Cheap Eats - Southern Grace

Meat ‘n’ two with a helping of soul at Louise’s

Maybe, like me, you’ve begun to wonder when an evening spent at many of Atlanta restaurants became so much like going to a concert, complete with its own sort of hangover the next day: ears ringing, throat scratchy and voice hoarse. Or perhaps you’ve noticed a strange auditory phenomenon at work on several restaurant patios, where the volume of conversation is louder outside than it is indoors. Trying to make your end of the conversation heard on a Friday night at one of the city’s most popular eateries, you might as well be screaming over a wailing guitar riff.

Piece, quiet and soul: Recently opened in Midtown, Louise’s is the cure for nearly all that ails the jaded dining heart. Much of the tidy operation feels like a Sunday church buffet, from the sparkling clean steam table piled high with freshly fried chicken, greens and beans, to the spacious, quiet dining room and the courteous smiles of Louise Holmes and her family.

Tender at heart: To view Louise’s spread of meat and sides is to want to station yourself behind the line with the largest spoon you can find and shovel it all in. The fabulous meatloaf ($7.29 with two sides) is intensely beefy, moist and hearty yet somehow fragile, falling apart at the first poke of a fork. A sticky, reduced napping of ketchup glazes the top. Collard greens are rich with pot liquor and a vinegary tang, and lima beans have lost their pasty texture and remain a nudge away from custard in a thick, porky sauce. Mac and cheese is casserole-style, with a satisfyingly chewy, gooey lid of orange cheese that caps elbow macaroni.

White meat is for suckers: My hunt for Atlanta’s best fried chicken ends at Louise’s ($7.65 with two sides). Although white meat pieces are indeed succulent and delicious, time and calories are better spent devouring thighs and drumsticks. Daintily dredged in flour, the dark meat pieces boast a delicate, audibly crispy skin, and the flesh is perfectly seasoned and dripping with juice. I promise you there is nothing else like it in town.

Seriously: “Miss Louise, you don’t mess around,” said a guest receiving a plate mounded with green beans and baked chicken. Louise smiled and told the gentleman, “No, sir, we do some serious cooking.” Holmes and her family employ this seriousness to great ends, yet not in the sense of furrowed brows and permanent scowls, but in one of respect for simple cooking and the richness it brings to the lives of those who enjoy it.

cynthia.wong@creativeloafing.com Louise’s