An early summer salad on Woodfire’s menu summarized the most admirable aspects of Kevin Gillespie’s viewpoint. Thick slices of barely roasted peaches, boiled peanuts, and crisped, furled nuggets of country ham arrived on a rectangular plate, arranged in a pattern that emphasized their individual shapes. Drizzles of Tabasco-infused sorghum surrounded them. The visual effect was a little precious, but the combination of flavors immediately conjured the South—not simply the taste of regional ingredients, but also the feeling of eating breakfast in a meat-and-three or stopping to buy a snack at a country shack. Not enough Atlanta chefs do this. They revere local produce and meats but then cook them in a way that more evokes California than Georgia. Let’s hope Gillespie keeps mining the Southern recipe lexicon for offbeat inspiration; his cooking hasn’t been as experimental lately. The wine program elevates the evening. Austere, high-acid Old World wines often attune to Southern flavors better than New World counterparts. Co-owner Nicolas Quinones understands this. His list, full of less common varietals and seductive half bottles, is a thing of beauty.