I tried this place last night, part of a group of 9 people.
Things I really liked:
- The hushpuppies. Some of the best I've ever had...slightly spicy, slightly sweet, and served w/ sweet whipped butter. Perfectly fried, not too greasy, and a generous serving.
- The collard greens. Listed as "braised greens" on the Sides portion of the menu, these were roughly chopped leaves that were not overly sweet. I really like collard greens this way (as opposed to the very finely chopped versions), so I was pleased.
- The biscuits. Fluffy, fresh, and served w/ the sweet butter. These came on the fried chicken plates.
- The sweet tea. Free refills, and just what you'd expect.
- Flexibility in substituting sides on the menu: For all the dishes, you could choose any sides you wanted. It was no problem to substitute out vegetables for collards, or mashed potatoes for grits, or whatever. This was true even when the menu listed specific sides.
Things I liked:
Fried okra - Not as awesome as the hushpuppies, but not too slimy and very well fried.
Crispy brussels sprouts - Served w/ an aioli of some sort, these were a nice appetizer. Nothing too special, but well made.
Fried chicken - The batter was on the bland side (many of us added hot sauce and even salt!), but the chicken was moist and we all enjoyed it. I don't think this chicken is destination-worthy, but if you're looking for good fried chicken in the area, it's certainly pretty good. I'd give it a B or B+ overall. If the batter were a bit more flavorful, and a bit more crispy, it would move up to an A-
Things that were OK:
Pulled pork sandwich, w/ barbecue sauce on the side. It was good but nothing special.
Cheesy grits - The cheese was in sauce-form on top of the grits, which were stone cut. I had no strong opinions about these. They were fine.
Mashed potatoes - Normal, nothing special but nothing bad.
Vegetable of the day - Yesterday it was green beans and spinach. It was fine. Not nearly as tasty as the collard greens.
Things that were less-great:
The blackened catfish. This was served w/ two sides, which were fine, but the fish itself tasted very swampy and the blackened flavor wasn't really that strong or interesting.
The speed/service. It took a long time for our party to get seated, and a long time to order, and a while for the food to come. When it did come, they had forgotten one order. It appeared that they weren't very used to large parties...though to be fair, it was a busy night. Once we were seated, our waiter was very friendly, though was maybe spread a bit thin over several tables.
Overall, I think I'd return if I was in the area, but probably wouldn't go out of my way. But it seemed like they are doing well, and I hope they can keep up the great quality on the fried items!
↧