Ellington

After years of opening locations for restaurant groups such as Copeland's, Ruby Tuesday and The Peasant Restaurant Group of Atlanta, Ga., Kevin Thompson realized his dream of opening his own restaurant in May 1999. "I wanted to have a family-style restaurant that catered to families; a place with a nice, clean, wholesome atmosphere, where you can get a good meal and it not be outrageous."

This was the vision Thompson had when he opened The Trace Grill (574 Highway 51 N., Suite F, Ridgeland 601-853-1014). More than a decade later, Thompson and The Trace Grill have moved from their original log-cabin location to a new, larger facility down the road. New location aside, The Trace Grill is still known for high quality, southern comfort food. A key to the quality of their food is a dedication to the fundamentals, which means Thompson sometimes does things the hard way.

"We just do a lot of home cooking here," he says. "We bake all our bread; we make onion rings from scratch. When I say bake bread, I mean we bake it all from scratch, and we make all our desserts from scratch. All of our dressings are from scratch."

Did anyone inspire you to become chef?
Maybe not this restaurant, but my mother loved to cook. My father was my mentor, and he helped me get started in the restaurant business. His father was a (kitchen manager) for Mississippi State University and the University of Tennessee. He ran their athletic dorms and did all their cooking. Those guys were real cooks back then. They butchered; they got a side of beef in, and they butchered it down. It was long hours and hard work, so I think it's in my blood.

What was the first recipe you mastered?
The first one I came up with was fried green tomatoes. Ours are a little different than everyone else's. We sell probably 150 pounds of green tomatoes a week. We serve it as a side dish on blue plates and also as an appetizer with a roasted red bell pepper sauce and goat cheese. It probably doesn't fit this location very well because it could be in a fine dining restaurant. It's that good.

What do you think sets you apart from other southern-style restaurants in the area?
We are incredibly consistent, and I think you will notice that when you come in. You get as good or better service as a full-service restaurant. We're not a full-service restaurant. Customers order at the counter and we bring it to them, but we're constantly talking to guests and pre-bussing tables. I feel that's been the key to our success.

Have you ever tried to change the menu and experienced a backlash?
Not really, because when we first opened, we had the blue plates with three meat choices and four vegetable choices. We've tried to constantly improve what we have, and then we've added on. So the menu has grown quite a bit since '99. While it's not seasonal, I'm always looking for something new. When I find something new, I have to make sure it tastes good, it's a good quality product, and be sure we can deliver it consistently.

What are some of your favorite dishes on the Trace Grill menu?
Baby back ribs. We're not a barbecue place, but we sell about 250 slabs a week. For a non-barbecue place, we sell a ton of ribs.

You're known for burgers and barbecue. Are there any special twists to those dishes?
We use fresh ground chuck. We hand-patty every day, and we bake white, wheat and jalapeno cheddar buns six days a week.

What is the most invaluable kitchen tip or trick that you learned over the years?
It's not really a trick, but treating and training your employees the way you want to be treated. I think you're taking, typically, someone with a high-school education and teaching him or her a trade that they can apply and make a living. I've had several people that have worked with me and gone into management with other companies. That's, to me, a gratifying thing. It's just the development of the people, and seeing them grow is the best thing.

If you could cook for anyone in America, who would it be?
Well, it would be my mother. She wasn't here when we opened. She'd already passed away. I got a lot of love of food from her. She would have loved to see this restaurant.

Trace Grill Fried Green Tomatoes

1-3/4 cup Bisquick
1-1/3 cup white cornmeal
3-1/2 teaspoons celery salt
3-3/4 teaspoons black pepper
3-3/4 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 pound of green tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/4 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 vegetable oil

Mix the Bisquick, cornmeal, celery salt, black pepper and garlic.
Dust tomato slices with flour and dip in egg. Dust with breading. Fry in 350 degree oil for three minutes per side or until golden brown.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup roasted red bell peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/8 teaspoon celery salt
3/8 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon hot sauce
3/4 teaspoon lemon juice

Blend mayo and red bell peppers in a food processor to form a puree. Gradually add oil to thicken, then add remaining ingredients and mix well.