Peels (CLOSED)

This homespun eatery, from the fashionable folks behind Freemans, offers a Southern dining experience with urban polish. A downstairs café and lunch counter features baked goods, salumi and sandwiches. Upstairs, a more spacious dining room evokes a living room on an antebellum estate. Despite the domestic feel, even the homiest food tastes like a professional cooked it: Cheese grits, served under delicate shrimp and a fried egg, are as rich as polenta, and the buttermilk fried chicken arrives succulent and extra crisp with seasonal sides. Save room for the sweets: Desserts such as brown butter Rice Krispie treats all deserve state-fair blue ribbons.