Last Resort Grill: Delicious Yet Comforting

By: Yazmarr Williams

I saw this review going one of two ways. It would either be a pity-party of one featuring me eating as many different flavored chicken wings as I could, or it would be the bougiest dinner I could afford with a group of friends and I’d leave the restaurant in a food coma. This review is neither of those. Instead, this review is about a meal from the Last Resort Grill that was as delicious as it was comforting. This is a review about tempered expectations.

The reason for all of of my pre-review planning was I knew that there inevitably would be a meal following the 2018 midterm elections. I know myself. I know that in the best of times and the worst of times I will presumably be eating. So at two-o’clock November 7th, 2018, I called one friend and said, “Let’s do lunch. A good one.”

Last Resort Grill is a little place on the corner of Clayton and Hull in downtown Athens, Georgia. Originally, it opened in 1966 as a music venue. Today though, Last Resort Grill focuses its energy into transforming traditional, locally sourced, southern ingredients into something new.

As soon as I sat down, I was enticed by the vibe. The wine list was long. Everyone around me was smiling and chatting between bites. Big bites, I might add. The jean wearing waitstaff was eager to help. I ran into friends and professors. This place was nice, but not pretentious. I liked that.

I also liked the long list of beers, however I truly should’ve stuck with water. My meal was not light by any means. Well, except for the side salad. Which was great truly, but it wasn’t the meatloaf patty melt. If I had known I would’ve known what I was walking into, I would’ve fasted.

As all good patty melt connoisseurs know, what makes a patty melt great is the bread. It’s that textural contrast between the crunchy toasted bread and the juicy meat inside. And damn, did Last Resort get that right. Yet not only did they master the basics, they added to it.

This thing had bacon. It had monterey jack cheese. It had caramelized onions. It had a chipotle remoulade (aka fancy mayo). This meal is not diet friendly and it doesn’t pretend to be. I was so full so early , but I couldn’t stop eating. The only reason I didn’t inhale it was because my friend Ariel asked for a bite. In exchange though, I had a few bites of her pasta.

I think people underestimate how hard it is to get pasta right. Especially, pasta with cream sauce. The pasta needs to be toothsome, so it doesn’t fall apart in your mouth. The sauce needs to be perfectly covering the pasta, so the flavor is in every bite. Then the other ingredients need to present, but not steal from the main attraction. It’s a very precarious thing.

However, I can only assume the chefs at Last Resort called upon the restaurant’s musical roots, because the “New Rockville” was harmonious. It was not ornate by any means. Yet, it was the dish’s simplicity that made me recognize the caliber of food and the caliber of cooking.

This dish was well thought out and it showed. The pasta complimented the salmon and tiger shrimp, which complimented the sauteed greens, which complimented the romano. My only wish was that I got a little more dijon flavor in the cream sauce. That added sharpness would’ve really tipped this dish over. Nonetheless, this was deeply satisfying.

After all of that, I still made room for dessert. Why? Because mama didn’t raise a quitter. It also didn’t hurt that the cheesecake was truly phenomenal. I am not a sweets person. I am,however, a person who has been thinking about this cheesecake for a week.

What makes this cheesecake even more interesting is the lore around it. These cheesecakes are not made in-house. They’re made by a woman named Cammie. Who is rarely, if ever seen at the restaurant. Despite that, her essence shines through.

It’s a rare thing to eat something and be able to taste the delight put into it. This cheesecake didn’t taste like someone who spent years perfecting the perfect cheesecake. It like home. All of the dishes did. That morning I woke up discouraged and wary. By three thirty, I was full,joyous,and optimistic.

My lunch at Last Resort Grill was an unexpected happy medium of indulgence and skill. There’s no way I could’ve planned for that meal. No more than I could’ve prepared for the election results. But that’s okay, because somethings are great no matter what. Luckily for me, this meal was one of them.