Screen Door

[October 17th, 2007] 2337 E Burnside St., 542-0880. Dinner Tuesday-Sunday, brunch Saturday-Sunday. $$ Moderate. If a down-home restaurant accessorizes with glass Ball jars and declares its love for local produce and meats, it’s inevitable that the prices will inch up and the portions shrink. Not so at David and Nicole Mouton’s stylish house of Southern charm, where a simple order of fried chicken translates to a whole half of a moist buttermilk-battered bird paired with garlicky veggies and a mountain of creamy smashed taters. And then there’s chef Rick Windmayer’s hot and briny fried oyster po’ boy or the sweet ’n’ saucy pulled-pork sandwich dressed with crunchy slaw—each a reason to believe in a higher comfort-food power. Don’t forgot the DIY option of the “Screen Door Plate,” which lets hungry folk zero in on three comfort-food sides or unique seasonal organic offerings, from duck confit hash to smoky-awesome collard greens. The crave-worthy weekend brunch is worth a short wait, when the salty-sugary double punch of praline-bacon topped waffles and herby sausage-gravy-topped biscuits are on the menu. (KNC)

Signature dish: Hot ’n’ sweet fried chicken and waffles at brunch would make a Roscoe’s aficionado weep.

Standouts: Smoky meats, eats-like-a-meal salads and a no-nonsense attitude (the website even notes that “you will not find deep-fried Twinkies on the menu.”)

Regrets: Some religions consider bland ham gravy a sin—or at least mine does.