When traveling in the Southern US, it’s hard to not yield to the temptation to find the best Southern comfort cuisine, which generally consists of hopefully flavorful ‘helpings’ of fried things with a lot of fat in them. I was in Atlanta for a few meals, and I did yield to the temptation. Atlanta is like any large, modern US city with many selections of many different kinds of cuisines. I had a nice burger and some good tacos while I was there, but I had an especially ‘comforting’ food experience, complete with some extraordinary bites at South City Kitchen. South City Kitchen has 4 locations in Atlanta, which is evidence of some kind of success, and aside from whatever business skills the owners have, they are able to produce a satisfying selection of Southern favorites, freshly and skillfully prepared to meet the food enthusiasts expectations when indulging in what comfort cuisine has to offer. According to the web page of Fifth Group Restaurants, who owns not only all the South City properties, but several others, their goal was to “celebrate Southern cuisine”. So I was in the right place. I wanted to eat Southern cuisine. Now on to the food.
The Cornbread, Biscuit, and Butter
At a highly upscale restaurant, the ‘hello’ portion of the meal is usually a polite set of flavors nestled in an amuse buoche. At a Southern eatery, the hello comes in the form of freshly made biscuits and cornbread, with a generous availability of butter.
The bread did not disappoint, and it tasted exactly like it should have tasted – fresh and fluffy, but letting you know that you are about to be very very full with a lot more food.
The Fried Chicken, Potatoes, and Collard Greens
Fried chicken has such a special place in the cuisine of the South, and the cuisine of the country. Practically every city and region hopes to have some flavorful representation of this classic of Americana. Fortunately in my hometown in California, we have two excellent versions of fresh, Southern inspired fried chicken around the corner from my house. I was hoping that since I had traveled to what could be the epicenter for southern cuisine, that the fried chicken would be exponentially better than what we in California get to have. But I was disappointed in that respect by South City’s fried chicken. It didn’t deliver a whole other level of fried chicken goodness that I was hoping for, but it was exceptionally good. I think I remember being told there was a fairly lengthy preparation to it, and as I said, it was really good, but nothing I would put in the ‘outstanding’ or ‘taste buds blown’ category. If I was looking for that, I would need to look elsewhere (but I don’t know where…)
On the other hand, the real story for me was in the collard greens, mashed red bliss potatoes, and the composition of the meal as a whole. To me, the potatoes were among the best ways to express what mashed potatoes can do. The texture had just the right amount of chunkiness in the form of unmashed potatoes in the overall mix, so one was able to enjoy the two textures of creamy and chunky held together by just the right amount flavor. When it comes to collard greens, I think a lot of people eat them with one eye open and touch their tongue to them to make sure they aren’t hideous. And even then they still hold their nose when they eat them. I am much more respectful of the collard greens because the dish has always seemed like the mature adult in the room. The mashed potatoes are like the fun uncle that always makes everyone feel good with their warm stories, and the fried chicken is the member of the family that has lots of bright, crispy energy and is ready to go run a race (and then pass out). But collard greens always seemed the old grandfather who was grounded in wisdom and stability. He keeps the active ones from going to crazy, and the ‘feelings’ based uncle from getting too crazy. He reminds everyone what reality is made of. If the collard green were a profession, I think it would be a philosopher. These collard greens had an earthiness to them that helped to unite the mashed potatoes and the chicken. Not all preparations of collard greens can do this. But these could. And this may help me understand my original complaint about how the fried chicken wasn’t exceptional. Maybe there is an argument to be made that if it was exceptional, the unity of the dish may have been off-balance, like a free agent basketball player who shoots all the shots and everyone else on the team just passes him the ball. Regardless, I respect the unity that this offered, and the power of the supporting cast of characters.
The Peach Upside Down Cake
Having the sweet tooth I have, I always look forward to dessert. Desserts are the places where there is so much opportunity to be creative and surprising, while still playing by the rules. Growing up, I ate pineapple upside down cakes regularly, which were made from scratch (after opening a box of ingredients…) and since I was in Georgia, and Georgia is known for peaches, and it was peach season in Georgia, this seemed like a good choice. I was told that they had just started serving that dessert because it was in season, and so I was ready to go.
In all areas, this was a home run for me. For texture, the gingersnap streusel provided the stable and safe foundation for everything else in the ensemble. There were some candied crunchy bits to let your teeth tear up and then there was the little scoop of ice cream to help to put a sugary blanket over the bite. The peach marmalade provided the fruity-sugary wave of tart flavor, that was then elevated by little hits of basil. It seems very wrong to deconstruct the whole thing, because the enjoyment comes all at once, and the brain need not be involved. Regardless, this was the perfect song with which to end the meal.
Conclusions
South City Kitchen is in a category of restaurants you get to right before you start going to the foam and crescent moon shaped cookies of Michelin star restaurants. (Mind you, I do love foam and crescent moon shaped cookies) South City Kitchen, and similar restaurants fill a space in the restaurant pantheon that lets you have a meal that is elevated above the dreaded and awful national chain restaurants, but before you get to Michelin stars, Forbes top 227 restaurants in the world, and Restaurant magazines list of the best restaurants in the world. (all of which I eagerly await every year). Some meals out need to feel celebratory and special without having to use 7 adjectives do describe the vegetables, and order butter where they tell you the name of the cow it came from (They do this at Blue Hill Restaurant in New York – best bread and butter ever) South City Kitchen fits nicely in this space, meets, and even exceeds expectations, especially when those expectations involve Southern comfort foods whipped up to their Sunday best.