Marietta

Craig Samuel and Ben Grossman (Peaches, the Smoke Joint) preach the comfort-food gospel at this down-home Clinton Hill hideaway. In the farmhouse-inspired dining room—outfitted with rural touches like vintage radios, cast-iron chicken figurines and blue wainscoting—wooden tables are set with dishes that span the South. Gold skillet rice with thyme-roasted tomatoes tip a hat to Charleston, SC; country ham with benne butter reps Finchville, KY; and their “extra-fancy” fried chicken—the house specialty—follows Memphis tradition, seasoned with lemon, a honey brine and secret-recipe hot sauce. In the brick-laden barroom, grab a stool at the copper-trimmed bar for cocktails that skew below the Mason-Dixon Line: A classic mint julep swaps out bourbon for sloe gin, while Kentucky's Bulleit whiskey meets Belle de Brillet and Gran Classico in the Marietta.