Chef Ryan Trimm Brings Oyster Bar to Sweet Grass

Renovations and new menu at Sweet Grass in Cooper-Young include an oyster bar — the first of its kind in Memphis.

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Chef Ryan Trimm’s love affair with raw oysters is generational, a sentiment passed from grandfather to father to son. Now Trimm is a dad himself, and his own children, ages 2 and 5, eat oysters on the half shell with atypical finesse. For Trimm, unbridled oyster love means the kids are growing up right. “My daughter doesn’t even put them on a cracker,” he says, with an appreciative shake of his head. “You have no idea how proud I am of her.”

Oyster lovers of any age can settle into a new oyster bar at Trimm’s Sweet Grass in Cooper-Young, the first of its kind in Memphis. While many local restaurants serve oysters, the seasonal offerings at Sweet Grass move beyond hearty Gulf Coast favorites. Try sweet-tasting beauties from Virginia’s pristine Rappahannock River, salty morsels in teardrop shells from North Carolina’s Outer Banks, and the Chesapeake Bay’s Sweet Jesus, darlings for me because the oysters taste like summer cucumbers, cool and lightly salted.

Hot oysters — chargrilled with garlic, Parmesan, parsley, and lemon or plated with barbecue sauce and fennel slaw — join the restaurant’s revamped bistro menu along with shared plates served family-style. Consider the restaurant’s expertly fried chicken, which comes to the table as a 10-piece platter with veggie sides, pickles, and hot sauce.

“Think about a Chinese restaurant,” Trimm says. “People order five or six things, pass them around, and try a little of everything. It’s a fun and friendly way to eat.”

I couldn’t agree more after sharing an oyster salad tossed with Green Goddess dressing, a lovely retro throwback, and a magnificent rice pirlau served with a ladle in a wide-rimmed bowl. Breathtaking and bountiful, the fish, ham, sausage, and shellfish stew binds past to present with an aromatic broth that feels married to the sea. “Pirlau is of African descent, a Low Country food with soul in it, with a story behind it,” Trimm says. “I’ve always been drawn to that kind of food.”

Sweet Grass, 937 S. Cooper (901-278-0278) $-$$$