Sometime back my roommate Katie informed me of a wonderful joint in Decatur that was known for their fried chicken which is a regular Tuesday special. In fact, it is so well known that they usually run out! They don’t start serving it until 5:30pm and they recommend you come early. Since we are close to downtown Decatur and we had both been wanting to try it, Katie and I dined at Watershed this past Halloween.
*A side note about Decatur: Since a large majority of my readers are not in Atlanta, they are probably wondering how I can live right by downtown Atlanta and downtown Decatur at the same time. This took me a minute to figure out too when I first came to Tech. Normally when one thinks inside the perimeter (I-285), one thinks Atlanta. However, just to the east of downtown but still inside I-285 lies Dekalb county whose seat is Decatur (click for map). Decatur is interesting, it is a small town and it has a welcoming small town/mild suburbia feel to it… but it is still inside the perimeter, amazing! At least this has been my impression since I started living close enough to Decatur to visit it. The other plus side… the bars are open later in Decatur!*
Watershed is an interesting restaurant. In some ways it tries to be a nicer restaurant and in other ways it has the feel of a casual place. It is largely unfinished inside but has a beautiful bar and wine storage area. The tables have white tablecloths but they still have a top sheet of paper on them for easy clean up. The furniture itself is a little eccentric too. The restaurant is very dimly lit (at least our table was) giving it a more upscale, romantic feel. The drink refillers were in classic white button up with black pants attire, while the wait staff and the hostesses were in Halloween costumes (we were served by an incredibly cute Punky Brewster). All in all, I dug it.
The reason we came was the fried chicken. The fried chicken special comes served with mashed potatoes, sauted green beans, and two small biscuits. The sides were of normal (probably small by today’s chain standards) sized servings, but they did not skimp on the main attraction. Each plate contained a wing, leg, thigh, and breast. The chicken itself was excellent. It tasted like it came out of someone’s kitchen, like some old grandmother had brought it to a church picnic, it was damn good chicken. The breading was not overly thick and it had more a skillet fried taste and feel to it rather than a deep fryer, but hard to say for sure. The sides were good too but the chicken was the star.
There were only two downsides. I asked for iced tea and was given a glass unsweet tea with an array of sweeteners (at least they had Sweet-n-low). Any restaurant in Georgia (or anywhere in the South for that matter) should bring a glass of sweet tea when you order iced tea. They only served unsweet tea though, I’ll chalk that up to upscale identity of the restaurant. A lot of nicer restaurants only serve unsweet tea, I don’t like it but it is an unfortunate reality in the restaurant world. The other downside was the price. The fried chicken was good but $19 good? That remains to be seen. Most of the other main dishes ranged in the $15-$20 range, so be prepared budget wise when you go.
The service was excellent, the food was great, and I found a pleasant surprise for dessert. They offered a cream cheese pound cake. It reminded me of my Mawmaw’s sour cream pound cake that I loved so much. The pound cake at Watershed tasted very similar to pound cake I grew up with with the notable exception that my Mawmaw iced hers. I was actually somewhat glad mind was served plain though, I’m not sure if my stomach could have handled icing after cleaning my fried chicken plate.
Do I recommend it? Definitely. The price of admission is high but I think it is worth it, at least just once for the experience. I hadn’t been out for a decent supper in awhile so it was a nice treat. It seems like a good place to take an out of towner to as well (Tuesday or not). Also interesting, this is the second Indigo Girls backed restaurant that I’ve been to in Atlanta (well greater Atlanta). The other is the Flyin’ Biscuit which I highly recommend trying.
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