Let the games in southern comfort food begin!  The fried green tomatoes seem to be in a cornmeal based batter.   It is fresh and light and reminds one of summer. It comes with a lemon herb aioli.  A more popular classic fried appetizer is sweet potato fries.  Our batch were sweet and crispy, served in a cone shaped basked with mango ketchup and citrus aioli.  Honestly, neither the mango ketchup or citrus aioli popped with the tantalizing flavors but were more reminiscent of a good standard ketchup and mayo if you are not famaliar with the ever increasing popular sauce of aioli.  The Shrimp and Grits are splendid in presentation and taste.  Jumbo Shrimp paired with amazing grits cooked in heavy cream, Mascarpone cheese, chives, applewood smoked bacon and tomatoes.  Although, this dish is very good it lacked cohesiveness.  The shrimp and grits feel like two different experiences. 

The winning appetizer that should be put on a garden party menu or catering an up scale event in Baltimore is the baked fig with goat chees and Smithfield Ham.  Many of the dishes are garnished with watercress as this one.  Figs are abundant on the trees in Southern California so this is especially nice to have this dish. The goat cheese tops the fig and almost hidden under the watercress are thin bacon like slices of smithfield ham.  Combining the elements together composes a sweet and salty balance.

Miss Shirley's Cafe offered us a wide variety of items on the menu to sample.  The menu is loaded with many options if not more than the Cheesecake Factory menu.  Here are a few breakout stars:

Decadent Pancakes:  With options like Raspberry white chocolate pancake(yes, it is better than it sounds), pineapple upside down pancakes, cinnamon danish and blueberry pancakes there is not a wrong choice.  We were most impressed with these breakfast menu items. To syrup or not syrup, that is the question.  They stand alone in sweetness but they do come with maple syrup.

Read more: Miss Shirley's Restauant Review