Though we soaked up said gravy with the very good sourdough bread provided, we also ordered a side dish of cornbread ($4). It too was mighty fine, a little sweet, and served in two shapes: a dodger and a wedge.
Can they fry catfish, though ($16)? Oh, yes, they can. Ours was a nice-size chunk in cornmeal crust, served with Carolina gold rice, a heritage grain that’s coming back into cultivation. This is long-grain rice, but it breaks up as it cooks to make a dish as creamy as risotto, with — thank you, Paris — some finely-diced vegetables. There were collards, perhaps underdone, on this plate. We’re accustomed to over-boiled collards.
This cuisine does run to salty, but our servers often refilled our pint mason jars with water and brewed, sweetened-just-right iced tea ($2.25). On the wine lists is 2006 Terrazas malbec ($7/glass; $27/bottle), my favorite cheap malbec, and — being from Argentina — about as Southern a wine as there is. A 2005 Oreana pinot noir ($8/$30) from California also had enough structure to complement the food. The drinks include some local and not-so-local microbrews, a tempting list of bourbons and ryes, and the deadly cocktail No. 10 ($9). That’s the iced tea, here mellowed with Ezra Brooks bourbon and limoncello. Look out! One of these sneaks right up on you; the second one would already have you. One of the only off notes of our visit was a cup of brutally burnt decaf ($2.75).
Desserts are true to the plan. Buttermilk pie ($7), which in the South is a cheap and tasty cream pie, is here an intense little French tart. Chocolate cake ($7) is about the size and shape of a small moon pie, but has enough cocoa power to fill two boxes of moon pies.
Service was good without costumes or put-on accents. The décor represents the South without copying it. Our room was white and brown, decorated with a cast-iron skillet, a picture of Thomas Jefferson, and a small antique mirror. The music was totally off theme, but fun. When had I last heard “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads?
The atmosphere is hard to read, as most of the early diners were on their way to the nearby Kendall Cinema. Who, besides foodies, will gather around a menu of Southern favorites done up Parisian style? Well, foodies may be enough for this small restaurant. If you have flavor on every plate, it’s hard to make a conceptual error. You could call braised Berkshire pork shoulder Martian food, and if it’s as delicious as this, it will develop a following.
Robert Nadeau can be reached at RobtNadeau@aol.com.
