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Best Bargain Restaurants: Southside 815

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Southside 815
Alexandria

This comfortable alexandria bar and restaurant has made some menu changes recently. Most of the innovative "new southern classics" that have become its signature dishes remain. Low Country Shortcake--layers of cornbread filled with roast chicken, oysters, and mashed potatoes, covered with succotash gravy--is still superb, as is Charleston Chicken, a sautéed chicken breast with shrimp, corn, and sausage, flavored with sherry and served with greens and mashed potatoes.

Less successful is a new introduction called Creole Grillades and Cheddar Grits Bowl, which bears not the slightest resemblance to the the classic New Orleans grillades and grits dish. It's a timidly seasoned seafood stew served atop a bowl of soupy grits, a good example of innovation gone awry, respecting neither the original dish nor the customer.

Homesick southerners will still want to come for the side dishes, which may be ordered separately--bread-and-butter pickles, cheddar grits, fried green tomatoes, and greens with "pot likker" and a corn muffin. Monday and Saturday are meatloaf nights, and Tuesday's special is ribs.

Southside 815 , 815 South Washington Street, Alexandria; 703/836-6222. Open Sunday through Thursday 11:30 am to 10:30 pm, Friday and Saturday 11:30 am to 11 pm. AE, CB, D, DC, MC, V. MapIt!

QUALITY: ****Excellent; *** Superior; **Very Good; * Good
PRICE RANGE: $$$= Very Expensive; $$ Expensive; $=Moderate; ¢=Inexpensive

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