Good for the soul food
What strip mall eatery lacks in size, it makes up to diners by being big on homestyle goodness.
(as printed in The Southern Voice, www.southernvoice.com)
Collard Green Café
2566 Shallowford Road, Suite 112
404-634-9440
By RODNEY SMILEY Friday, May 13, 2005
MANY HOME GROWN Southerners consider themselves soul food experts. Growing up in south Georgia, I was served buckets and platters of soul food, or country cooking, including everything from turnip greens to fried fish to black-eyed peas. I know this food and know it well.
It’s been hard to find a worthy substitute for Grandma’s cornbread and lima beans, but it’s right here in Atlanta. The Collard Green Café, a six-table, take-out optional restaurant at the end of a Publix shopping center on Shallowford Road has a shot at becoming the place to get a local soul food fix.
Owner-chef James Paige obviously knows and loves his food. His place hasn’t received a lot of public attention, but what has been said is overwhelmingly positive. I decided to find out for myself what the hubbub is all about.
First, don’t expect table linens or silverware. A service window with a clear view of the kitchen backs a cramped dining area. The cafeteria-style warming trays are packed with sumptuous soul food staples.
Ox tails, pork chops, barbecue ribs and on request, fried catfish and chicken, are paired with lima beans, black-eyed peas, broccoli-rice casserole and of course, collard greens.
Prices are fixed depending on the entree, which includes sides and bread. The fresh fried catfish ($8.99) comes hot and crispy in a Styrofoam container with macaroni and cheese, lima beans and a slab of fist-sized cornbread. Ample, to say the least.
Two catfish filets are cornmeal-coated with a good bit of pepper. The lima beans, thick and nearly creamy, are cooked with onion, salt and pepper. Traditional macaroni noodles swim in thick cheddar cheese that is baked just perfectly. The cornbread is savory, not sweet, and works especially well when dipped in lima bean juice.
Two pork chops ($6.99) are floured and fried. Paired with black-eyed peas, they feel, well, like home.
One whiff of the mildly spicy sauce that coats a great slab of barbecue ribs ($8.99) should be more than enough to start most diners salivating. Hot, moist and tender, they’re as messy as they are tasty. Plenty of necessary napkins are provided.
Other meats and sides include roast beef, chicken livers, candied yams, green beans, squash and corn. There’s something for everyone.
As if the MAIN feast isn’t enough, it’s time for dessert. Homemade red velvet cake and peach cobbler are the choices on a recent night. The cake is so red it’s nearly burgundy, with two layers and a sweet cream cheese icing. The cobbler is a savory, cinnamon treat dusted with granulated sugar. Not my favorite cobbler, but a worthy substitute.
A dozen or so “pick-up order” patrons show up, which is a slow night for the place, according to the woman who serves as greeter, waitress, cashier and beverage grabber all in one.
The cafe also serves lunch, offering a meat with two sides from $5.99 to $9.99 and a daily $4.99 special. According to employees, long lunch lines and a diverse crowd from business people and construction workers to retirees arrives every day for one of Atlanta’s best soul food experiences.
Collard Green Cafe is definitely well worth a visit. The fare is nearly as good as home.
Just don’t let Grandma know. She might be a little bit miffed.
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