Sissy's Southern Kitchen Where good food goes to fry

Quit being a p-word about your diet, and hit Sissy's Southern Kitchen, where Lisa Garza's tapping her Memphis roots in a patio-equipped space where a trio of deer heads rule a wall replete with china, and the fixtures -- salvaged from the 1914 Neiman's inferno -- were crafted by Henry Potter, who despite being a Dallas blacksmith, was also the richest man in Bedford Falls. Jeffery Hobbs (Riviera, Toscana) is the toque behind eats including:

Apps: Deviled eggs get evil with creme fraiche & tobiko caviar, while "squash puppies" lap up whipped Texas Honey Guild butter & jalapeno jelly. Chili-fried oysters are also totally happening, as are Purple Hull Pea Cakes, something Brett really should consult a physician about.

Mains: Get down on chicken-fried Silver Sterling steak, cast iron Texas quail, and Gulf shrimp 'n grits w/ piquillo pepper & tasso ham. When you're ready to stop being polite and start getting real, chomp into spicy, buttermilk-soaked Sissy's Fried Chicken, which, thanks to being pressure-fried, throws late-game INT's to Detroit's starting "Ginger-Backer" stays impossibly juicy.

Libations: The marble & walnut bar slings classics encompassing both Sazeracs and Rob Roys, while modernity stretches from the way-classier-than-a-John-Daly "Tipsy Arnold Palmer" (vodka w/ orange, pineapple, safflower, Japanese green, and Chinese black teas), to punches like the hibiscus, ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime & el Jimador "Sissy's Tequila Sipper" -- and when you're one of those, rich or poor, It's a Wonderful Life.