Photography by Beau Gustafson

Satterfield’s is a locally owned, farm-to-table restaurant that serves non-GMO and organic fare for your well-being. And their friendly, professional staff makes fine dining look effortless.

The Place

Satterfield’s Restaurant is open for dinner Monday through Saturday, and it is located in the heart of Cahaba Heights, just below The Summit, where it opened in January 2005. A valet in waiting greets us as we drive into Satterfield’s parking lot. We enter Satterfield’s bar and enjoy a Hotel Nacional cocktail with notes of pineapple and apricot before dinner. The upscale ambience is enveloped in soft tones of sage and cinnamon. The bar is anchored by two circular banquettes in each corner of the exterior wall, with tables in between. There are two strategically placed televisions in the bar, perfect for game peeking. Afterward we dine in the main dining room, with the same color schemes and ambiance. Here we watch Chef Patrick Horn and the kitchen staff roast, grill, and plate our dinner in the open kitchen, just beyond the chef’s counter. The restaurant also boasts a private dining room for intimate events or business dinners and a patio for al fresco dining.

The People

Executive pastry chef and owner Becky Satterfield’s mantra is that good food comes from good intentions. Satterfield ensures quality food products through close relationships with local farmers and purveyors, and her own organic garden. She also supports the Alabamians for GMO Labeling initiative with the group’s logo on the menu and door. And most recently Satterfield was named the president of the Birmingham chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI), a select group of women who educate and mentor women in culinary professions. In addition to Satterfield herself, the restaurant’s success is also attributed to her loyal staff. Executive chef Patrick Horn and general manager Kevin Moore have been here from the start. Seniority is also found in business manager Barbara Dawson, servers Lucky Solis and Barry Graham, and man of many hats German Perez. Already famous for their divine breads and desserts, Satterfield’s now has a new hand in the kitchen with chef de pâtisserie Brittany Garrigus.

Favorite Fare

My favorite appetizer here has long been the coddled egg, but I discipline myself tonight not to order again because I have reviewed it in the past—twice. Along with the frittomisto we order the charcuterie board as appetizers. The tasty Fritto Misto is a mix of Gulf oysters, grouper, and crab claws fried to a crisp dark golden color served with the lovely house gribiche. The board is a scrumptious and interactive array of Benton’s Country Ham, Spicy Sopressata, Niman Ranch Rillettes, and Duck Breast “Prosciutto,” served with marinated olives, muscadine mostarda, house made benne seed cracker, and bread and butter pickles.

Entrée selections are a surf and turf, a Hickory Grilled Black Angus Prime Rib Eye paired with Chateau Robin Bordeaux 2012 and Pan- Roasted Black Grouper paired with Pascal Jolivet Sancerre 2014. The rib eye is large enough to cover the plate and rests atop buttermilk mashed potatoes, Snow’s Bend root veggies, shiitake mushrooms, and Bordelaise sauce. The creamy, flavorful, mashed potatoes have an extra kick from the buttermilk—a nice touch. And the crisp root vegetables sing with fall freshness. This dish is perfect for my meat-and-potatoes hubby. The thick cut of grouper is roasted to a nice golden on the outside and glistening white on the inside, topped with a generous crab salad. The seafood is served on an heirloom tomato confit and the best speckled lima beans from Habersham Farms, along with Castelvetrano olives, green peppercorns, fried capers, pine nuts, and tarragon butter. This dish is a beautiful synthesis of Southern with Italian flavors and is highly recommended. We share the Sweet Wine Poached Pear for dessert and pair it with Vueve Vernay sparkling wine. The lovely half pear arrives atop an almond butter filled puff pastry with caramel sauce, making a dreamy end to our evening.

Tags: december 2016