I am most definitely not a restaurant critic, although my friends will tell you that I am a critic when we go out to eat. Terry and I don’t really go out very often; we’re sort of homebodies. And there is the slight problem that if there are more than two guests in front of us, Terry insists we’ll have to wait for an hour and heads for the door. I can only sigh and follow him.
However, over the past few weeks one or both of us has had an outstanding evening dining out in another city. I think part of the evening’s joy was simply being out of town and enjoying a different atmosphere. On two of the three evenings, we also ran into friends and that made for added fun.
While in my hometown of Athens, Georgia, we splurged and ate out both nights. The first dinner was at Sea Bear, a small place with a bar and some tables inside and outside on the patio. It is on the old Coca-Cola Bottling Co. rehab site that is hopping with shops, condos and food establishments. When we walked in the hostess looked at us sadly and announced that the ramen bowls were sold out. I looked blankly back and said, “OK.” Thank goodness the oysters were still around, and we slurped up a dozen briny, juicy jewels of the sea from the Northeast. We had two from six different places. Oh, they were so very, very good. This was followed by a small dish of seared okra served with a garlic aioli and sprinkled with Old Bay seasoning. But wait — there’s more!
Terry had a shrimp cake, and I had a mini-lobster roll. Add a bottle of crisp wine, and it turned out to be in the anniversary dinner price range, but so fun. Not only was the food good, but also the server was knowledgeable on every item, from preparation to taste. She knew the beers, the wines and made suggestions that were spot on. Friendly and cute, she seemed to appear only when we needed something, which told me that she watched her tables rather than spending time in the kitchen or at the waiters’ station.
Grilling and red peas
The next night was dinner at The National, an Athens favorite since it opened its doors in 2007. The menu leans to Spanish and other Mediterranean flavors. After a shared order of boquerones (marinated white anchovies) and a pizzette, Terry had the grilled pork chop from 30 miles away in Madison. As we want to grill 90 percent of our food this summer, we are interested in how others do it. This chop was brined and was so tender a knife wasn’t needed, even though it was on the bone. The bar has been set high. It was served with locally milled polenta and braised greens.
I had a roasted steelhead trout with couscous and Sea Island red peas. I’ve been meaning to order some red peas ever since I learned of them a few years ago. They are a variety of heirloom field peas grown on the Georgia coast. Small and red, they cook to a creamy goodness that pairs well with polenta or grits. Also on the plate (actually a wide shallow bowl) were sea beans and a mint yogurt. Between those two dinners and Terry’s favorite breakfast hangout serving cathead biscuits we almost had to come home to save ourselves.
A dining “experience”
Last week I had the immense pleasure of spending the night with old friends in Nashville and eating at City House. Chef Tandy Wilson, who was just voted Best Chef in the Southeast by the James Beard Foundation, owns City House. He also has a Columbus connection as his dad, Tandy Wilson, grew up here. The restaurant is nine years old and Chef Tandy has been nominated for a Beard award nine times. The place was casual (as were the two in Athens), friendly, energetic and full. If you go, call at least a week before to get a reservation. My friends and I split an order of olives served with housemaid rye toast followed by a thin, thin crust pizza with belly ham and mozzarella on top. It was so light and crispy and had a taste of olive oil and salt, and we fought over the last piece. I’d order this for lunch by myself.
We each ordered differently and tasted each other’s entree. From the grits cake in a deep red tomato sauce with braised collards to my whole bone-in trout and Penny’s cavatelle with brisket, we mostly smiled at each other and tried not to swoon. And, once more, what took our meal to the next level was a knowledgeable and friendly server who truly seemed to care that we loved everything about our evening out. I never felt rushed or anxiously waited for my water to be refilled. We never felt that the restaurant was full and everyone was working at warp speed. At our table we were in a world of good company and great food.
What more could I ask for?
Back with recipes in my next column.
Anne Freeze was a restaurant general manager and owner of a gourmet food store before moving to Columbus. Email reaches her at [email protected].
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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