Newspaper Page Text
SOUTHERN VOICE
SEPTEMBER 23/1993
A FOOD COLUMN BY GARY KAUPMAN
There’s something slightly redundant
about naming a restaurant the Our Way
Cafe (303 E. College Ave. 373-6665 ). Af
ter all, the people who own and operate non
chain restaurants are usually among the most
cussedly independent and individualistic in
the world. They have to be in order to sur
vive.
I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting the
two women who operate Decatur’s fabu
lously popular Our Way, but a quick lunch a
couple of weeks ago convinced me that al
most without exception their way of prepar
ing Southern food is mighty fine by me.
The restaurant is located in the space
formerly occupied by the late and lamen
table Pizza by Candlelight—a restaurant that
managed to worsen substantially with age
and through several changes of ownership.
It’s hard to imagine the place’s demise leav
ing anyone bereaved.
The interior layout at Our Way is simple-
numerous rectangular tables arranged to seat
the hoards that descend on the place be
tween 11:30 and 2:30 for lunch every week
day. (Sad to say the restaurant is not open
for dinner or on weekends. It’s hard to imagine
that it would not be packed during those
times, too. See what I mean about cussed
independence?) The walls are dark green,
the table clothes maroon vinyl, the chairs
mixed. There are a couple of tables on a
small patio. Service is cafeteria style from a
tiny steam table, but a limited selection and
hyper-efficient servers see to it that there is
never much of a wait.
Morrison’s could take a lesson or two
about efficiency here. And the managers of
that huge enterprise could sure learn some
thing about how to cook from these folks,
too. Despite my misgivings about orange-
almond chicken, the quarter-bird marinated
and baked in OJ and laced with little more
than salt and pepper was a winner—moist
and tender, with plenty of chicken flavor
managing to make it through the tart, citric
bite of the juice. It would have been easy for
the kitchen to abandon its restraint and make
a real mess of this dish by adding sugar or
hands full of dried herbs.
Veggies display a similarly deft touch.
Greens—seasoned with a perfect balance of
vinegar, sugar and salt, but nary a drop of
meat—are tender but not cooked to mush.
Mashed potatoes are smooth and earthy, great
by themselves but (surprisingly) even better
with the orange gravy from the chicken.
Creamed com (though here, as in other
restaurants that keep the faith, the dish is
called fried com) is sweet, tender and sub
lime. Fresh-off-the-cobb kernels floating in
a perfectly seasoned amalgam of butter and
cream is not exactly health food, but as an
occasional treat, especially if you’re having
a veggie plate, they are simply not to be
missed.
Only the green beans disappoint. Like
everything else, they are fresh and not
overcooked, but they simply lack any cre
ative seasoning. I’m not suggesting meat,
but a little parsley, or pepper or dill would
set them to flying. It seems odd that the
same kitchen which produced perfect little
pie-shaped slabs of jalapeno-laced combread
could not have worked the same magic on
those beans.
But a small, dense slice of coconut cream
pie quickly banishes any ill memory of the
beans. Wrapped in a light, pale crust and
topped with whipped cream, the rich coco
nut custard is packed with flavor and plenty
sweet, but not cloying. It’s a treat the likes
of which you might have found in dozens of
local eateries during the ’50s, but one that is
singular in its excellence today.
You can eat yourself silly for S5-S7. Not
cheap, but a bargain for this sort of quality.
Anyone interested in starting a campaign
to get Our Way to open even a couple of
nights a week can count me among their
most fervent supporters.
Bad News
I suspect you’d have to have been in
Bosnia not to have heard the recent nutri
tional (bad) news about Chinese food re
leased by the Center for Science in the Pub
lic Interest. But in case you missed it, the
facts deserve repeating here.
What the center found was that typical
take-out portions of popular dishes such as
moo shu pork and kung pao chicken were
wall-to-wall with fat, sodium and choles
terol. The typical serving of chicken had as
much fat as four Quarter Pounders, which is
more of that dread substance than someone
eating 2,000 calories a day should consume
in three full meals.
Most of us think that Chinese food is
healthier than average American fare. It prob
ably is in China, where the typical meal
consists of lots of rice and veggies and very
little meat and where much of the food is
steamed rather than stir-fried in lots of oil.
If you want to eat Chinese arid not OD
on salt and fat, avoid dishes that are mostly
meat. Eat like the Chinese (in China) do—
lots of rice, don’t eat the sauces of slirfried
dishes and, whenever possible, order food
that’s steamed or cooked in broth. Not easy
when you’re ordering take-out, but entirely
possible at good Chinese eateries like Little
Szechuan, Pung Mie or Yen Jing.
Good News
The September issue of Consumer Re
ports has an extensive article on supermar
ket chains. If you arc a conscious consumer,
you’ll probably want to check it out.
There’s much information here about how
to save money—make a list, don’t buy on
impulse, buy store brands (at least good ones)
and stock up on specials—as well as all
kinds of fascinating facts about the tricks
that grocery marketers employ to get you to
part with your hard-earned cash.
But the best news in the article is that
when Consumer Reports’ readers rate gro
cery store chains, they give their highest
kudos to Publix, which is opening a half
dozen or so stores in Atlanta.
The Publix store already open in East
Cobb is getting raves—even from folks who
are otherwise less than amused with the idea
of living in Georgia’s very own version of
the Hate State.
Publix’ produce selection, the quality of
its prepared foods and the courtesy of its
employees all rate especially high marks.
That’s really welcome news to those of us
accustomed to being battered by less than
acceptable quality and service at Winn-Dixie
and A&P, especially in the stores that it
recently took over from Big Star.
The closet Publix intown is the one be
ing built in Garden Hills. Let’s hope it opens
in time for the holidays.
DikRIB
A PROFESSIONAL RIB LOUNGE
LIVE
BLUES
NIGHTLY
“Where the elite meet
to eat in Little 5 Points”
Henri Dubois
Modeled after the sidewalk
rib lounges of Europe...
525-5525
1174 EUCLID AVE (IN THE HEART OF LITTLE 5 POINTS)
Somethin' to
Crow About
Join us for some good
ol' Country Cooking
every Monday
restaurant & bar
Also, don't forget Sunday Brunch 12-4
• See ya soon! Igg
PATROLLED PARKING • 49 SIXTH STREET • ATLANTA • 892-8983