Celebrichef Lisa Garza opened her new restaurant, Sissy’s Southern Kitchen and Bar, this past weekend. Before the restaurant opened, in the old Hector’s spot on Henderson, she invited us to a media lunch. In the interest of full disclosure, that means I and other writers ate a big ol’ lunch there last week without paying for it.
Garza is from Tennessee, and as the oldest of many siblings, she was known at home as “Sissy.” She hired Jeffrey Hobbs who was her partner at Suze for seven years, as executive chef. She says he is, “the Bubba to my Sissy.” Garza says he wanted to take a step back from fine dining and create a concept that was more casual and fun.
The interior looks terrific:
The food was great too. Starters included deviled eggs with creme fresh and caviar ($8 for 6), squash puppies with whipped honey and jalapeño jelly ($7), pimento cheese and ham salad with angel biscuits ($9), and pickled gulf shrimp ($14), which I didn’t taste because shrimp is one of the few things I won’t eat, y’all. But they looked good:
The deviled eggs with caviar were very salty, but with enough champagne, I think I could down the whole plate.
That jalapeño jelly that came with the squash puppies was so good, sweet and spicy.
I appreciated “grandma’s layered salad,” ($8), a green salad with peas, cheddar and mayonnaise. It’s the kind of wonderful comfort food you’d find amid a post-funeral buffet where I’m from. But my favorite salad was the baby spinach salad ($8) with ham hock vinaigrette, lardon, crispy shallot and poached egg.
Fried chicken, of course, is the star of the show. Sissy’s fried chicken costs $20 for a 10-piece bucket or $11 for two pieces. Here’s the menu description: “House spiced, buttermilk soaked, pressure fried with choice of sloppy slaw or whipped potatoes.”
Corn bread and muffins costs $7 at Sissy’s, but they are a worthy indulgence. Desserts we tasted included Alabama lane cake ($9), which was beautiful, with white frosting and coconut on the outside, but it was so soaked with bourbon I was afraid I might get a DWI afterward. The “better than sex” chocolate cake ($7) sits atop a peanut butter sauce and is served with creme fresh. Whether it lives up to its name, I suppose, is subjective. It was moist and crumbly, but I’ve had better chocolate cake. The bourbon bread pudding ($8) with salted caramel and pecans was the table favorite.
I didn’t actually try these cookies, but they look great.
Sissy’s is open for dinner only. In a month or so, Garza says she plans to be open for brunch six days a week as well.
