Dubya style

Few Atlanta restaurateurs have had as much success as Tom Catherall. Most foodies remember his public debut as chef of Azalea in Buckhead, about 10 years ago.

That glittering restaurant, decorated with brushed-steel panels and sepia photos of flowers, was a milestone in Atlanta. Catherall’s elegant fusion food, rivaled only by Alena Pyles’ work at Nickiemoto’s, was a highlight in this city. He left Azalea eventually and opened two restaurants at Lenox Square: Tom Tom, a fusion spot, and then Prime, a steak house that also serves sushi and Japanese fusion dishes. They are also notable for breaking the “mall barrier.” Mall restaurants are notoriously middle-brow, but Catherall proved they didn’t have to be.

Then came Noche, his mainly delicious Southwestern fusion spot in Virginia-Highland, followed by Goldfish, his Perimeter Mall seafood spot. Goldfish is the only one of his restaurants to receive significantly poor reviews from other critics. I haven’t visited it. Some people began to wonder if Catherall had not over-extended himself.

Meanwhile, he also had bought the old Partners-Indigo location in Morningside. Those side-by-side restaurants created by Alix Kenagy almost 20 years ago also were culinary milestones in our city — both in terms of offering quirky designer food and, similar to Catherall’s ground-breaking mall move, actually initiating the gentrification of Morningside’s old business area. By the time Catherall bought the location, Kenagy had moved to Brunswick and her ex-husband Dan Carson had taken charge, eliminating Partners and expanding the more popular Indigo.

Indigo was already faltering when Catherall bought it. I can’t say why except that its identity was always tied up in the loquacious and creative intellect of Kenagy. It was never the same after her departure.

Finally, in fact, it has fallen completely flat and Catherall has initiated a new concept in its place, Star Steaks & BBQ (1397 N. Highland Ave., 404-876-0676). It is, to say the least, a shock to the eyes from the exterior. With big black awnings and a huge logo, it looks exceedingly corporate in a location that once was home to a personally designed, kitschy take on a Key West fish shack. Dwarfing everything else in the vicinity by the sheer scale of its imagery, the restaurant demands your eye but, I’m afraid, doesn’t do much for your palate.

The first thing you’ll notice inside is that it certainly hasn’t caught on. In several visits, I have found the restaurant sparsely patronized — actually empty except for one other table one night. We found ourselves whispering. An empty restaurant, in short, is a hard place to sit. The decor does nothing to make you more comfortable. It’s rather barren and dark, presided over by a cow’s head. You’ll look out the windows and see people waiting to get into Mambo or milling about What’s the Scoop? and marvel at how things have changed since the glory days of Indigo and Partners.

Service can be amazingly indifferent or very good. I long have noticed that empty restaurants don’t mean good service. It’s as if the staff overcompensates by slowing down and pretending they’re busy. In one visit, we had a waiter whose chat I had to interrupt at the bar to get his attention. At another, our server was a candidate for the congeniality award in the Miss America Pageant.

The food isn’t bad but it is far removed from the fascinating work that distinguishes Catherall at his best. You can understand his attempt at something more straightforward: Comfort food for the Dubya in ya. But this isn’t the beef you’ll find at Prime. Nor is it, capitalizing with its Lone Star theme on the return of Texas to the White House, anything like a good Houston steak house.

Steaks so far have been mediocre to fairly good. The “cowboy ribeye” ($17.95) was simply inferior in nearly every way — from the stringy quality of the meat to the cooking. I’m guessing I just happened to get an exceptionally bad ribeye because a week later I sampled a nicely cooked strip steak ($16.95), mysteriously served tepid.

Less pleasant still was the pair of cornmeal-crusted, fried whole catfish ($10.95). Oddly, one fish was just right while the other was soggy and oily. The barbecue mystifies me. Though the menu claims that meats are smoked over hickory and mesquite, I certainly picked up nothing of the powerful flavors I ate during my two years in Houston. A combo platter of barbecued chicken, ribs and beef offers nothing unusual except a rather staggering price, $19.95. The sauce is an ordinary tomato-based one. This confounds. If anyone in our city could make a bizarre and delicious variation on barbecue sauce, it’s Catherall. At least some interesting side sauces should be available. I haven’t tried the skillet-fried chicken but look forward to it.

All meals come with a big bowl of church social-style tossed salad for the table to share. It’s drenched in ranch dressing. It’s kind of campy and tasty and sets a tone that could have been more thoroughly elaborated upon. Sides, $2.95 each, are mainly tasty. I liked the jalapeño cheese grits, the collard greens and the French fries. The appetizer of queso fundido with flat bread ($6.95) is not the least bit spicy, despite its description as being so. I haven’t tried the Houston’s-esque spinach dip or the chicken fingers. What I did do one evening was order a special, a savory “pot pie” made with chunks of beef, as an appetizer for three of us.

Desserts ($5.95) include homespun faves such as red velvet cake and sweet potato-pecan pie. Indigo’s key lime pie remains on the menu.

Let me hear your own comments. I would love to yee-haw instead of yawn about this new place.??