Spicy and Sweet
For our anniversary, our palates agree: Dyron’s Lowcountry.
By Jan Walsh
At Dyron’s Lowcountry there really is something for everyone. From Dyron’s famous fried chicken to Oysters Rockefeller, their dinner menu pleases all palates and cravings. I prefer spicy, seafood, and haute cuisine. Kev prefers sweet, meat, and potatoes. But we both find much to love at Dyron’s Lowcountry.
Dinner begins with an anniversary toast with a bottle of French bubbly: Lucien Albrecht Cremant. This food friendly wine is well balanced, boasts notes of strawberry and apple, and has a creamy texture and a dry finish. We slather butter on warm bread, Dyron’s famous biscuits and cornbread sticks, as we contemplate starters.
Kev opts for the Watermelon and Feta Salad as his first course. This generous portion, large enough for sharing, is springtime on a plate with diced, ripe melons, cherry tomatoes, and crisp serrano peppers (like my Granny grew) dressed in basil syrup and balsamico. I am in the mood for oysters, and start with Oysters Rockefeller, although the Low Country Fry tempts. This dish dates to 1899 when it was created out of necessity due to a shortage of escargot, at Antonine’s Restaurant in New Orleans. The secret Rockefeller sauce was created by second generation chef and proprietor Jules Alciatore, son of founder Antoine Alciatore who opened the restaurant in 1840. It was named for John D. Rockefeller, the wealthiest American of the time for its green richness. Oyster Rockefeller remains on Antione’s menu today. But we don’t have to be a Rockefeller nor go to New Orleans to enjoy it. Dyron’s Executive Chef, Chris Melville’s Oysters Rockefeller >>>It includes seven Wild Gulf Oysters cooked in a rich parmesan crema with green collards, beautiful bacon, and buttery crumbs and served on the half shells.
For main course, Kev selects the Iberico Pork Rib Chop with an extra side of (Guess what?) Heirloom Potatoes because he does not want its set of succotash. How could anyone not want Southern succotash? Hearing this I pivot back to the starter of Low Country Fry, and order it as an entrée, while silently conniving to steal his succotash for my side. Now we are both happy. Iberico, from the Iberian Peninsula, is often referred to as the Wagyu of pork, due to its heavy marbling, including a thick, soft, fat layer. This results from both the Iberian breed and how they are raised eating in the forest. The thick, meaty chop is incredibly moist inside out, tender to the bone, nutty in flavor. It is enhanced by Calabrian Chilé Honey, which brings added fruity, spicy, and salty layers to this perfect pork chop. Kev’s red potatoes, cooked tender, burst with farm freshness and round out the meal. And leaves all the succotash and even his crispy onions for me.
My fry trio of oysters, shrimp, and snapper is well battered and fried to golden perfection, with no air pocket in any piece. The oysters are among the best I have ever had, plump and crusty on the outside, buttery, and silky on the inside. Also hooked into the dish are hues of red in the thick cuts, of lean, sweet, and nutty snapper. And the large, aromatic, succulent, fried shrimp encircle the fish and oysters, curling, crowning, and completing this catch of the Gulf’s finest. A squirt of grilled lemon and house made sauce gribiche finishes the fry with a touch of acidity and creaminess. These gems of the sea are complimented by jewels of the garden in (now my) newly picked succotash. An intermingling of fresh crisp okra, pink eye peas, and rows of corn cut freshly off the cob burst with farm freshness. It does not get better than fried seafood and stolen Southern succotash for me.
In addition to the dessert menu, we are informed that in season Strawberry Shortcake is an option tonight. Enough said. Strawberries have a short season, and each week I will continue my shortcake anthology until they run out. A dollop of freshly whipped cream tops the lovely fresh berries, and their sweetened juice that soaks the moist cake with fruitiness in this delightful dessert.
As we leave, I extend compliments to Chef that tonight’s dinner is memorable, not only because it is our anniversary dinner but one of the best ever!
Download Birmingham Restaurants App
Copyright ©2023 Reviews