Omnivore - Ow, my wallet!

I had a late lunch Wednesday at Star Provisions (1198 Howell Mill Road, 404-365-0410). I’d heard a rumor that they were serving fried chicken, so I had to check it out. I found it in the refrigerated case near the cash register and figured I would be eating it cold, which would have been fine by me. I used to get up in the middle of the night and eat my mother’s leftover (flawless) chicken, standing in front of the refrigerator. It was always in a blue bowl lined with paper towels.

Star Provisions has some mysterious way of heating the chicken without ruining the crispy, flour-coated skin. The stuff was state-of-the-Southern-art, but not cheap. You pay by the pound.

Prices at this shop in front of Bacchanalia can sometimes take me by surprise. This bottle of Fentiman’s Ginger Beer (above), from the U.K., was over $4, for example, and it wasn’t nearly as good as Stewart’s version. (Then again, I can’t find Stewart’s Ginger Beer anywhere in town these days. If you have a lead, let me know.)

I bought this key lime tart (left), which looks like a culinary mandala, for dessert. When I took it to the cash register to pay, I was charged $10. I was shocked and made a sarcastic remark, since I thought it was half that much. As it turned out, I was right, they refunded me $5, and I ate the whole thing in a flash without any resentment about its price.