Tailor is...Spectacular
Please don't go to Tailor with a friend you haven't seen in a while, because there will be no "catching up." The food demands all your attention. And happily so. Fortunately I went with my daughter who I could blissfully ignore while taking in all the flavors of Tailor.
Tailor is the brainchild and passion project of Vivek Surti. He parlayed his cooking through his supper club series (VEA Supper Club) that he operated out of his home in 2011. Until he opened his restaurant Tailor in 2018 in Germantown, Vivek hopped around town cooking his food with chef freinds and popping up everywhere from City House to Butcher & Bee. He even did a collaboration with Hattie B's.
Vivek is a first generation American of Indian descent. He grew up in Brentwood and is a self taught cook, heavily influenced by his moms and grandmothers Indian cooking. He knew early on that regular restaurant service was not for him. He wanted to cook and serve the food he felt passionate about, in the way he wanted, which is supper club style. He wanted to celebrate and share the traditional (Punjabi) food his family ate at home while celebrating the South as well. This translated into a prixe fixe menu twice a night with limited seating, and unique spice-infused fusion dishes, served community style.
We joined Tailor on a warm October night, when Vivek and team were popping-up at Alabaster Collective, a fabulously appointed old home in Germantown, turned thoughtful gathering spot. With each course (of our 8-course menu) Vivek appears, clad in his apron, (clinking on a glass to get your attention) to explain what you're about to eat and what inspired him to cook it. He values local farmers and most of his food is sourced locally. We started (and ended) with small bowls of (local) popcorn, the first one made with ghee, dried red chiles and salt. For our Green Beans with Coconut Milk, Apple, Ginger and Lime, the beans were sourced from Corner Spring Farm. This course was a thing of beauty, not only to behold but to eat. Fresh, al dente green beans, cut into manageable bites, sat in a puddle of coconut milk with bright limey fresh apple (cut into little balls wth a melon baller) mint and basil oil. If we had not been in a restaurant, my daughter and I both would have picked up the plates and poured the remaining puddle of milk straight into our mouths.
As the night commenced, each course was more flavorful (and steeped in stories) than the first. His command of spices is magical. Nigella and pumkin seeds, white tumeric, ginger, cumin, black pepper are all used to great effect for flavors that are equally original and fantastic. The Sev Bataka, which he only got to eat every other year in India (for some reason I can't remember) generated a Ratatouille response from me. I took a spoonful, looked up, then took another and was absolutely speechless. The crunchy chickpea noodles (think chow mein.. sort of) with the garlicky lime broth and mashed Yukon potatoes were a thing of beauty and a taste that demands your attention.
I'd like to think I can recreate to some degree most food I've eaten out, time being the biggest factor. But truth is I willl never, ever be able to experience the flavor of the Sev Bataka made by Vivek and team at Tailor even if I had days to make it. ...Jill Melton
Delicata squash (our current favorite) from Bells Bend Farm was next up in a dish called Sambhar. The squash was swaddled in a potent (if not a tad salty) South Indian mixture of onion, tomatoes, ginger, and tamarind, crowned with pumpkin seeds. Flounder with crispy baked chickpeas and cumin was lovely, as well as the lamb, two ways: with fall cabbages and, in Biryani, brown rice made luxurious with saffron, dotted with caramelized onions and tender cubes of lamb shank meat.
For dessert, Farmer Dave was the source for the candy pumpkins which morphed into a pumpkin chess pie enhanced with cardamom and turmeric milk. Just wow. We left with a small bag of popcorn (from Corner Springs Farm) that was made with chocolate, caramel, fennel seed and sea salt. They want you to remember your experience and savour the popcorn later, when you're not so full. We did.
In the pop-up at The Alabaster Collective, it was BYOB, and we suggest a bright sparkly white wine to compliment the rich, spicy flavors. We brought a rose, which couldn't stand up to the food, but was refreshing nonetheless.
We now know why Bon Apetite named Tailor as one of The Hot Ten Best New Restaurants in 2019.
For the month of October, Tailor will be operating at The Nashville Food Project in The Nations. November and December are TBD. Then in early 2022 they will be moving to their permanent space on Taylor street next to Rolf and Daughters.
According to the great Indian cook and cookbook author, Madhur Jaffrey, "No one can be an expert on Indian food. The country is too large. Every time you go into a little crevice of India, you find a new cuisine." Indeed, we've found one at Tailor. And it's just begun. Bravo Vivek and team.
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