Liam’s Restaurant, Lounge & Cheese Shoppe Awards

Liam’s Restaurant, Lounge & Cheese Shoppe Restaurant Review:

Owners Rhonda and Scott (the chef) Foster named Liam's after their son, whose charming image asleep over his school books graces one of the walls. The early 20th-century commercial space has been home to the restaurant for more than a decade. The tiny open kitchen turns out a weekly changing, seasonal menu that seeks out fresh local ingredients, such as pork from Thompson Farms in Dixie, Georgia, and cheese from Sweet Grass Dairy up the road. Even the coffee is locally roasted at Grassroots. Lunchtime may feature fried oysters and freshly made pasta. Here's where you'll find the mac ‘n’ cheese of your life, a veritable study of how to do this dish with respect. In cold weather, there may be cassoulet or slow-braised rabbit for comfort fare. Shrimp cooked in a corn broth with potatoes, okra and andouille is a bit of a riff on low country boil. Select cheeses from a comprehensive, globally sourced assortment, correctly served at room temperature. Check out the lounge and cheese shop in the adjacent space, where Rhonda gets to indulge her passion for fromage. It's open late and until midnight on Saturdays. Happy hour is Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., offering special prices on house wines, cheeses, all spirits, craft beers and martinis. The wine list, focused on small producers, is joined by a first-rate craft beer list and liquors.