THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED South

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED South Restaurant Review:

South is no old-school Southern eatery, so don't expect ruffled curtains or chintz in its brick-walled North Hills venue. Instead, sleekly contemporary fixtures and chairs lure a stylish urban clientele. The menu offers a mix of traditional items (fried chicken and buttermilk mashed potatoes, Calabash-style fried oysters) with chef Patrick Laird's creative takes on the cuisine (pimento cheese-stuffed beignets, sweet potato gnocchi with golden beet coulis, for example). But Laird also uses Mediterranean accents---goat cheese, cippolini onions, aïoli and similar flavors---to create a menu that is more “fusion” than Southern traditional. And like most fusion fare, its appeal is subjective. Newcomers to Southern cuisine will enjoy the menu’s creative flair, but nostalgic diners longing for the food of their childhood may be put off by what might strike them as culinary horseplay.