South City Kitchen

Dining in Midtown has evolved throughout the years with the number of new restaurants increasing exponentially, it seems, as condo development flourishes. The trendy restaurants seem to change about every six months in that area these days, and often overshadow traditional Midtown favorites.

Perhaps this would explain why I have lived in Atlanta (mostly in Midtown) for 10 years but have never dined at South City Kitchen, branded as one of the “Distinguished Restaurants Of North America.”

This restaurant’s specialty is contemporary Southern cuisine and is located on Crescent Avenue in a revamped 1920’s bungalow. (There's a newer second location in Vinings as well.) It’s obviously a favorite, but judging from the clientele, it’s apparently not the local residents that helped build its reputation. In fact, as I entered the restaurant on a bustling Saturday night (and this place was packed even at 6:40PM, I might add), I was feeling like I was in my 20’s again by comparison. (And I said goodbye to my 20’s almost 6 years ago!)

On this night, two friends and I are eager to check out the place, namely because I had a gift card I had to utilize. As the hostess led us upstairs to our table on the second level, I immediately unveiled my first criticism to my friends. “Look at how crammed the tables are,” I noted. Ours, in fact, was only inches away from two women in their 50’s, who clearly had ventured into town from the ‘burbs and would likely be departing hastily before the habitual partiers emerged in Midtown later that evening.

OK, so comfort was going to be graded down a bit already, but the ambience, overall, was inviting in this charming little re-done house.

One of South City’s more popular dishes, the waiter tells me, is the sautéed shrimp and scallops over grits and garlic gravy. This sounds luscious to me, and I order it with a side of the macaroni and Gouda cheese, which I’m also told is a house favorite.

Before the entrees arrive, this is, of course, a Southern style restaurant, so biscuits and cornbread are necessities. I’m liking the buttermilk biscuits but am a tad surprised in the cornbread being only marginally tasty.

No appetizers are ordered on this evening because I already see some dessert I want to try and want to make sure I have plenty of room.

The shrimp and scallops are good. Portions wise, it was fine except I would have preferred more shrimp and scallops and less grits and gravy. The grits were a tad clumpy, but you get no beef from me on the flavorsome shrimp and scallops. I guess I was hoping for a tad more salinity overall to the taste, but for the most part, this was a sound selection.

A friend of mine gets the same thing, even though I tried to guilt him into getting something else so I had more selections to sample. However, my other friend went with the chicken and dumplings, touted as another favorite by our server. I should point out this is not your typical chicken and dumplings, folks. It comes as a chicken breast basted with a mustard sauce topping with a few dumplings underneath and Tasso gravy. The mustard is overwhelming to the taste buds, but the chicken is juicy. However, I just can’t get past the overpowering mustard marinade.

The macaroni and Gouda cheese is serviceable, but I wouldn’t align it with my favorite variety that I get at Two Urban Licks (but that restaurant is for another blog!). However, I wasn’t disappointed that I had ordered it.

For dessert, I had my eyes planted on the banana pudding. I was hoping it would put the dinner over the top but instead gave me a feeling of a cop movie where the bad guy, who’s killed half the town, isn’t mowed down by the protagonist with a bevy of bullets or a machete but is instead just anti-climactically taken into custody. Boring! Essentially vapid, this dessert couldn’t belly up with a place that I rank as one of my favorites for banana pudding---Sonny’s. Did I just lose all credibility on this blog? To use a common “Grey’s Anatomy” quote, “SERIOUSLY!” No, I’m serious. Sonny’s has some great banana pudding, which is head and shoulders better than anything else they serve there. Anyway, I’m digressing. South City’s version of banana pudding needed some sweeter nilla wafers to enhance the overall unremarkable taste. Did I miss the line on the menu that said “Sugar Free Banana Pudding”??

An abundance of options for lactose intolerant folks exist in the form of salmon, duck breast, pork chops, and jambalaya. You could also opt for the fried chicken, which the waiter also gushed about, without the mashed potatoes.

Speaking of the waiter, he was certainly friendly enough, but he disappeared at various points in time to the point where some other server or hostess (one or the other, couldn’t tell) noticed I had no Coca Cola left and re-filled it for me.

Vegetarian options include a vegetable plate, several salads, or you could make a meal with the sides of collard grains, mac and Gouda cheese, green beans, and mashed potatoes.

Diversity? As I noted earlier, we were venturing into AARP territory with many of the dining patrons, but just as I was ready to slap the “Needs Improvement” moniker in my review, alas, as I left, I saw some Amish folks! Now how more diverse is that? I also found some African Americans closer to my age, so the diversity ranking improved.

Overall, I did expect more of South City Kitchen, and, while I wouldn’t rush back, I’d likely go another time to try some of the fried chicken. It’s a respectable option if you’re heading down to the Fox Theater but don’t want to blow your budget.

Food: B
Service: B-
Portions: B+
Ambience/Comfort: B
Diversity Of Dining Patrons: Decent
Vegetarian Options: Some
Options For Lactose Intolerant: Yes
OVERALL GRADE: B
FINAL COMMENT: Worthy of a visit if you’re in the area, but make sure you go early or have reservations!