionals in Southern California. So many people have shaped my ideas on wine and hospitality. I will never stop learning about, failing at, and learning from those mistakes.
What do you think about in creating a cocktail?
My basic formula is balancing the heat from the alcohol with acidity, sweetness, and bitterness. I’m a big proponent of less is more, so we are always editing recipes to the least amount of ingredients possible. A cocktail flavor profile should be clear and identifiable. You should be able to taste each ingredient, otherwise, what’s the point of it being in there?
Tell us a “go-to” cocktail ingredient.
Anything that does more than one thing. At the moment, I’m fond of Sloe Gin, Arracks, and alpine liqueurs.
Please talk about how you work with Matt and his menu, and how you guide guests in making their beverage choices.
Matt makes pairing extremely fun. The flavor profiles are easy to define; he’s using seasonal products and he is open to collaboration. There is nothing more anyone in my position can ask for in an Executive Chef. As far as guiding the guest goes, something I learned early on is asking questions, because wine can be complicated, intimidating, and fraught with a lot of innocent misconceptions. Just asking “What do you like to drink on a regular basis?” can open the door to a plethora of opportunities for a guest to explore something new, but still something they recognize.
My favorite guests are the ones who want to go on an adventure with me and try some things they may never heard of, or wouldn’t normally try on their own, or—even better—something they think they hate but have only tried the worst possible example of it.