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NEW IN THE'HOOD
Localism, Part 2: Considering what was on the corner of
Boulevard and Chase Street before, a long-closed gas station
that was a real eyesore, almost anything would have been an
improvement, but Heirloom Cafe and Fresh Market (815 N.
Chase St.) seems tailor-made for the location. With a focus on
locally grown foods, the pedestrian-friendly spot is aiming to
work with the neighborhood (serving beer and wine but not
too late) and seems to be pitched pretty well to its audience.
The main complaints heard so far mostly consist of grip
ing about the prices and carping that its owners, a father and
daughter, must need to pay back the loan they got to renovate
the corner and build the restaurant. Well, yes. Appropriate
prices for carefully crafted dishes do enable a restaurant to
stay open. That's not a bad thing. Heirloom is not McDonald's,
and it becomes progressively more expensive throughout the
day, but its food can be very good, and it is always thoughtful,
with its heart in the right place. The space is very cute, with
good art on the walls and a great patio rimmed with flowers
planted in galvanized aluminum tubs around its edge. A chalk
board lists local sources currently on the menu.
On the whole, lunch may be the weak spot, but lunch is
hard to do well and cheaply if you have Heirloom’s goals. The
Southern Belle, a non-mayonnaisey chicken salad that incor
porates peaches and toasted pecans, is a good variation on a
classic, and it's not too sweet, but the croissant on which it
comes is squishy, bland and
...caramelized onion overwhelmingly bready. The
meatloaf sandwich comes
and bacon risotto... with good tomato confit,
but—and it pains me to
say this—the bacon in which the meatloaf is wrapped is a
discredit to its family. Flabby and tough, it detracts from the
sandwich rather than adding to it. Here, too, the bread doesn't
suit, being more appropriate for a Sloppy Joe.
Those complaints noted, there is an intelligence to the way
the kitchen combines ingredients and flavors. There are prob
lems, too, with both a coleslaw of beets, carrots and apples
and a dish of pasta salad that incorporates chickpeas, but both
are pretty and fresh, composed with the same regard for ingre
dients. No one here is dumping a packet of generic seasoning
supplied by the large-scale food industry into a dish, and each
order is accompanied by Phickles pickles.
Dinner and breakfast have more highlights. The omelet,
the fillings of which change regularly, depending on what's in
season, is the best one I have had in Athens. It splits the dif
ference nicely between the flat French variety and the puffy
American style and doesn't skimp on fillings. The muffins avail
able from the glass case are really more like unfrosted cup
cakes, but they're lovely, with a crusty exterior. 1 he prices here,
too, are better. As opposed to a $10 sandwich that isn't huge,
you can get yogurt and granola for less than half that.
Dinner is more in the realm of fine dining and priced as
such. The way the cheese plate is set up ($4 a cheese) is
weird, but the offerings are nice. Some dishes need work, like
the watermelon caprese, which could really use some salt. The
gazpacho is good but unexciting. A North African-inflected
chicken dish contains superlative grilled carrots, sliced thin
on the bias and beautifully caramelized. A fried sheepshead is
delicate but could use more pizazz, and the waiter shouldn't
assume everyone knows it's a fish.
A grilled Moonshine Meats pork chop, however, is excellent:
perfectly cooked, with a zingy sauce and a gorgeous caramel
ized onion and bacon risotto. It might set you back $20, but
it's worth it. Dessert is nicely executed, too, with a cute ice
cream sandwich and a plum tart that sings. Heirloom is adding
a market component that will retail prepared foods as well as
pastries, beverages and dry goods. It offers breakfast, lunch,
dinner and brunch and is closed Sunday evenings. It has a
good small list of wine and beer, and takes credit cards.
What Up? Stuffed Burger, an independent business despite its
chain-like name, is coming to the former Falafel King on Baxter
in September. Espresso Royale Caffe downtown has become a
Jittery Joe's, but the differences are minimal, with the same
staff, baked goods and coffee (ERC has been serving the JJ
blend for about six months). Keba #2 is open on Epps Bridge
Parkway near Trader Joe's.
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SEPTEMBER 7. 2011 • FLAGPOLE.COM 7
