Southern Style, West Side Destination

Last Wednesday evening, my husband and I found ourselves on the West Side and hungry. Thinking about where to eat, I realized that it was Fried Chicken night at SoHo Kitchen & Bar in Ohio City, an opportunity to build your own meal around self-selected and hands-down delicious bird parts. I was an easy decision.

Ordering drinks proved to be its own kind of pleasure. The restaurant was running a bourbon promotion — you could choose any brand from their rather large and diverse offerings, get it any way you want it, and then reach into a bag and pull out a token to find out how much the cost will be discounted. My husband, a big fan of the brown spirit, chose a pricey pour, and picked himself a 20 percent off deal. I went for a cocktail dubbed the Cape Hatteras, mostly for the name because we used to vacation there with our kids, and was more than happy with the combination of light rum, St. Germaine, fresh lime and grapefruit soda.

Settling on sides was a challenge. He went with the weekly bargain options: grits and asparagus. I was leaning toward one of my favorites from the regular menu, the Dixie Ceasar. The romaine is grilled, speckled with peanuts, chunks of country ham and avocado, and shreds of cheese then dressed up in green goddess vinaigrette. But at the last minute I went rogue and got fried green tomatoes. Topped with corn kernels, pickled green onion and okra remoulade, they were, as my Savannah friend's mom likes to say, D.I V. Divine.

And then there's those fluffy biscuits. They get me every time. Warm out of the oven and served with soft flavored butter and fruit jam, they're irresistible. Good thing they only give you one apiece on the house. Otherwise I'd be too full to enjoy all the other fine things that come out Nolan Konkoski's kitchen six days a week.

Something Southern on the West Side

We had a birthday to celebrate last week so the husband and I decided to take our son and daughter-in-law to SoHo Kitchen and Bar. The new Ohio City spot with the Southern accent has only been open since Nov. 17, and this was a first visit for us all. Definitely won’t be the last.

(By the way: it might seem to some that I write about this neighborhood often. Don't blame me. I'm not showing favoritism. It's just that so much has been happening in the area around the West Side Market lately. The district has become one of our most exciting dining destinations on either side of the river.)

Since toasts were on the agenda, drinks were essential. SoHo has an intriguing list of specialty cocktails. The only problem was choosing … and then convincing everyone else to give me a taste. On the table were the most excellent and seriously strong Corpus Christi made with moonshine (white unaged whiskey), tomato water, lime and hot sauce, topped with pickled veggies on stick and a salted rim; the fruity Coral Gables, mix of tequila, passion fruit, fresh orange juice, and pomegranate grenadine (dangerously easily going down); and the Savannah with tea-infused vodka, honey lemonade and hibiscus syrup that had me thinking sunshine, porch swings and summer sipping. Happily, though there will be no porches or swings, there will be seating outside for about 40 when the warm (I mean really show some skin warm, not just unseasonably, leave your mittens at home mild) weather returns. The husband chose a South Carolina IPA-RJ Racker’s Bell Ringer from the great list of microbrews that’s nicely organized by type.

Every table gets fluffy buttermilk biscuits (one per person) on the house. We slathered on the sea salted honey butter and apple-berry preserves and disappeared them embarrassingly fast. Luckily, the starters we ordered to share came soon after, but we devoured them quickly too, right down to the last crumb and crumble because one bite kept leading to another. It’s hard to take it slow when stuff is this good. See for yourself: Get the Pimento Cheese Dip with fresh BBQ chips or the S'uthern Snacks, a board of artisanal cheeses, shavings of country ham, the fine Surryano American prosciutto from Edwards & Sons, with pickled pluots (apricot plum hybrid), which Chef/owner Nolan Konkoski brines in vinegar, orange juice, cinnamon and a bit of Creole mustard.

I then moved on to, and loved, his duck gumbo with shrimp andouille, okra (done perfectly, no glueyness) and rice plus crawfish and crab fritters with spicy slaw. I also sampled shrimp and grits; buttermilk-fried chicken and sweet potato waffles, sloshed in bourbon maple syrup; and a bite of catfish Po' Boy with hot pepper remoulade. Stuffed but not daunted, we shared a plate of small beignets with dark chocolate and blackberry jam and pecan pie with bourbon-brown butter ice cream.

They are currently only serving dinner Tuesday through Saturday but will be adding Sunday brunch beginning Jan. 15 and Friday and Saturday lunches later in the month. Konkoski told me he’ll be starting monthly whiskey dinners in February, most likely on Monday evenings, throughout the year. I, for one, can hardly wait for these additional opportunities to enjoy his cooking and the special Southern hospitality he and partner Molly Smith have brought to us here on the north coast.

SoHo at Momocho

Chefs Nolan Konkoski and Eric Williams have come up with a cool and clever twist on the pop up restaurant idea. For one night, on Aug. 22, Momocho, Williams’ Ohio City place, becomes SoHo Kitchen, Konkoski’s new spot a few blocks away on West 25th Street that’s due to open in mid-September. To pull off this bit of culinary theater, they’re changing everything from the sign out front to the printed menus and the food on the plate.

The two guys have some history: Konkoski worked at Momocho for six years. In fact, he helped open it. Williams, excited to help out a friend, colleague, and soon-to-be neighbor, told me “this is going to be a fun fantastic blow-it-out-of-the-water event with lots of surprises.”

Meant to spark some buzz about the restaurant to come, this reservations-only teaser meal offers a preview of the Southern-inspired, modern accented fare Konkoski and his partner (in life and business) Molly Smith plan to serve, along with some of the cocktails and beers that will be on their list. There will be a three-four selections in each category: appetizers, entrees, desserts, and drinks. Prices will range from $8 to $18 per item. Given the name, an acronym for SOuthern HOspitality, I expect they'll also be dishing out a warm friendly welcome, too.

There are only 100 seats available throughout the night from 6-9 p.m. To be sure you get in on the shrimp and grits and guarantee your portion of chicken and waffles, better grab the phone and call 216-694-2122 right now.