Food & Drink

Five Must-Try New Southern Restaurants

Add these noteworthy restaurant openings to your dining bucket list

Photo: Tim bower


Dauphine’s  | Washington, D.C.

This spring, the lauded New Orleans chef Kristen Essig moved from Magazine Street to the nation’s capital, where she employs mid-Atlantic ingredients to make Louisiana classics, including duck jambalaya and seafood gumbo. Riffs on a St. Charles Punch and Roffignac come courtesy of the James Beard Award–winning barman Neal Bodenheimer.


photo: Jen Chase

RECIPE: DAUPHINE’S SHRIMP REMOULADE SALAD


Diner Bar and the Grey Market | Austin, TX

This fall, Savannah restaurateurs Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano will launch two spots in Austin’s Thompson hotel. Diner Bar mixes coastal Southern fare with Lone Star traditions to serve dishes like chanterelle and summer corn and pork belly country pasta, while the counter-style Grey Market will dish out lunches and grab-and-go house-made pickles and jams.

photo: Amy Dickerson
John O. Morisano and Mashama Bailey.

Pink Bellies | Charleston, SC

After stints running a food truck and a food-hall stall, chef Thai Phi opened a permanent iteration of Pink Bellies on King Street, serving classic and reimagined Vietnamese comfort foods such as beef pho dumplings and pulled-pork-topped garlic noodles. Phi and his team are currently serving take-out only, but a full grand opening is slated for later this summer. 

photo: Courtesy of Pink Bellies

RECIPE: PINK BELLIES’ SHRIMP AND PORK WONTONS


EG&MC | Nashville, TN

Nearly a century ago, Jefferson Street marked the epicenter of Black enterprise in Nashville. The owners of the local chain Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria teamed up with Apertif bar’s Gemaal Pratts to help reignite that legacy. When EG&MC opens this month, live music will play on the wraparound patio as chef Jason Williams serves Southern tapas including shrimp-and-grits fritters. 

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Supperland | Charlotte, NC

 Inside a restored midcentury church, the recently-opened steakhouse Supperland takes inspiration from Sunday covered-dish luncheons and dials them up a notch. Wagyu beef pot roast resets the standard, and ambrosia cranks to eleven with brandied cherries and charred pineapple.

photo: Courtesy of Supperland

RECIPE: SUPPERLAND’S AMBROSIA SALAD