Scout

Scout Restaurant Review:

The former Old Scottish Rite Hospital, a historic Decatur building, is home to Scout, a casual yet elegant space with generous windows and high ceilings. Surfaces are painted white allowing tables and booths, floors and light fixtures to provide interest and contrast. Chef-partner Michael Semancik has developed a balanced comfort-fare menu on which local ingredients such as stone-ground grits and collard greens contribute their fair share. We favor the deconstructed “angels on horseback” --- typically broiled bacon-wrapped oysters on bread --- in a version combining chopped bacon in a luscious cream sauce surrounding the cooked oysters perched atop brioche. A feta cheese-flecked beet salad on peppery watercress lacked the pears mentioned in its menu description but didn’t suffer for the omission. Try the turnip green pesto-enhanced pasta and roasted tomato underpinning a skillfully cooked North Carolina trout. Chicken, pork, duck and steak also are among the mains. Bananas Foster bread pudding, warmed in the oven, is plenty for two people for dessert. The global wine list selects offerings that pair well with the food, and the good glassware and proper serving temps are appreciated. Beers focus on local craft brews. Sunday brunch looks seriously tempting.