Life > November 29, 2007

By Lizzie Rosen | News editor

Nestled along South Stratford Road, Milner’s American Southern is not a restaurant that attracts you with its glowing neon sign. Instead, Milner’s attracts you with its decorative charm and warm, fuzzy feeling-inducing southern cuisine.

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Despite the high quality of food, the price of food at Milner’s discourages students. (Liza Greenspun/Old Gold & Black)

The décor is similar to a rustic cabin. All of the furniture is wood as is the square bar in the front portion of the restaurant. Dim lights and hanging metal fish give the aura of getting away for a while to a comfortable secluded hideaway. The restaurant has two rooms for dining and usually attracts businessmen or the middle aged who gather around the bar for cocktails.

The menu is quite expansive. For those familiar with Foothills Brewery downtown, Milner’s picks up where Foothills leaves off in terms of more advanced southern plates. Our waitress encouraged us to ask questions and to take our time as it was a lot to absorb. Milner’s runs a typical steak and seafood menu. One can order filet mignon, salmon and crabcakes. The appetizers were very seafood oriented, mainly oysters, calamari and tuna, although steak tartare was thrown in there, which seemed a bit out of place as it is a dish mainly reserved for more exotic dining.

My dining partner and I opted to try the fried pickles, which proved to be a very delicious and interesting experience. The pickles were sliced as to be placed on sandwiches and were then lightly fried and served with a tomato sauce. If you do not like pickles this may be one to opt out of, but it was a great way to try a notably southern delicacy. I decided to order the tilapia which was covered in lump crab meat and shrimp after mulling over several other options including a hanger steak, the classic shrimp ‘n grits and even a vegetable medley. This was the waitress’ favorite entrée and was quite enjoyable. The tilapia was served over rice with corn and a light sauce; there was also a small serving of spinach. It was very filling and not too heavy. My partner ordered a field greens salad which was presented beautifully. All of the dishes that we witnessed come out of the kitchen were prepared with intense attention to detail.

The dessert menu looked quite enticing, but after all of my tilapia and the desire to leave with my bill total under $40, I passed. Nevertheless, the options were very desirable including bing cherry bread pudding, white chocolate banana pudding, pumpkin pie cheesecake, sorbet and my personal favorite, crème brulee.

Our waitress was outstanding, very friendly but not intrusive on our meal. While this was impressive, the cost of the meal created disparity in the overall dining experience. This is not the type of meal that most college students could have on any given day of the week. The field greens salad was under $10; however, it would not be enough to fill you up on its own. Attire is casual but I would not recommend going in sweat pants as many of the people around you will be in suits in the dining room.

If you are planning to take a large group make sure to make a reservation at least three days in advance as there were no large tables present in the dining area. Milner’s was a great way to brighten up my week but my next visit will most likely involve my father or a birthday celebration.