Greer Fredericks Returns to Norwalk with Greer Southern Table

Andrew Dominick July 18, 2023

Pulled BBQ pork wontons on the left, beet brined deviled eggs on the right

You’ve just sat down at the newly opened Greer Southern Table in Norwalk. You either order a refreshing, fruity, ice cold cocktail, or you’re like me and despite it being 90 degrees, you still order an old fashioned. You scan the menu. You probably ponder over a few tasty dishes to share with your dining companions.

The waiter or waitress comes back over after you’ve had a few sips of your drink. Those sips are satisfying, sure, but there’s nothing more satisfying—especially if you’ve ordered the fried chicken at Greer Fredericks’ last Connecticut restaurant, Peaches—than ordering that same crunchy, juicy, well-seasoned fried chicken like this:

“Fuck it, get the bucket!”

Damn that feels good! Again.

And this time Fredericks says she’s staying put after giving a fast casual, counter style version of Peaches Low Country Kitchen a go in New York City, and before that a trio of hit restaurants in Norwalk in Mama’s Boy Southern Table & Refuge, Jax & Co., and Peaches Southern Pub & Juke Joint.

So, if you’re wondering why Greer is back, attribute it to a myriad of circumstances.

“I had no intention of coming back,” she says. “It was timing. It was karma, maybe. I don’t even know what to call it. The landlord, Jason Milligan, was really persistent about having us come back. He convinced me to do it. He invited me down to the old neighborhood to show me all of the progress that’s been occurring and I was blown away! I’m so impressed by his energy and his vision. I feel his enthusiasm truly mirrors that of mine and my team’s. I loved working with him from the very beginning because of his ideas for the neighborhood.”

Much of the design is personal to Fredericks and those who’ve paid attention to her other spots in the past may notice random Easter eggs scattered about.

After she closed Peaches in Norwalk, Fredericks had been living in Brooklyn with her sights set on a Peaches spinoff in Manhattan’s Financial District. The problem, unbeknownst to her at the time, was she opened it at the beginning of 2020 and wasn’t open long before the pandemic shutdowns. She cut her losses and moved back to Connecticut.

Now convinced by Milligan to make a comeback, Fredericks’ had other incentives like being able to pick and design the space to her style standards, plenty of parking nearby, and “no stairs.”

Cool off with a “Huck’s Lemonade,” made with huckleberry vodka, fresh squeezed lemonade, blueberries, and club soda.

Or take the edge off the “old fashioned” way. Hi, Josh!

Cajun boiled peanuts are a spicy, salty snack, a perfect accompaniment to an ice cold cocktail or beer.

“We did well in South Norwalk (Mama’s Boy), but Peaches was the hardest restaurant I ever did,” she says. “The fact that it was even successful blew my mind because we had the kitchen in the basement and all those stairs! The fact that this building didn’t have any stairs was a big deal after that. Being next to the parking garage is a good thing and it’s inexpensive to park over here. People sometimes wouldn’t come to Peaches because they couldn’t find a space right near it.”

What’s also major for Fredericks is having her old staff back. General manager Guy McIntosh moved back to the area from Ohio; chef Juan Sanchez and a lot of the kitchen crew have returned from Fredericks’ past restaurants; Josh Stryker, though only staying for a few months, came back from traveling the world to help get the bar program up and running; and there’s one newbie in Kendall Devoss who quit her own catering business to handle Greer Southern Table’s private dining and catering.

How do you take your oysters? Fried? Or…

Charbroiled? These are an homage to Drago’s Seafood Restaurant in New Orleans.

Ahhh! But the food. If the name of the restaurant isn’t a dead giveaway, and if you’ve somehow never been to any of Fredericks’ previous spots, it’s southern. Only this time around it’s this blend of Mama’s Boy, Peaches, plenty of newer fare with more parts of the south represented on the menu, and I’ll dare to describe it as more refined, too.

“The food is low country meets the high country,” Fredericks explains. “We’ve got stuff from the Carolinas, like the trout, New Orleans style po’boys, and Cajun hot boiled peanuts that are big all over the south. We’re even doing Yaka mein, a popular New Orleans street food soup that’s Creole meets Chinese. We simmer the beef broth overnight with Cajun spices and serve it with tender brisket. Our noodles are fresh bucatini with a hole in it so some of that broth gets in the hollow. We tried it with spaghetti, then packaged bucatini, but we didn’t like either.”

Cornmeal crusted, then fried shrimp, po’boy style, and on bread from Gambino’s Bakery in NOLA, served alongside a smear of remoulade and hand cut fries.

Yaka mein. Plenty of noodles, plenty of brisket, soft eggs, pickled onions, scallions.

There’s a messy, savory, cheesy smashburger, too. House-brined pickles, special sauce, double American cheese, sautéed onions, and bacon jam make this one worthy of a bib and a lap napkin.

Hey, don’t worry, there’s lighter fare like this herb crusted, pan seared salmon (summer succotash, pomegranate, spinach, charred lemon).

And fans of Fredericks’ previous projects will rejoice knowing that all the greatest hits from those restaurants are back. The beet brined, creamy, addictive deviled eggs with pickled okra and crispy, salty bacon; a hearty bowl of shrimp & grits with andouille; the mac & cheese; and the southern grazing boards, including the pimento cheese with bread and Ritz Crackers.

Oh, and definitely the bucket of fried chicken, that’s a whole bird, specifically a game hen, that’s buttermilk brined “for less than 24 hours.” Fredericks mentioned they found a sweet spot when it comes to soaking the poultry before each piece is dredged in a secret flour – spice blend. She won’t give away much else because as she says, “It took a few years to finally get it right.”

After all the savory comfort food Greer Southern Table is churning out, maybe you’ll stay for banana pudding or fresh fried maple – bacon donuts but coming soon and back again—and fans of Mama’s Boy will love this one—are the decadent cakes that restaurant became known for, only they won’t be those giant hunks you might remember. They’ll return as personal cakes.

The theme here, if there is one, is that of a return, a comeback, and a rejuvenation. I think I speak for a lot of fans when I say, “Welcome back, Greer!”

7 River Street; Norwalk
203.286.6378; greersoutherntable.com