10 'til 10 at Majestic Grille: Vegetarian Dinner Recap

We were happy to be invited to attend this amazing 5-course meal last week on Tuesday evening at The Majestic Grille in downtown Memphis. After chatting with Chef Patrick Reilly beforehand about his ideas and learning more in this interview, we knew it was going to be a great experience for all involved. We are so grateful that chefs bring their culinary chops and creativity together to put these type of dinners on in our city. It's even better when they have a vegetarian option, or like this one, go completely vegetarian...from nose to tail.

The evening started with passed appetizers including tomato bruschetta, corn and jalapeño hushpuppies, apple jelly and goat cheese rangoon, and berbere-spiced okra. We had the honor of helping to brainstorm with chef, and two of those dishes are his amazing riffs on recipes we love.

The first seated course was sweet potato gnocchi with roasted shiitake mushrooms and grilled artichokes. That list of ingredients alone had us floored. Chef Reilly made a killer stock that brought everything together so beautifully. I'm going to try that idea in my own kitchen really soon.

The second course was a simple salad with some really special components. The locally-sourced, jewel-hued baby lettuce featured a rich avocado dressing. It was topped with house-made pickled carrots, fresh radish, and thinly-sliced cucumber.

The third course was right up our alley these days. It was all roasted vegetables, beans, and wilted greens. It's how we eat at home, so we loved it. It's our kind of comfort food and led perfectly into dessert, which was a summer berry crumble with custard that was served on the side in gravy boats.

Just goes to show yet again that Memphis isn't only about BBQ, y'all. We're looking forward to what's coming next for vegetarians around here.