Hot Dish Review

Exciting news from the PR Goddesses at Mary Reynolds:

Chef Acheson to launch contemporary meat ‘n’ three in Midtown’s 999 Peachtree

Atlanta, GA – September 16, 2009 – Real estate investment firm Jamestown proudly announces today that they have executed a lease with award-winning Chef Hugh Acheson to launch his first Atlanta restaurant at 999 Peachtree in spring 2010. The new venture, called Empire State So. will be a contemporary and casual meat ‘n’ three restaurant offering breakfast, lunch and dinner.

A finalist for this year’s James Beard Foundation’s Best Chefs in the Southeast award and named a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2002, Acheson, who owns acclaimed Athens, Ga., restaurants Five & Ten and The National, was an early proponent of fresh, local and responsible cuisine and is known for his support of such groups as Georgia Organics, Georgia Rivers Network and the Southern Foodways Alliance.

“Empire State So. will be a community restaurant focused on southern staples. It will make you crave okra, smothered pork chops, and collard greens. We want it to be a place where you’ll find yourself having a drink on Sunday, a coffee on Monday, lunch on Tuesday, a to-go sandwich on Thursday and dinner on Friday.”

Under Chef Acheson’s direction, Empire State So. will offer guests the opportunity to dine al fresco with a two-sided indoor/outdoor bar. Cultivating an inviting community atmosphere, Empire State So. also will feature an herb garden and bocce ball court. Parking will be convenient for guests with 50 complimentary parking spaces and a valet service. Located at 999 Peachtree, the dining space will feature 90 seats, including 24 seats at the bar. Breakfast and lunch will be served weekdays, dinner will be served Monday through Saturday and brunch will be served on Saturday and Sunday.

Nothing gets my dander up like the “mishandling” of fried green tomatoes.  I grew up in Tennessee and LOVE fried green tomatoes.  What pinches my nerve is how they are served in restaurants….topped with crumbled goat cheese, drizzled with aioli, gussied up like hookers on Ponce.

Let me make this very clear:  fried green tomatoes are a vegetable, a side dish to be served alongside the meat and the other vegetables.  They are NOT an appetizer!  Who the hell decided that they were an appetizer anyway?  My grandmother never served them with f*#ckin aioli!  Just slice them thin, dredge lightly in cornmeal and fry ‘em up in a pan….delicious!

Fried green tomatoes are routinely overbreaded in restaurants, the heavy coating completely overpowering the delicate tangy flavor of the under ripe fruit.  It’s a shame that every “Southern” restaurant bastardizes this vegetable.  They all deserve a nice fat Knuckle Sandwich….with aioli on it!