Casual Elegance
Stone's Throw is family-friendly fine dining.
By Jason Horn Photos by Jean Allsopp
When it comes to high-end chefs in Birmingham, it seems like all roads lead to Frank Stitt. Chris Hastings of Hot & Hot Fish Club got his start at Highlands Bar and Grill and Bottega. Alan Martin, who went on to run Standard Bistro, did too. And when Martin left Standard Bistro to open a restaurant at the Victoria Inn in Anniston, his shoes were filled by Mac Russell, who worked under Hastings at Hot & Hot.
Confused yet? Well, now Standard Bistro has become Stone's Throw Grill Bar & Grill, and new chef, Chris Harrigan worked at Highlands and Bottega with Chris Hastings—and Russell is still helping out in the kitchen.
At Stone's Throw, the goal is to be more casual and family friendly than Standard Bistro while still using high-quality ingredients, with everything made from scratch in-house. And at that, it succeeds.
"Mother Nature is the artist," Harrigan says, "and my job is to keep from messing that up." His menu features elegant spins on Southern favorites, incorporating seasonal ingredients as much as possible. A springtime visit found crawfish featured in many items, and local radishes, ramps and arugula in just about every dish.
The menu changes daily, but one dish it will always contain is shrimp and grits. Harrigan's version is creamy, savory and stocked with produce like tomatoes and sugar snap peas. On a recent visit, other entrées of note included a wonderfully flavorful and crisp Southern-fried quail, chicken cooked in the wood-fired oven, and a house-cured pork chop with mashed sweet potatoes. The curing process gives it a rich, ham-like flavor.
Appetizers and desserts are designed for sharing, reflecting Stone's Throw's more laid-back vibe. Try the crawfish spring rolls, served with three different sauces. Or sample the flatbread, which is grilled, then topped with garlic, cheese, salami and seasonal veggies before being baked (the generous portion is enough for six, easy, or even an entrée for one). On the sweet side, an understated vanilla crème brûlée and fried apple pie are standouts.
Chris and Leah Harrigan
Harrigan plans to use local and sustainable produce, meat and dairy as much as possible at Stone's Throw, and he has plenty of opportunity. The seven-acre Mt Laurel Farm, now run by Jones Valley Urban Farm, is just down the street, and that's just one of many suppliers. You could say sustainable agriculture is in Harrigan's blood: He worked for a few years at an organic farm in Leeds, selling to chefs and developing contacts.
"I'm surprised by the number of people have interesting things to sell," Harrigan says.
Two weeks was all the time Harrigan needed to turn Standard Bistro into Stone's Throw, so a lot of the former space's elegance is still there. "It's still a fancy space," Harrigan says, "but I wanted to create a more relaxed atmosphere."
To that end, white tablecloths have been banished, revealing worn wood tables. Menus double as place mats, in a nod to Frank Stitt's Chez Fonfon. And the children's menu—featuring $6 entrées like mac and cheese and chicken tenders—means the whole family can enjoy, a good thing considering the demographics of Mt Laurel.
The restaurant's design encourages family friendliness as well; lots of nooks and crannies and plenty of space between tables means boisterous young'uns won't bother neighboring parties.
With Stone's Throw, Harrigan says, "I have an opportunity to promote Birmingham and what's special about Birmingham." And something this special is worth the drive.
