I had lunch at this Southern restaurant on Thursday. I want to start out by saying that there is nothing wrong with the experience, however, that is not the same as being right. The pre-eminent reason I (and probably most people) chose this to eat here was because of its namesake. I believe I was first made aware of Art Smith on Iron Chef or some similarly themed timed cook off show. It was a "Senior PGA" battle. Guys who preceded the celebrity chef hysteria. I also remember thinking that he showed the least amount of talent an imagination in the contest. I think it was a pairs competition. And although I believe he/they won, it was more because the city slickers on the tasting panel considered Southern cuisine to be a lark. And maybe it was up to four or five years ago (when the show filmed) or way back when he started his Chicago restaurant. For those in the North. However, we are in the South and in 2016 "new Southern cuisine" is the latest played out fad. Which brings me back to my opening statement. There is nothing wrong with what he/they are doing. It's quite good. Probably still a little progressive for Disney tourists. However, I can think of four or five local "new Southern places" that it would lose to in a food battle. The new 1921 by Norman Von Acken for one. And he is AUSTRIAN! The menu is small. This isn't always a negative. But, it's also too safe for an adventurous food acolyte. The most ambitious thing on the menu is a chicken and waffles riff using donuts. Yawn. On my dish (his signature chicken meal) the most interesting element was the pickles. We're talking pulled pork and fried green tomatoes. Yawn. There are around ten main items. The lunch and dinner menu are the same. Yawn. My meal cost $26 and consisted of a fried breast (with half wing), de-boned thigh and drumstick along with mashed potatoes and a cheddar biscuit. The chicken was soaked in butter milk for a day. It was moist and crisp. The quality was good. Side note - how can nearly everyone serve Bell and Evans chickens and it not violate some agro-snobs definition of acceptable? And can anyone invent a de-veiner for chicken drums and wings? The coating was light and stuck to the bird. Non-greasy. Plus. Plus. However, it lacked flavor. Bland everything. No salt. No pepper. Nada. The potatoes were equally bland. They also seemed to be over whipped (and over pureed). They had a sticky, gummy consistency. I needed to dip the chicken into the potatoes to find any flavor. I burped up potato all afternoon. The biscuit was fine. Light. A touch of cheddar. But, once again little taste. It's almost like since he had his health issues that he decided to reconfigure his menu to make it healthy. Not that I have ever tried his food before. Maybe this is the Art Smith way. So, that was the meal. Some apple cider pickles and a splash of hot sauce completed the opus. Basic plating. Once again, it was a good meal. I just wasn't changed by it.
The place holds about 182 if I remember the occupancy sign correctly. It was filling fast once the doors opened at 11. The dress code seemed to be casual. Alot of people seemed to have come there because of Art. It has vaulted ceilings and is composed of wood in natural and gray tones. The cushions and chandeliers are wrapped in faux potato (?) sacks that look like burlap. It has windows more than walls. The bar in on the left and the kitchen (windowed) is on the right. They have table options for all sizes. There is a screened in patio. Art was there and was very gracious and came to every one's table. Service was good. They had about ten costumed wait people at the ready. Food came out fast. A soda was $4, but, you did get a refill. They even offered to "to go cup" me. And that is a good note to end this on. Even though Art is a "celebrity", he doesn't appear to be full of himself. You can still get a soda to go. How un-snooty is that? How Southern. So, if you want to keep it casual yet have something to Instagram about at Disney, this is a fine option. Maybe it's a little pricey for fried chicken. But, you were probably stupid enough to pay $125 (without parking) to get on three rides that weren't under construction. Don't get sensible now. They opened in July and appear to be operating smoothly. Park in the Lime lot.
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