New restaurant knows Southern cooking

GASTONIA, N.C.,None — One thing the world of Internet restaurant research has done is make it more important than ever to make your eatery fit into a category. When we go online to find a place to eat, we’re confronted with dozens of choices all rigorously organized into food types.

That’s what makes a place like Bruce Mo’s Café, at 3670 S. New Hope Road, Gastonia, in the new Food Lion shopping center, so refreshing. One category that’s often overlooked in the grand scheme is Southern food, and that’s where just about everything on Bruce Mo’s menu lives.

From pork chops and meat loaf to liver and onions, there’s something for anyone who grew up in the South or got here as fast as they could. Southern food incorporates a tremendous array of dishes and styles of cuisine, stretching from the Creole spice of Louisiana to the Gullah goodness of the Low Country.

Those who haven’t lived here tend to think of Southern food in terms of Paula Deen, fried chicken and pecan pie and not much else. While it’s true that a Southern chef will not blanch at the sight of a pan of lovingly saved bacon grease, and that we do enjoy a wide variety of deep-fried delights, the idea that all our food is bland, fatty and/or starchy is utterly wrong. The Deep South offers a bounty of fruits and vegetables unmatched in just about any other part of the country, and all of it finds its way into our cuisine at some point.

Bruce and Rhonda Tindall took the home of a sub shop and turned it into a small, clean, comfortable spot unlike anything else on that end of town. Bruce, a former airline industry worker who tells stories of making kidney pie for British fliers, uses family recipes and his own ingenuity to put together a small but well-executed bill of fare. Rhonda runs the front of the house like a well-oiled machine.

Most cafes and small places like this have wings on the menu. Usually, they’re basically there to relieve you of another $7 or $8 and give you a familiar touchstone among what might be unfamiliar dishes. And, sadly, they’re usually not very good. This is not the case at Bruce Mo’s, where they’re hand-breaded and fried perfectly, with a classic Buffalo-style heat. Be sure to specify you just want the wings without sides, as they’re also considered an entrée.

On my trip, I picked the meat loaf with herbed mashed potatoes and collard greens as sides. Meat loaf is easy to make, but hard to make really well. Bruce’s creation is moist and herbed to perfection, and goes really well with the mashed potatoes. Be sure to ask for the pan gravy.

Everyone’s got their own preference when it comes to collard greens. Some like vinegar, some like fatback or salt pork, etc. I would have appreciated a bit more spice kick in mine, but the fact that vinegar was readily available for doctoring my order helped a lot. I’ve finally made peace with the fact that hot sauce doesn’t necessarily come as part of the table setting in every restaurant.

I have to confess to one matter left unattended in this review. Rhonda’s mother provides the red velvet cake on the menu, and it was sold out on my visit. I’ve heard good things about it, but haven’t yet made it back to try. I’ll let you know when I do.

WSOC