With some restaurants, the food is the big draw. With some others, it’s all about the experience.
Fritters is a good mix of both.
Dining at the antebellum home in Montrose is an event. It serves up Southern style with an eclectic flavor, with a menu ranging from steak and shrimp to frog legs and deep-fried moon pies — with “RC Cola on the side.”
There’s the traditional swing on the front porch, and the grounds are a working horse farm. The walk to the restaurant through the front yard drew a “This place is awesome!” from my 4-year-old — and that was before the kids got an up-close look at the fascinating Gypsy Vanner horses in their pens.
Built in 1842, the home was operated as an inn for stagecoach travelers on the Uchee Indian Trail, near what is now Ga. 26. A Florida couple, Alan and Sharon Johnson, bought the home in 2008, and for a short time ran it as a bed-and-breakfast before converting it to a restaurant a year ago last week.
We were seated in a front room with seaside decor, a nod to the owners’ Florida roots. Our server was friendly and efficient. She started us off with a complimentary bowl of fritters and powdered sugar, then kept our glasses full the rest of the night.
For an appetizer, we ordered the “Redneck Roundup,” a basket of fried pickles and green tomatoes. Fritters promotes them as the best in Georgia, and they very well might be. At least the tomatoes. I’m not a big fan of fried pickles, but they were cooked just right, with crisp batter that didn’t slide off with the first bite like so many often do.
The restaurant graciously accommodated our little one’s request for chicken and shrimp from the kid’s menu and created a combo platter for him. Most in our party went with the shrimp, which restaurant staff says is probably what they do best. They were big and were served hot, crispy and tasty.
My wife ordered the “Cracker Special,” a combo of either two or three seafood selections that include fried catfish, perch, shrimp, clams, frog legs or gator.
She said both the oysters and shrimp were very good, but I sampled the oysters just to make sure.
I took the “Seafood Cruise” of shrimp and an Angus beef ribeye. I love steak, and this one was good, though a tad overcooked. I ordered “medium,” but it was more like “medium well.” It was still tender and tasty, but the shrimp were so good that I almost wished I had just ordered a dozen of them instead.
The dinners come with two sides. I chose a side salad and cheese grits, and neither in my opinion ranked with the rest of the meal.
We topped things off with a slice of peanut butter pie (good, but very rich) and 1886 Coca-Cola cake (even better) with a big scoop of ice cream on the side. We passed on the moon pie, which photographer Woody Marshall said was OK, and the “Famous Fried Goober,” a double-decker peanut butter and jelly sandwich, battered in buttermilk and deep fried.
We’d had too much fried foods on the night, but I promise to give one of them a try the next time.
Fritters is about a 45-minute drive from Macon, about five miles off Interstate 16 toward Cochran. It’s open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, but is available to rent for parties, weddings and special events. You might even get a carriage ride.
Fritters
Three stars
@BR Box Type bold lede colon:Address: 2401 Ga. 26, Montrose
Phone: (478) 934-6024
Hours: 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday-Saturday
Price range: $3.99-$22.99
Payment: Cash, credit cards
Alcohol: No
Kids menu: Yes
Noise level: Moderate
Health rating: 94
