Fried green tomatoes are a quintessential Southern appetizer. These brightly colored immature tomatoes are firm, tart and juicy, and are typically breaded and pan-fried. But there are so many variations that it’s hard to categorize them as just one thing.
As a Northerner, I’d only ever heard of them in connection with the Fannie Flagg book and later the 1991 movie Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café. And I’d never tasted them. But over the past few years, I’ve made a point to order them in every Southern state I visit. The result: I’ve discovered many delectable variations. Some fried green tomatoes are crispy and snackable like mozzarella sticks. Others are stacked, layered, and slathered in a creamy sauce.
Having sampled some 10 or more variations, my top pick is Soby’s Restaurant in Greenville, SC—a lovely city I recently visited and truly fell in love with.
Greenville, South Carolina, the Home of Soby’s
There are 36 Greenvilles in America—but the one in South Carolina is getting all the buzz.
Maybe it’s the incredible food scene (122 restaurants concentrated within 19 blocks), the walkable Main Street, the hiking/biking Swamp Rabbit Trail, the waterfall at downtown’s Falls Park, the scenic Reedy River that traverses the city, the proximity of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the mostly temperate weather, or the fun and funky shops like the old-time Mast General Store and Vintage Now Modern.
Whatever it is…there’s lots to experience, especially for foodies, in this invitingly rejuvenated small Southern city.
Soby’s Restaurant Leads the Way
A lot of the credit for the revitalization of Greenville is thanks to restaurateur Carl Sobocinski. A transplant from New Hampshire, Sobocinski was undeterred by the barren downtown area in 1997 when he and a partner opened Soby’s on South Main Street. At the time, Greenville seemed to be a lost cause. (In fact, it was considered a bit dangerous to venture downtown since it was largely an industrial wasteland.)
Today, Soby’s is at the heart of Greenville’s culinary renaissance, and the restaurant continues to impress with an inventive Southern-inspired menu, fresh locally sourced ingredients and consistent quality and service.
But the story doesn’t stop there: Sobocinski and his Table 301 group have opened other well-regarded restaurants like Camp, The Nose Dive, Passarelle and The Lazy Goat. He also generously mentors other restaurateurs. And he’s even sold some of his newly opened restaurants such as Papi’s Tacos and Southern Pressed Juicery, to give newbies a head start in the business. That’s turned him into something of a local hero, according to many of the people who spoke of him during my visit.
Why Soby’s Fried Green Tomatoes Rock
Part of fried green tomatoes’ allure is that they are breaded and fried, and it’s hard to find a food whose flavor isn’t enhanced by that process. Beyond that, young green tomatoes are more tart, chewier, less juicy, and less delicate than red tomatoes and can withstand frying without disintegrating or becoming mushy. Add in some pimento or goat cheese, perhaps some hot sauce, and the result is delicious.
But there’s something extra special and memorable about Soby’s fried green tomato appetizer: Not only are the trio of warm and delectably browned tomatoes artfully plated, but they have a melt-on-your tongue texture thanks to the creamy pimento pepper fondue, combined with a pleasing chewiness attributable to a topping of slivered carrots and a bed of crunchy green beans.
And now a word about pimento cheese, as iconically Southern as fried chicken, collard greens and biscuits, and a classic pairing food for fried green tomatoes.
You may notice two variations of the word: We Northerners spell it “pimento,” while Southerners typically use “piemiento,” in reference to the Spanish origin of the word. But the difference extends beyond spelling. In the North, pimento cheese is usually a mixture of firm cream cheese and pimento peppers—my mom used to serve it to me as a sandwich spread—while in the South it is more of a creamy dip or garnish comprised of mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, and pimento peppers.
Yes, You Can Make Your Own
I don’t live in the South, so it’s not easy to find a restaurant that serves my new favorite dish or even a supermarket that sells green tomatoes. But I’ve become enamored enough of fried green tomatoes that I’ve attempted to grow my own tomatoes and make the dish at home. I’ve even found Soby’s authentic recipe, which they are graciously allowing us to reprint here (see below).
The key to success lies in using the right kinds of tomatoes, which include medium-size Beefsteak, Celebrity, Green Zebra, Aunt Ruby’s German Green, Mortgage Lifter, Black Krim and Cherokee Green varieties, according to the website Wild Roots Garden.
For the pimento mix, it’s essential to combine freshly shredded cheddar cheese and heavy cream or Duke’s mayonnaise, a condiment Southerners swear by, with the peppers and other spices. Duke’s was actually created by Greenville resident Eugenia Duke in 1917 and is hard to come by in the North, but you can order it from Amazon: It differs from Hellmann’s mayo in that it contains no sugar, which I’m trying to limit in my diet.
Soby’s Fried Green Tomatoes Recipe*
Serves 6-8 people
To Prepare the Tomatoes:
Ingredients
3-4 green beefsteak tomatoes
3 eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups flour
4 cups Golden Dipt® Breader
Vegetable oil
Salt
Slice off and discard the top and bottom of each tomato. Slice the tomatoes into 18 ¼-inch thick slices.
Whisk together the eggs and milk to make an egg wash.
Dust the tomato slices with flour and tap off the excess.
Place the slices, a few at a time, into the egg wash, and then coat the slices with Golden Dipt®.
Pour vegetable oil into a skillet to about 1 inch deep. Heat oil on medium-high heat until it sizzles when a small amount of flour is dropped in.
Fry the tomato slices in small batches, until they turn golden brown and crisp. Flip and fry on the other side the same way.
Remove the cooked tomatoes to a plate lined with paper towels.
Season the tomatoes with salt and place in a warm oven until all tomatoes are cooked.
To Prepare the Pimiento Cheese Fondue:
Ingredients
4 cups heavy cream
¼ cup diced pimientos, drained
1 lb. sharp yellow cheddar cheese, shredded
¼ creole seasoning
¼ cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
Salt
Fresh ground black better
Bring the heavy cream to a simmer in a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium-high heat.
Whisk in the pimientos, cheddar cheese, and spice mix. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer.
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water to form a slurry. When the cheese mixture is simmering, whisk in the slurry until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To Serve:
Stack three tomatoes and ladle the steaming pimiento cheese fondue over the stack. Serve hot.
*Recipe reprinted with permission from Soby’s.
Fried Green Tomatoes for All
Next time you head to the South, I recommend giving fried green tomatoes a try. Most restaurants serve them in one form or another, and it’s fun to seek out the different iterations. Some restaurants with delicious dishes include:
- Southernside Brewing Co., also in Greenville, S.C., which presents the tomatoes as double-slice stacks with pimento cheese in between and a creamy sauce on top.
Southernside Brewery in Greenville SC serves stacked fried green tomatoes in a casual atmosphere. ©Nancy Monson - Weidmman’s in Meridian, Mississippi, where the appetizer is panko-breaded, crispy and round, and served with their mayonnaise-based Comeback dressing (so you’ll “come back for more,” the bartender told me) or a tomato cream sauce.
Weidmann’s Restaurant in Meridian MS serves snackable fried green tomatoes with its signature “Comeback sauce.” ©Nancy Monson - River House in Savannah, GA, where tomatoes are served with goat cheese, onion relish and a spicy Sriracha sauce.
You might even try growing and making your own version of pimento cheese as I have. Soby’s recipe is a good place to start your adventure, but from there, you can use your imagination and let your own personal taste take the lead.
For another east coast dining experience check out: At Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen: Dining in Gustatory Purgatory.
Visit Greenville SC hosted my visit.
Nancy Monson blogs at https://nancymonsonart.com.
