PREACHER GREEN’S (1995 Barnett Shoals Road, 706-215-9079): If you miss Five Star Day Cafe, which closed in 2013 and served casual, hip Southern fare for 15 years before that, Preacher Green’s is your new favorite restaurant. If you’ve been there within the last decade and don’t know what we’re nostalgic about, you’ll love it.
Opened by Athens and Cedar Shoals natives Ted Lahey and Paul Allen in the former Turtle’s (now Pizza Hut) building on the corner of Green Acres Shopping Center, this place is a hit. It’s chef-y but not over the top, kind of healthy but not at all, sophisticated, meticulous, fast and reasonably priced. When they first opened, some were surprised by the fried okra sliced lengthwise, but just because you can tell it’s a vegetable doesn’t mean it’s not Southern. There’s an appreciation for classics here, but also an awareness that a nice beet salad with sunflower seeds and sherry vinaigrette could stand in the side. The place is small, and like the downtown Five Star, you have to wander around to find the cash register, which is around the corner to order. You pick up a laminated menu, decide what you want, chat with the staff behind the counter, sit down, and your food is served in no time.
Lunch is sandwiches, dinner meat dishes, but there is some overlap. Some are more modest than expected, especially considering Lahey’s fine dining experience, but they’re well executed. The meatloaf sandwich is just a slice of meatloaf on a buttered bun with a brown sugar ketchup dressing, but it’s a very tasty slice of meatloaf. It’s not too cold, not too hot, not too sweet, not boring, not too difficult, and has a beautiful texture. The smashburger (two patties, grilled onions, pickles, American cheese) is better than expected and one of the best burgers in the city. It’s the right size, the flavors blend well, and the crunch on the edges is maximized. It’s only $9 without a side dish. The spinach salad with balsamic vinegar, strawberries, blue cheese, and candied pecans has a 90s vibe and is trendy. But it’s also well-balanced, made with good ingredients and delicious — a salad of tomato, cucumber, onion and basil highlights the goodness of its ingredients — you get the idea. The menu isn’t particularly innovative, but perhaps the emphasis is on keeping it simple and doing it well.
For dinner, the fried trout, lightly breaded in cornmeal, is a delicate dish that might be softened if deep-fried. The collards come with a homemade pepper sauce and are very good. I’m still not a big fan of unbaked macaroni and cheese, but Preacher Greens tops it with a really good breadcrumb topping. Some dishes are better elsewhere (like the squash casserole and country fried steak), but none of them are bad. The owners have their staff pay attention to detail, the atmosphere is reasonably lively, and so far the clientele is decidedly not hipster. Beer and wine are available, and a four-veggie plate is $20. Not bad!
The restaurant is open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 3pm, dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 5pm to 9pm, and Sunday from 11am to 3pm.
Southern Prospect (1725 Electric Ave., 678-310-1096): This new location in Watkinsville’s Wire Park is targeting a similar market as Preacher Greens, but the prices are higher and the atmosphere is more upscale. For example, both restaurants have chicken tenders on the menu, but Preacher Greens puts them in the kids’ section where they belong.
There’s a lot to enjoy about Southern food, but unfortunately, most of it isn’t here because the food isn’t that good. I saw fried deviled eggs on at least two menus, but I urge you all to stop. They haven’t improved. I’ll give the crab cakes a thumbs up. They’re light and crabby, and not overly dressed. The bar has fun making delicious, pretty drinks, like the Porch Swing, which uses Severo Plata Tequila, Cocchi Americano Rosa, Luxardo Amaro Abano, lime juice, and strawberry rhubarb syrup. But the Creamy Dijon Cracker, a dish of breaded chicken breast topped with ham, Swiss cheese, and mustard sauce, served with mashed potatoes and sweet corn succotash, is not only too big for the plate, but also strongly reminds me of Cracker Barrel. There’s nothing bad about Cracker Barrel. I’ve eaten there many times. The place is branded as “unchallenging,” which is sometimes what you want, but the main dishes are relatively low priced. It’s not a great place for date night, but the staff at Southern Prospect wear flashy aprons. Nearly every dish is heavy, starchy, and creamy, so it’s very easy to pay $150 and walk away feeling a little dissatisfied. The fish and chips are pretty good, but the ribeye isn’t worth the premium, and the garden salad is surprisingly basic.
Southern Prospect is open Monday through Wednesday from 4pm to 9pm, Thursday through Saturday from 11am to 10pm, and Sunday from 11am to 9pm.
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