South at North Hills

It's such a shame this directionally gifted restaurant lost its way.

The "new, eclectic" (restaurant marketing parlance) Southern restaurant was apparently the second such spot in North Hills to go belly-up, according to The N&O's Sue Stock. Read about it here.

Until today, I hadn't sampled either. North Hills is a great place to go to Target, for a mildly impoverished yuppie like myself. Sometimes it's a great place to catch a movie. But I don't generally consider it a great place to eat unless I'm going to Chick fil-A or Five Guys. Too many people, too little parking, too little patience. The one foray into real sit-down dining, at Fox & Hound, was distinctly underwhelming.

Today, however, was a particularly girl day. Three of us ladies caught a chick flick and then decided to have lunch. Since we had heard South was headed you-know-where, we decided to give it a parting shot.

It was wonderful. The decor is clearly North Hills Snob, but the service was laid back and genuinely friendly. We arrived around 3, when the menu was a limited midafternoon dealie. Regardless, the choices all sounded great. I asked for a recommendation between the shrimp tacos and the fried green tomato BLT. The server, unfortunately, was not a pig-eater, but he did enthuasiastically recommend the tacos. And they were lovely: several deep-fried prawns tucked into soft shells with cabbage, guac and a savory aioli sauce. On the side: a mixed-greens salad with gorgonzola, candied pecans and some lovely croutons made of some kind of phyllo dough, I think.

Also on the table: gourmet mac and cheese, shrimp and grits, and buttermilk mashed potatoes. Carbs galore, well presented, well received.

It was kind of in a class apart from Chick fil-A.

So, all y'all have got five days left before South is off the map. I'm considering heading for one last taste. I just hope they don't liquidate their stock of green tomatoes before then.

Check out the Web site, while it's still up: South at North Hills