Omnivore - She dares to attack Maison Peggy

Christiane Lauterbach reviews the Silver Midtown Grill in the latest issue of her newsletter, Knife and Fork. The restaurant is the reincarnation of the popular Silver Grill, which closed after 58 years about a year ago.

Christiane rates the new incarnation with one of her rare empty circles, for “acceptable,” meaning that the most she can promise is that the restaurant won’t kill you. Only the black circle, “unacceptable,” is worse.

“Nothing got ruined and, with the exception of fresher fixtures, nothing got improved either,” Christiane writes.

Mainly she attacks the “horrible vegetables and depressing decor.” It’s absolutely true that the vegetables there have never been especially good. One taste and you can hear electric can openers whirring inside your head. But, of course, those of us who loved the experience of the original Silver Grill are glad to see this reincarnation. We are washing down the bad veggies with an iced-tea glass full of syrupy-sweet nostalgia.

Typical of Christiane’s wicked pen:

Many of the customers can be seen dumping a lot of salt on anything from a BLT to a chicken-fried steak. As in the old days, most of the vegetables are canned or frozen and, with the exception of a chicken breast fried to a turn and some mashed potatoes we loaded with ground pepper, there isn’t much for us to eat in a place where waterlogged carrots, slimy pickled beets, and institutional black-eyed peas still turn our stomach.

There’s also a funny description of an encounter with Peggy Hubbard, the 74-year-old server who worked in the original restaurant for 50 years and is back on the job with the new owners. But you’ll have to get your hands on a copy of Knife and Fork to read that.

Seriously, a subscription to Knife and Fork is essential for any serious foodie. Unfortunately, you can’t e-mail the publication. You’ll have to call Ms. Lauterbach on the telephone: 404-378-2775.