Hot Dish Review

I love fried green tomatoes, however, I rarely eat them. Here’s why….most restaurants serve them as an appetizer, all gussied up with bullshit like aioli or goat cheese or whatever. That’s why my very first blog post was a Knuckle Sandwich on this very subject.

Fried green tomatoes are a vegetable, a side dish like green beans or squash or corn. My Grandma in Tennessee made them, tangy and delicious, fresh from the garden. She taught my Mom how to cook them, sliced about 1/4″ thick, dredged in a little cornmeal and fried in a pan. That’s it. Simple. Southern.

It’s hard to find green tomatoes but I plan to cook up a batch as soon as I do….I think Whole Foods is my best bet.

Until then I decided to try ‘em at The Nook. Located on Piedmont Park, they have a kickass patio. Their trademark Tochos are their specialty but too heavy for a 90 degree afternoon.

The Nook offers fried green tomatoes as an appetizer with some sort of vinaigrette and feta cheese so I was already pissed off when I ordered them for B and I to share. She’s a Southern girl too so she knows what a fried green tomato is supposed to look and taste like.

The obvious first criteria is that the tomatoes are green. Like I said, it’s hard to find them and The Nook is clearly having this issue. Their tomatoes were yellow. Sliced appropriately thin with a light cornmeal coating, they lacked the tang of green tomatoes because they were too ripe.

On a positive note the vinaigrette and cheese were not overpowering. A small mound of raw spinach in the center of the plate also did not offend. They were a little too greasy but it could have been worse….they could have been breaded and deep fried like so many establishments do it, completely obliterating any flavor, except for, of course, whatever fucking aioli they drizzle them with.

My Grandma never even heard of aioli.

Has anyone had awesome fried green tomatoes in Atlanta, anywhere? Let me know, I’m on a ‘mater mission!