My Birthday Fare Part II: South City Kitchen in Atlanta, GA

As I mentioned in Part I, I was on a solo business trip to Atlanta during my birthday but that didn't keep this food-obsessed chick from seeking out the best meal I could find. Already bored with room service from the night before, I set out to find some Southern cuisine and found some serious grub at the famed South City Kitchen. Boasting contemporary Southern food on the quaint Crescent Avenue, SCK is anything but serene yet the food was out of this world. Take a peak...(oh, and please excuse my uber dark photos on this one...I was sitting at the bar, it was dark and I was using my BlackBerry!)

Though I could have gone crazy with the appetizer menu (fried green tomatoes with goat cheese, crab cakes, strawberry salad, smoked bbq pork), I decided against any starters and instead feasted on not one but two corn muffins which were brought to the table in lieu of the traditional bread basket.

For dinner, I made like a local and went with the buttermilk fried chicken. Peppery, crispy, juicy but not  greasy, this delectable dish was served atop a bed of buttermilk mashed potatoes, green beans and bourbon gravy. Yeah, it was pretty wonderful and just about the most delicious way to ring in my birthday.

And since fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans just didn't seem to be enough to fill up this foodie, I also ordered a side of skillet mac & cheese. Yes, I realized that I'd probably need to be wheeled out of the restaurant on a dolly, but when in Georgia, right? And wasn't I totally justified in getting a side dish since I forewent the appetizer? No? Just me? Ok. But the skillet was a lot smaller than it looks in this photo...

Last but certainly not least, I enjoyed the SCK banana pudding at the recommendation of the diner sitting next to me. This was no ordinary pudding. Thick, creamy and custard-like, this pudding was more like a trifle. Layers of pudding, pie crust and homemade whipped cream filled my glass and I'm not going to lie to you...I put a decent dent in it.

So there it is. My super indulgent dinner down in the Southern city.