212: Mashama Bailey & John Morisano, The Grey and The Grey Market (Savannah, GA)

Few restaurants have made a more significant impact in the Southern culinary landscape in such a short amount of time than The Grey in Savannah, Ga. Housed in a restored 1938 Greyhound Bus Terminal and led by co-partners Chef Mashama Bailey and John Morisano, The Grey at once challenges and comforts with every plate of food that is served. Bailey’s seasonally shifting menus are always delicious and at once feel familiar yet deeply rooted in her own varied culinary influences, and the space itself -- once segregated -- fills with a diverse crowd who are there not as a quick stop but for the main event of an evening. The restaurant was named Eater Restaurant of the Year for 2017/18, Bailey won Best Chef: Southeast in 2019 from the James Beard Foundation, and that same year, was also a featured chef on an episode of Netflix’s Chef’s Table. In 2020, they pivoted like the rest of the industry, and added luxury yurts to a courtyard space for dining, and this year has seen the release of their co-authored book, Black, White & The Grey.