Sensible yet bold flavors, straightforward methods, and that warm sense of comfort you get after finishing a meal are typically what comes to mind when you think of Southern cooking. That’s not to say that when Justin Swain of Rex 1516 says he wants an elevated version of this regional cuisine, you are going to lose that. It just means those might be third or fourth on the totem pole when your brain catches up to what’s hitting your palate.

Few things embody the South’s signature style like hushpuppies. Mix some house made pimento cheese into the batter, finish with a remoulade-like sauce called Comeback, and you have our amuse bouche for the evening. If you ask Justin and his assistant Alex where to get the best pimento cheese, you will get a definitive, “At home.” It is an easy condiment to make with finely grated soft cheddar cheese like Cooper, mayo, Worcestershire, and cherry peppers or some other type of chili pepper depending on how much heat you want.

For the next course, Justin served a crudo of lightly smoked scallops, accompanied by cucumber, chive and ruby red grapefruit over whipped buttermilk.

Guests were treated to an escargot stuffed morel mushroom tartine for the following course. After being pan roasted with veal jus, the mushrooms were placed over a toasted generous slice of French bread slathered with goat cheese. Judging from the quiet in the room once this course went down, one could come to the conclusion that this was a resounding hit.

Before we got to dessert, Justin and Alex treated us to some good ol’ fried chicken, giving us a couple of tips to pull off a wonderfully juicy but crunchy dish of deliciousness. The overarching theme is to ensure doneness before going after that golden shell. You will want to cook the chicken at a low temp before frying to give the outside that golden look. Justin began the cooking process by slowly poaching the chicken breasts in a sous vide bath. As the chicken approached their final temperature, he then battered and breaded the chicken. That way, when frying, you’re only concerned with achieving a crispy skin since the internal temperature is already where it needs to be. We would be remiss to not mention the accompanying creamy collards and red peas.

If you made it through the first four courses and had room, you were treated to strawberry cheesecake parfait. Strawberries are just coming into season but if you would like to incorporate their flavor all year round, one can choose to make preserves or dehydrate them like they were used for this dish.

You should make the trip to South Street to visit Justin and the crew at Rex 1516. Did we mention they have a great brunch and a burger to die for?