Restaurants

The Mill Kitchen & Bar

It’s hard to feel enthused about yet another restaurant serving what it deems “modernized Southern comfort food”—in other words, the done-to-death cliches like deviled eggs, pimento cheese, shrimp and grits, and fried chicken that riddle menus in every corner of the metro area. But apparently we’re alone in our cynicism. In a former funeral home that previously housed Mexican-themed Pico Auténtico, owners Scott and Randy McCray have found a formula that fills the sprawling space night after night. The Mill does have its charms: Servers maintain their humor while keeping a frenetic pace, and a few dishes—including fried oysters with a remoulade dipping sauce punched up with green Tabasco, and a monstrous pork shank over cheese grits, with tender hunks of meat falling off the bone—show some individuality. Artisan bourbon lovers should order their Eagle Rare Ten Year neat: The bartenders need to tone down the sugary cocktails.