Hot and Hot Fish Club ★ 4.5
Hot and Hot Fish Club at Pepper Place is the Chris Hastings flagship since 1995, with the chef-counter tomato salad that became a Birmingham signature.
History
Fried green tomatoes have been a Southern garden staple for over a century, using under-ripe tomatoes that would otherwise go to waste at season's end. The dish became a Southern restaurant icon through the 1980s and 1990s with Fannie Flagg's novel and the 1991 film of the same name. Birmingham restaurants ran them as bar snacks and brunch starters; OvenBird at Pepper Place runs a wood-fired version, Hot and Hot Fish Club includes them as part of the canonical tomato-salad season July through September.
Common allergens: Gluten, Eggs, Dairy
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 4 large firm green (under-ripe) tomatoes
- 2 large eggs
- 120ml buttermilk
- 200g yellow cornmeal
- 50g flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 0.5 teaspoon black pepper
- Vegetable oil for shallow-frying
- Remoulade or pimento cheese to serve
Method
- Slice the green tomatoes 1cm thick. Season the slices with salt and let drain on a paper towel for 5 minutes.
- Beat the eggs with the buttermilk in a shallow dish.
- Mix the cornmeal, flour, salt and pepper in another shallow dish.
- Dip each tomato slice in the egg mixture, then in the cornmeal, pressing to coat.
- Heat 1cm of vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat to 175C / 350F.
- Fry the tomato slices in batches 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately with remoulade or pimento cheese.
Tip from the editors. The tomatoes must be firm and under-ripe; ripe red tomatoes turn to mush in the pan. Slice and salt them ahead to draw out water.
Where to eat fried green tomatoes
Fried green tomatoes in Birmingham
OvenBird ★ 4.3
OvenBird at Pepper Place Birmingham is Chris Hastings's live-fire sibling concept to Hot and Hot, with Spanish, Portuguese, Uruguayan and Argentine grills.
Bottega Cafe ★ 4.6
Bottega Cafe in Highland Park Birmingham runs a deep Italian by-the-glass program from the Stitt cellar, with a casual patio menu next to Bottega Restaurant.
Signature pour: Chianti Classico by the glass
Wine focus: Italian regional and Stitt-cellar pours
Food: Wood-oven pizza, antipasti, pasta
Fried green tomatoes in Charleston
Husk ★ 4.9
Husk in Charleston opened in 2010 under Sean Brock and rebuilt Southern fine dining on heritage grains and hyper-local produce. Located in Downtown.
Order: The cast-iron cornbread, plus whatever the wood grill is running.
Tip: Book on the website. Bar seats walk-in at 17:00 and serve the full menu.
Magnolias ★ 4.5
Magnolias on East Bay Street is the Charleston brunch institution since 1990. Sunday brunch only: banana pudding French toast, crab cake Benedict.
Order: Banana pudding French toast, crab cake Benedict, shrimp and sausage over grits with tasso gravy
Tip: Book on Resy 2 weeks ahead. The shrimp and grits is the canonical version; bottomless mimosas at the bar.
Poogan's Porch ★ 4.6
Poogan's Porch on Queen Street in Charleston has plated Lowcountry brunch since 1976 from a converted 1891 home. Located in Downtown. Open daily 09:00-15:00.
Order: Buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy, she-crab soup, shrimp and grits
Tip: Book on Resy at least 5 days ahead for weekend brunch. Request a porch table; the inside rooms run small and warm.
82 Queen ★ 4.2
82 Queen in Charleston has poured she-crab soup for 40 years from three historic buildings on Queen Street with a courtyard garden under a magnolia.
Signature: She-crab soup, Shrimp and grits
Order: The 18-time-award-winning she-crab soup.
Tip: Book on OpenTable. Courtyard seats are the best in the house.
Fried green tomatoes in Savannah
B. Matthew's Eatery ★ 4.3
B. Matthew's daily brunch board runs from breakfast classics to fried-green-tomato Benedicts and shrimp and grits in a brick-walled 1850s East Bay room.
Order: Fried green tomato and crab cake benny
Crystal Beer Parlor ★ 4.3
Crystal's $15 burgers, $12 fried green tomatoes and $14 she-crab soup keep a 1933 historic-pub lunch under $20. Dark booths, long draft list, no reservations.
Try: Crystal burger and Southern pub plates
The Olde Pink House ★ 4.6
The Olde Pink House occupies a 1771 Georgian mansion on Reynolds Square. Formal upstairs dining and Planters Tavern walk-up basement, Balish 1992 restoration.
Vic's on the River ★ 4.3
Vic's runs in a restored 1859 cotton warehouse on Bay Street, river views from the upstairs dining room. Classic Lowcountry with white-tablecloth service.
Signature: Shrimp and grits, She-crab soup
Order: Shrimp and grits with the Carolina shrimp sauce, plus a she-crab soup to share.
Tip: Ask for an upstairs window seat at reservation time for the Savannah River view.
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