SoCo, Thornton Park

I went to this Southern restaurant in the old Hue Space (East Central Blvd) on Saturday night. I'll take a stab in the dark and say the name is short for Southern Cooking (wait I see on my receipt that it is Southern Contemporary).Well Soco was just so so. Beyond the snooty and fruity manager (let's call him Peebles) and the tiny, semi-prive dining room and the cuisine of the hour menu, it doesn't appear that this chef can translate his (purloined) vision to the plate. It was the same at his other diversion - Baoery. They said he was in that kitchen on this night. If (and I've seen no evidence of it so far) he can cook then he can't delegate (or teach). I'm bored with new-Southern cooking by now, so, I just tried two dishes (that didn't break the bank) that would test them in two separate directions. I had an oyster app for $9 that came fried in cornmeal. The four oysters were decent. There was some sort of white dressing and some green tomato accents. Not bad. I also wanted to see a cold preparation, so, I ordered their steak tartare. I also did this because I've had it in at least three other spots downtown and figured it would be worth comparing them. This was the worst of the bunch. They added almost nothing to the tasteless beef. I usually hate how much salt chefs feel we should ingest. However, this had no salt and no pepper. Also, no mustard or capers or egg or onions or whatever is usually in a tartare. I'm all for reconstructing, but, this was a canvas with no paint. They claim to have added some chicken skin. It was indiscernible. There were some poorly chopped scallions in there. The "toast" was also terrible. They were still soft in the middle. They also brought this (the bigger plate) out first and then the oysters right after. It needed to be oysters (cheaper and smaller plate) - pause - steak. All they did was force me to order more drinks elsewhere. I would order the burger if I were you. It has to be the same thing. The waiters came by with some free fried hominy for all during the meal. If I didn't truly believe it was a kitchen fuck up (the salt DC used for de-icing last week), I would have been thankful. It would have been good if they didn't fuck it up (oversalted). And that is the impression they made. Good intentions with poor execution. I think they think a little too much of themselves. They need a glass of cold water to the face. Walking around the area, I saw that they had the most open seats. Maybe the public is speaking and they aren't listening. Maybe this guy (Greg Ritchie) is wilting under the weight of two restaurants and people thinking he's keeping Madonna from their son. Maybe they were executing well before Baoery and will again in the future. Who can say. I can say that I won't. I don't like making reservations. I don't like being relegated to the remedial room (bar). I don't particularly like treating southern cuisine as if it is acceptable in a white tablecloth restaurant. There are too many other places more desperate for my patronage. The place looks nice. They aren't one to let a fad pass them by, so, they are heavy into whiskey at the bar. There is also a circular main dining room and a patio. They offer you a whiskey shot before your meal. Parking is a pain in the ass. They think they are too good to do lunch. Did I mention Fruity Peeples?