ess saturday brunch. this past saturday my wife and daughters (ages 21 and 16) decided to give hugh atcheson's latest atlanta restaurant, empire state of the south a try. the restaurant is in the 999 peachtree st. building on the ground floor, with a great courtyard (encompassing a first-class bocce ball court) and dining al fresco, offering respite from the traffic and street noise on the building's other side. the restaurant decor is low-key with high ceilings and a muted pallette of tans and grays. i was surprised to find the restaurant completely empty when we walked in at 1:00 pm. one other table was seated right after ours, but that was it--admittedly, ess has only been open for a week now, and it was labor day weekend, but it was a bit strange. saturdays and sundays ess serves their brunch menu until 3:00--there were some substantial offerings, so we weren't too disappointed that the menu was a bit limited compared to the weekday lunch fare. jill started with a bloody caesar (a delicious bm with clam and tomato juice, olive brine, black pepper and lemon) and i went for a dry riesling. gillian had a mexican coke--a little cleaner with a hint more vanilla flavor, due to the lack of corn syrup and use of cane sugar in its' place. greta went for an iced coffee that she deemed "killer". our server mark was knowledgeable and friendly--his service was one of the high points of the meal. unfortunately, the kitchen was plagued by those timing issues one often finds in the first few weeks of a new start-up. we ordered two of the chicken fried pork with three bean salad and mashed potatoes, a bowl of the field-pea and collard soup, a bowl of the tomato bisque, shrimp and grits and a side of buttered grits for gilly. we had ordered the lemon zucchini bread, but it never found its' way out of the kitchen. after about 12 minutes food appeared, with the exception of the field-pea soup that was to have been my starter. mark quickly hustled it up, but by then, i had an entree in front of me. jill's shrimp and grits arrived barely warm--i asked mark to heat them up and he returned to say that the chef was going to make the dish again as they did not have a microwave (that is actually a plus as far as i am concerned). the chicken fried pork steaks had a good flavor, but the meat may not have been breaded correctly (too damp?), as the coating did not adhere well to the meat and fell off at the first draw of my knife. mashers were ok--a little shy on fat--i love linton hopkin's approach to mashed potatoes, no cream or milk, but enough butter and salt to make your premature demise a delicious one, at least. the tomato soup seemed to have more of a red-bell pepper note asserting itself over the tomatoes, although gillian pronounced it quite good. the shrimp and grits arrived steaming on the second go-round with tender, perfectly cooked crustaceans and an artisanal andouille along with the "trinity" in a very light roux. the grits themselves were stone-ground with an al dente bite and great corn flavor. the highlight of the meal for me turned out to be the field pea and collard soup. tender fresh peas, bathed in a brackish pot-likker broth with shredded ham hock meat and peppery braised collards on top took mebackto my grandmother's kitchen in clarkston. this was the comfort food i had been craving from chef de cuisine nick melvin. overall, i would have to say that ess needs some refining and the kitchen (at least for our brunch) is nowhere near hitting its' stride in the way that five and ten and the national (atcheson's athens offerings) turn out exquisite plates. one last note on the wine list--there are 9 bottles priced at less that $30.00, including an '09 goulart malbec at $18.00! the list favors old-world wines, but does include some real decadent reds like the giacomo borgogno barolo riserva in both '78 and '96 vintages and delightful whites like the rocca dei leoni falanghina from campania. grab a glass of that at the bar, head for the bocce courts and nosh away at this welcome addition to the atl dining scene.