When Nashville's Rolf & Daughters Cooks With Atlanta's The Optimist, Big Things Happen

When two big-deal chefs get together, things can turn competitive—fast. Such was the case earlier this week when Phil Krajeck of Nashville's Rolf and Daughters (RAD) invited Adam Evans, chef of Atlanta seafood temple The Optimist, to Music City to collaborate on RAD's second Bon Appétit Hot 10 dinner. (Read about the first one here.) The only real rivalry, however, was part of a late-night bowling tournament and bonding session at Nashville's new (and gorgeous) restaurant/hipster rec center Pinewood Social. Call it homefield advantage, but Krajeck buried Evans, even rolling a few frames (they're called "frames," right?) left-handed just to rub it in. Evans, still sluggish from the three-hour drive from Atlanta, was not pleased.

Fortunately, all was forgotten the next afternoon in the RAD kitchen as the two chefs plated 14 dishes to run down the menu for the servers. "Unlike a lot of these dinners, we're not alternating dish for dish," said Krajeck (moustache, Optimist hat). "We actually collaborated on most of these dishes." The good vibes, helped along by the hip-hop on the system and a staff meal from Hattie B.'s Hot Chicken, were palpable. Evans (beard, Optimist hat) was in a swell mood despite his drubbing the night before. "I feel like everyone wants to be here," he said. "For the cooks, it's all about working with new ingredients and getting a new perspective."

In an hour, the first of 97 diners would arrive (tickets for the Monday-night dinner sold out in less than 24 hours) to devour the five-course, seafood-centric menu (plus special cocktails from the RAD bar). A first course of four raw dishes touched on the familiar (oysters with an herbaceous mignonette) and the on-trend (uni with lardo, grapefruit, and butternut squash). The second featured a Georgia shrimp app that has been on The Optimist menu since day one and a Sichuan-inspired beef tongue and tendon dish that Krajeck said was being conceptualized "right up until five minutes ago." And the pasta. Oh, the pasta! A mess of Jonah crab topped a bowl of uni-enriched ditalini. Two Roman specialities joined forces in cacio e pepe-filled tortellini all'amatriciana. Swordfish cooked in duck fat and scallops with what Evans called a "chicken jus" served as de facto surf and turf mains. And dessert? Krajeck's self-described "yogurt obsession" played out with a yogurt sorbet, served with sugar-dusted hushpuppies.

The chefs were all smiles at the end of the night, but sadly, competitiveness raised its ugly head later as the staff headed to legendary Nashville karaoke bar Santa's. With no offense meant to chef Krajeck, let's just say that chef Evans evened the score.