I don’t know for sure why, but I was once a magazine hoarder.

For years, I subscribed to the monthly manual no self-respecting lover of banana pudding could live without – Southern Living.

The recipes and articles were the topic of long cordless-telephone conversations with girlfriends, and all the best baby shower recipes were straight out of Southern Living.  Absolutely no coffee table sat in any living room without a small stack of them, perfectly fanned out, as if to be easily picked up and read while sitting in your monogrammed bathrobe, sipping hot honey ginger tea, beautiful children playing all around.

When relatives came to visit, they might have had to sleep in a room decorated with Thomas the Tank Engine, but, no worries – Southern Living was on the nightstand.

I could have read a hundred books in the time I spent drooling over those magazines.  Bless my heart.

The minute we walked into Fixe, Austin’s Southern House, I had a flashback to those slick-paged magazines.  The decor,  the lighting, the Norah Jones-y music, and the china platters perfectly grouped into wall hangings really blend together to set a relaxing Southern mood. Fixe is current, and it’s progressive, serving authentic comfort food – upscaled.

What Chef James has created in his restaurant kitchen is a delightfully different take on whatever it was he learned from his mother and grandmother over their Louisiana frying pans.

I think I would describe the menu as “masterfully simple” or maybe “rewardingly reminiscent.”

Be sure to order the small plate of deviled eggs when you go. You will need to challenge yourself to take the teeniest little bites you can possibly manage, speechlessly savoring each one.  If you’re like me, you will think of your Mamaw’s deviled eggs on Easter Sunday, and then you will wish she were here with you to taste this gourmet version.   And, again, if you’re like me, you will look across the table at your husband and son and exclaim with delight, “These are amazing.” You most certainly will, Honey Child.

We like to celebrate something big with our kids by taking them to a nice restaurant. Since Keagon is the third and last, he’s had a whole lot of opportunity to really perfect his palate. As discriminating as a 20-year old boy can be, he is.  Here, his Southern iced tea was brewed and steeped at the table, then poured from the decanter, by the server, into a tall, ice-filled, sparkling glass.  He loved Fixe.

None of this is quite as pricey as it sounds.  And truthfully, celebrating at Fixe might be just as enjoyable during the less-expensive Daily Social.  (That’s Southern for Happy Hour.)  Also, the entrees are sized to be easily shared. Bottom line?  No matter what, when, or how –   this is a restaurant worthy of your list.

My entree choice was the Honey Brined Cod. Mmmmmm.

My mountain of Southern Living magazines is long gone, but the current September issue sits right here in front of me on our coffee table, the first installment in a brand new subscription.  I’ve already “toured Nashville’s prettiest homes,” but I think I’ll wait to make the “Apple Spice Bundt Cake with Caramel Frosting” until my friend comes for a visit.  After all, she’s the one who gave me the new subscription.

Maybe we’ll go on ahead and sashay over to Fixe for shrimp cocktail and sweet tea pickles on the patio. We can have the cake for dessert.  

Bless our hearts. 

Encouraging intentional adventure and a whole lot of relaxed southern living,

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