Empire State South, Atlanta, Georgia

I was in Atlanta for a meeting a couple of weeks ago and I was able to meet a good friend for lunch, and she took me here.
It is always good to catch up with people that you have known, even if under limited and largely unhappy circumstances (our sons were both diagnosed with the same type of brain tumor, a situation that makes a lot of current, past, and to an extent, future relationships complicated).  The thing about it is that you get each other on a level that a lot of people really cannot quite achieve, and so it is a breath of fresh air to see her again.
This restaurant is what I would call bold American food with a Southern flair.  They had exceptional iced coffee and remarkably have a selection of options.  For this alone they deserve judos.  I had the shrimp and grits, was was exceptionally good, but did not compare with the farm egg fried rice.  It is made with Carolina Gold Rice, and had an almost popped rice tooth feel and the flavor was really explosively great.  Highly recommended.