In my relentless pursuit to bring the good listeners of Atlanta Living the most delectable breaking chews, there are no distances to which I am unwilling to travel! This week drove to Winder on a tip about a top shelf restaurant. Before you scream “WINDER!!?!,” hear me out.
We have been seeing a migration of restaurant talent farther and farther away from intown Atlanta—reasons include rising rents, insane competition and also because the farther out you get, the more proximity you have to local farms and growers. So now in historic downtown Winder, we have Bistro Off Broad where chef Alex Friedman (formerly of Inman Park’s Pcheen) has set up shop. In a brick building originally erected in the 1890s, Bistro off Broad has created a cozy yet elegant atmosphere as a platform for chef Friedman’s fare. The original brickwork still has a patina from the original paint and the 100+-year-old hardwood floors and shiplap now serves as a rustic wainscot beneath modern chandeliers and Parisian-style impressionist oil paintings.
Often during meal service, you will witness farmers bringing in fresh produce harvested just moments before. Everything—from the meats to the produce to the eggs to the milk—comes from a nearby organic farm and arrives on your plate at peak freshness. And you can totally tell.
Baked Brie with local honeycomb and figs, Ossabaw Island full hog BBQ (Friedman does all his own butchering by the way), crispy duck with pumpkin and sage risotto, venison with roasted okra and pork chops with sweet corn pudding are a few of the 100% locally sourced plates you can savor. And while locally sourcing seafood in landlocked Winder is not possible, the chef clearly has great sustainable seafood contacts; their cold-water oyster service is magnificent and there are plenty of other nautical options including sea scallops with young kale and sweet potato grits, Carolina trout and a tempura fried shrimp po boy with tomato jam.
Clearly for many a trip out to Winder just for a meal is a stretch. But if you are in the vicinity or decide to visit UGA, you will absolutely be rewarded by a visit to this out-of-the-way gem that would feel at home in the hippest Atlanta intown neighborhoods.
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