Avondale Estates restaurant deviates from formula

Service: attentive and friendly

Best dishes: fried chicken, grilled cauliflower

Vegetarian selections: salads, grilled cauliflower

———————-

Price range: $$-$$$

Credit cards: all major credit cards

Hours: Noon-9 p.m. Sundays, 4-10 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 4-11 p.m. Fridays, noon-11 p.m. Saturdays

Children: fine

Parking: street parking and a shared lot behind the building

Reservations: yes

Wheelchair access: yes

Smoking: no

Noise level: moderate

Patio: no

Takeout: yes

Address, phone: 124 N. Avondale Road, Avondale Estates. 404-692-5454.

Website: www.thebishopae.com

I recently had a hearty chuckle over a humorous graphical satire circulating on social media. It pokes fun at the universal monotony of many new restaurant menus.

Created by Eater.com, the graphic depicts a sample menu for “every trendy restaurant.” Categories include “tiny stuff you’re supposed to share,” “high-roller bi-valves” and “starches and vegetables in cute little crocks.” The menu goes on to list dishes like “tarted-up pork belly” and a “burger that’s crazier than it needs to be.”

Of course, the humor here stems from the clear ring of truth. It’s what we’re all thinking: Farm-to-table has become formulaic. Creativity need not apply.

When Luellen Marshall opened the Bishop in Avondale Estates this past spring, she was determined to avoid these norms and create something unique. Sure, the Bishop sources regionally and seasonally. It supports local vendors like Pine Street Market and Wild Heaven Craft Beers. And yes, its interior has the de rigueur rustic-meets-industrial character.

But Marshall hopes the Bishop will provide a distinct experience for Avondale Estates. And it almost does. This community-focused neighborhood bistro is snuggled into the area’s iconic Tudor Square. Both charming and quaint, it gives you the sense of dining with the best cook in the neighborhood, where expectations are adjusted accordingly. Neither your meal nor the service is entirely polished, but you appreciate the hospitality and leave happy and satisfied just the same.

It’s the beverage program that makes the Bishop stand out. The menu may be small, but all beer and wine selections are stocked on tap and also come by the growler. Marshall says the taps allow the restaurant to offer better, fresher wines at a lower price, and the growlers provide a service to the community. Wine selections rotate but may include Peju Tess rosé ($8 glass, $32 carafe), Long Meadow Ranch cab ($14 glass, $48 carafe) or Tangent Albarino ($7 glass, $28 carafe).

And because Marshall wanted to invest in her community by opening the Bishop, it makes sense that the restaurant would support and sell Avondale-based Wild Heaven brews. Options currently include Let There Be Light ($6), an American pale ale, and White Blackbird ($6), a Belgian-style white IPA.

As for the menu, well, the restaurant’s list of reinvented comfort fare (think smoked fried chicken) diverges ever so slightly from the “every trendy restaurant” menu, but there’s some definite similarity. Especially true for the starters.

Every self-respecting Atlanta restaurant now has some “newfangled deviled eggs” on the menu now, right? The Bishop is no exception. Its knife and fork deviled eggs ($7) have a smudgy filling, heavy on the yolk, topped with smoky bacon crumbles and crisp slivers of radish. Infographic still on par.

And, of course, we have house-made potato chips ($8). But I’ll give it to the Bishop. They serve a far more generous portion than the mere dozen suggested on the trendy menu and they come with aioli! Yet, the gloppy garlic-Parmesan aioli has a sweet tang that stifles the potatoes. Perhaps eat them bare.

A very similar roasted garlic aioli is served with the beautifully marked, grilled artichokes ($10). As with the chips, set the aioli to the side and instead flavor the ‘chokes with golden, juicy squeezes of the burnt lemon adorning the platter.

The Bishop’s menu also offers these “three tiny sandwiches” in the form of French dip sliders ($11). These three disheveled mini heroes bear shaved roast beef dabbed with horseradish sauce and pepper jack cheese in glossy buns. Once again, skip the dip — here, a thin unseasoned broth rather than the standard meaty jus.

The food you can really tuck into just happens to be the items that aren’t found on that trendy sample menu. Instead of the “pork chop from a wise, soulful farmer,” the Bishop offers you a nice homey pair of ham steaks ($15) flavored with jalapeno jelly and cubes of glazed turnips over creamy Gouda grits. This is a dish that the neighborhood can really eat up.

And instead of offering the “token vegetarian dish,” Marshall put great thought into developing a proper meal for vegetarians. Her grilled cauliflower steak ($13) now serves not only as an entree for vegetarians, but as an appetizer and entree side for all guests. A deep swipe of a tangy tomato ragu cradles a full-sized cross section of well-oiled cauliflower dotted with chunky olive tapenade.

So, now let’s talk fried chicken. I’ve saved the best for last. This is not “city-slicker fried chicken.” Or maybe it is, because this one is pretty slick. The Bishop gets creative here, battering and frying a Pine Street Market-smoked bird. You got that, right? Underneath the crunchy batter is a dark-and-smoky chicken. Total win.

I’d love to see more formula deviations from the Bishop. That’s when it shows the most promise because this neighborhood spot is not “every trendy restaurant.”