Carrington brothers put soul food and American barbecue on Atlas menu

Charlie Carrington is about to unveil yet another cuisine at his South Yarra restaurant. This time the Atlas Dining chef flying the flag for the southern states of the US. Here’s what to expect.

Atlas chef Charlie Carrington with business partner and brother Ben.

It took Charlie Carrington a while to get excited about his next culinary journey.

The Atlas Dining chef recently returned from the US where he explored the flavours of Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas.

“I’ll be honest. I wasn’t into it at the start,” he said.

“But once we dug in and experienced the incredible hospitality and generosity of the eateries in those states I couldn’t wait to get home and start sharing.”

The switch to American barbecue and soul food is a big one for the South Yarra restaurant.

Previously the team have focused on exploring the Asian continent — first with Thai cuisine then Chinese and Sichuan cooking.

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“It is definitely not something our customers would have expected,” Mr Carrington said.

“I think the biggest difference and something we are still fine tuning is the atmosphere in the restaurant.

“It’s what I loved most when I was away. It had an even bigger impact on me than the flavours. The food was served with such warmth; you felt like one of the family.”

To portray that element the team will be swapping the French linen table clothes for deli-style brown paper and embracing a more casual approach.

“We’ll still have set menu and we won’t be super sizing things!” Mr Carrington said.

Atlas Sweet Potato Pie.

That menu is likely to include pickles charcuterie and biscuit, shrimp ‘n’ grits with wood oven bread, fried chicken and gumbo, meat and three sides and sweet potato pie.

Mr Carrington said he was most excited about the shrimp and grits dish.

“I don’t think many diners will be familiar with grits.

“It’s something really different and is such a core representation of that style of cooking.”

American-style barbecue already has a healthy following in Melbourne and Mr Carrington said he was looking forward to tapping into its fanbase.

“I think we’ll be seeing a lot of new faces, which is fantastic.”

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The opening service on September 3 will also kickstart Atlas Dining’s fundraising for the RCD Foundation — The Robert Conner Dawes Foundation.

This year Mr Carrington is an ambassador for Connor’s Run that funds the science to end paediatric brain cancer.

The run is on September 15 and Mr Carrington will operate a food stall at the event with all proceeds going to the charity.

The America — Food for the Soul menu will be available for four months with a limited, exclusive ‘Thanks Giving’ seating for guests to book in advance for November 28.
Atlas Dining, 133 Commercial Rd, South Yarra .
Bookings: atlasdining.com.au