Southerners are known for their love of fried chicken, catfish, green tomatoes fried in lard and grits dripping with butter and gravy. But earlier this year, Brian McDonald opened Mac’s Kitchen & Bar, advertising a new breed of native cuisine: New Southern, a reflection of dishes and ingredients well known to the Southern palate — with a twist.
McDonald isn’t trying to reinvent the culinary wheel; only taking Southern favorites and serving them in a way that marries new ingredients with Southern staples, preparing them using techniques common to 21st-century chefs.
Defining New Southern cuisine, the 38-year-old Boston native begins at its core — sourcing — highlighting the importance of using ingredients tied to the foodways of our region and the history of the South.
“Southern food is often thought of as comfort food, but it’s more than that,” McDonald says. “Its history dates to the beginnings of our country and the many cultures that influenced it. Much of Southern food’s roots can be traced back to other countries, but our indigenous produce created a new twist on those dishes.”
The term “New Southern” is McDonald’s way of highlighting the ingredients that make Southern food a cuisine that sets itself apart from others on our nation’s culinary quilt. He delights our senses by infusing tradition with modern techniques and flavors that bring back those all-so-familiar feelings of comfort, but with the execution of modern cooking.
“We put a modern spin on classic Southern dishes with respect to our farmers, their families and the produce that makes them unique,” he says.
Mac’s menu changes according to what McDonald can source within a 300-mile radius of Chattanooga.
“Our hyper-seasonality creates an ever-evolving menu that creates an exclusivity to each menu, dish and each visit,” McDonald says. “There’s no guarantee that when you choose to dine with us, you will eat the same thing twice.”
Recent plates, such as a ceviche made with regional trout, or a savory brisket braised slowly for 15 hours and served with a barbecue sauce made from local strawberries, are delicious examples of creations made by a chef who has received no formal culinary training but has an inborn ability to watch, listen and learn.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Chef Brian McDonald holds a pan-seared trout with a mushroom cream sauce in a smoked leek oil with curry butter, edible flowers and trout roe.
“I have worked in many kitchens over the years, but I always took something from everywhere I worked, be it culture, technique or life experiences,” McDonald says. “Mac’s is a culmination of all my previous careers — careers that have given me the opportunity to utilize all my experiences in one home now.”
Mac’s Kitchen & Bar is McDonald’s first brick-and-mortar eatery, but he made a smart move before diving in headfirst. He tested the waters by starting a pop-up restaurant, one that proved people wanted a different take on traditional Southern food, a fare that can sometimes be heavily breaded and a little overwhelming. New Southern takes a different approach, one that allows the food itself to sport the flavor, not just absorb all the other flavors floating around in the deep fryer.
The takeaway from dining at Mac’s is one that McDonald hopes patrons will consider an experience.
“We encourage our guests to sit and enjoy our food in a manner familiar to that experience of dining with your friends, family and loved ones. Our menu is constructed around the idea of sharing, discussing and enjoying the dishes together. We believe in community and doing things in a sustainable, ethical and respectful manner from seed to the table.”
McDonald is planning to open a Chattanooga location (2608 E. Main Street), but construction has been delayed and was still in the works at the time of printing this. In the meantime, McDonald and Mac’s are sharing space with Jay and Stephanie Martin at their restaurant, Flora de Mel, in Rossville. His restaurant will open in Chattanooga as soon as possible, under a name that means a great deal to McDonald.
“I’m constantly asked, ‘Who is Mac?’ And the answer always comes with a story, one that starts with my family,” he says. “My grandfather, John McCarty, had friends who always referred to him as ‘Mac,’ and so, too, did some of his son’s friends, and eventually, so did mine.”
That nickname, McDonald says, brings back loving memories of a childhood filled with laughter, love and good food.
“So for me, Mac’s means family,” he adds. “Mac’s means food.”