Chef Dave Krog and his wife Amanda Krog, veterans of the River City restaurant industry, recently opened the first and only tasting menu restaurant in Memphis. Restaurant Dory just celebrated its first anniversary in March. A great addition to the vibrant dining scene on Brookhaven Circle, Dory was voted the fourth best new restaurant in the country by USA TODAY in 2021.
While Amanda’s background is in fast casual dining, Chef Dave attended Memphis Culinary School and trained under Memphis restaurant royalty, including Lynn Kennedy of La Tourelle and Erling Jensen of his namesake restaurant. Prior to opening Dory, Dave was executive chef of Interim. “My vision of what I wanted to do as a chef was a tasting menu that was farm-to-table and intentionally sourced,” Dave says. “It was always Dory.”
After the original opening in April 2020 was delayed due to the pandemic, plans were rushed as Covid-19 restrictions began to lift. “We could only have a handful of people in the restaurant, so a tasting menu made sense,” Amanda says. They used their many skills learned at their pop-up restaurant, Gallery, to pull it off.
Dory offers a glorious celebration of food, but don’t expect an actual menu. Patrons are treated, delighted and educated with the freshest and most creative, intentional dishes. It’s a totally immersive dining experience which includes six courses and an optional pairing of seven wines.
“We keep the menu as local as possible,” Dave says. “Sometimes the dish literally starts with the plate,” he adds with a nod to the local potters from whom he collects dishes.
Each tasting menu, which changes monthly, is inspired by fresh, seasonal products from the local farmers and purveyors they work with throughout the year. Every course is prepared with loving precision, using techniques as varied as smoking and pickling and curing and the occasional tweezer. Dave approaches food as more of a craftsman than a chef. “We want to do plates that are conceptualized, composed with what we have available,” Dave says.
“And nothing goes to waste,” Amanda adds. Even onion scraps are saved and repurposed into fermented onion powder.
Dave says that every individual who makes a reservation receives a phone call regarding food allergies as the team aspires to “honor all dietary restrictions.” This kind of personalization has generated a vegetarian following. The team will offer a plant-based menu once a month from June through September this year. Dave says he enjoys the challenge of a customized meal. “We take it very seriously,” he adds.
The wine pairings are also done with care, selected by Sommelier Rusty Prudhon. Rusty is inspired by the food first. “Chef likes clean and refined dishes,” Rusty says. “- I try to match that with the wines.” He likes surprises on the menu, including unusual varieties from all over the world such as an Albarino from Spain or a Pinot Noir from Slovenia.
There is always the element of a surprise without a menu. Rusty and the wait staff introduce each course and wine pairing to every diner at the restaurant. The story telling is the perfect foil to the performance art in the open kitchen that glows in the center of the dining room. The atmosphere is joyful with a warm congeniality among the team “We want it to feel like our home,” says Amanda says and adds, “Special things are special.” And Dory is special.