Root Kitchen brings charm to North Shore

IF YOU GO• Where: Root Kitchen and Wine Bar, 313 Manufacturers Road• Phone: 423-648-9160• Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday• Price range: $6 for fried green tomatoes to $16 for steak and eggs (brunch)

photo The Root Fried Green Tomato BLT, with an over-easy egg added ($11), comes with oven- roasted potatoes at Root Kitchen and Wine Bar on Manufacturers Road.

It was a bad news/good news moment when I heard Root Kitchen and Wine Bar would be taking the place of the Elemental Restaurant at 2 North Shore. I never like to see innovative restaurants shutter but was happy to hear something would follow in that space quickly. Root Kitchen didn't miss a beat, opening only days after Elemental's final Sunday brunch. Since Elemental's brunch was a favorite around town, my fiance and I decided to leave our lazy weekend habit behind and venture out to get our brunch fix. We were not disappointed.

THE MENU

Root Kitchen expands upon Elemental's limited, farm-to-fork menu. Open for lunch, dinner and brunch, it'd be hard not to find something you like here - and this rang especially true for me. I had slight difficulty deciding what would be best, between the chocolate pancakes, crab cakes Benedict and bacon and pimento cheese omelet.

The brunch menu features a few starters, like Root Vegetable Southern Nachos ($8) with blue cheese, bacon, green onion and maple-jalapeno reduction, or fried green tomatoes ($6) with pimento cheese and herb aioli.

Next, the specialties: Corned Beef Hash ($10), with a house-cured, beer-braised corned beef, potatoes, mushrooms, jalapenos, red bell peppers, green onions and a poached egg. Also: Carolina Shrimp and Grits ($15) with andouille pan gravy.

There also are omelets, served with grits or potatoes, and eggs Benedict on house-made English muffins, also served with grits or potatoes, and sandwiches like the Breakfast Burger ($10, $11.50 with an egg), with grass-fed beef, crispy bacon and traditional toppings on an English muffin or sesame-seed bun.

There are soups and salads, which maybe one day, after I sample the rest of the menu, I'll try.

I live by this at home: If you think your dish is missing something, just put an egg on it. I was ecstatic to see that Root shares that sentiment, offering to add an egg to your liking on plates like the hash, burger and BLT.

THE ORDER

Despite so many options, I gravitated toward the Root Fried Green Tomato BLT ($9.50, $11 with an egg) with an over-easy egg on it. A stack of thick-sliced bacon, fried green tomatoes, pimento cheese, fresh lettuce and aioli, piled on buttered and toasted sourdough, complete with a runny egg, is as close to paradise on a Sunday morning as you can get. It was perfect, and the oven-roasted potatoes that came with it only served as a vessel to sop up delicious yolk.

My lovely date was pleasantly surprised to see his Southern Eggs Benedict ($10) was served with two large eggs Benedict and not just a singular one, as some restaurants do. With shaved country ham and wilted greens on a lightly toasted English muffin, I was most impressed with how bright and flavorful the hollandaise sauce was. Not overly buttery, but just tangy enough to offset the salt of the ham and the bitterness of the greens, I'd go back just to try Root Kitchen's other Benedict variations. His dish was huge, and next time I'll pitch to split the eggs Benedict and share a side or starter.

I didn't need convincing to try Root's Champagne Bouquet, their mimosa tray featuring four deliciously fruity and interesting mimosas for $6. I liked three of the four: the original with fresh-squeezed orange juice, the cranberry mimosa and, surprisingly, the grapefruit mimosa. I did not take kindly to the bright purple violet mimosa - it hearkened back to my days as a child squeamishly forcing cough syrup down. However, don't let that discourage you; my date loved it.

Speaking of my fiance, he ordered a house Bloody Mary that I envied. A little on the small side for $8, this spicy, smokey drink packed a punch with bacon-flavored vodka. It was delicious and, if you're indulgent like my fiance is, you'll order one before you even think about coffee.

THE SERVICE

Service at Root Kitchen was great, as it should be for any restaurant during its first week. Attentive and friendly without being annoying and overbearing, our waitress was happy to talk to us about the menu and was comfortable serving our dishes. I noticed all servers, waiters and managers were confident in their roles and worked seamlessly together, refilling drinks and keeping us happy. We were in and out in under an hour (before the post-church crowd hit), but we were never rushed. It seemed they'd be just as happy with you staying a while or having a quick bite, whichever you choose.

THE SPACE

It's hard to not compare Root with Elemental, but I liked what they did to differentiate the space. Bright green walls look great on a sunny morning, and little vintage touches and mason jars of fresh herbs give this a country/modern feel. Big-band music played over the speakers, which was perky enough for a Sunday morning, but might wear out on date night. The bar space, with bench, communal tables and plenty of colorful liquor bottles, looks like it could be a nice quiet place to take a date. And don't worry - they've still got the old tractor. Charming, open and colorful, brunch at Root Kitchen is a nice way to wake up.

THE VERDICT

When I want a satisfying brunch, Root Kitchen will be at the top of my list. Polite, attentive and helpful service on top of a diverse menu makes this stop a great restaurant to add to our going-out rotation. I'll also come back for lunch and dinner, which are a little pricier, when I'm feeling fancy.

Contact Meghan Pittman at mpittman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6506.

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