This weekend a touch of Georgia will make its way onto the plates of diners in Chevy Chase Maryland, just outside of Washington DC. Maconite and Executive Chef Tony Brown is opening a restaurant there affectionately called Macon Bistro & Larder.

The restaurant's name comes from both Brown’s hometown of Macon, Georgia and its sister city Mâcon, France. He says the bistro will have a small menu cooked in the French style using Southern ingredients. “I was trained at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York and at the elbow of my genteel grandmothers in downtown Macon, Georgia. My experiences in the kitchen have run the gamut. My down-home childhood as a country boy was filled with buttermilk biscuits, fried green tomatoes and stone-ground grits – all items you’ll find on my restaurant’s menu. But as the son of a career Army officer, I traveled the world, experiencing the tastes and flavors of cooks all over the United States and Europe. It’s the marriage of these experiences – my southern roots and my far-flung travels – that form to make the rare blend you see reflected in my cooking. “

Log onto MaconBistro.com and your mouth will water with offerings such as Bibb County Greens and Maconnais salad. Macon smores or perhaps Gigi Mama’s coconut cake will satisfy your sweet tooth. It’s a menu laced with pork belly, biscuits, collard greens.

The idea for Macon Bistro & Larder has been in the making for the better part of 10 years Brown says. He’s been a pre-med student, a salesman, and a technology consultant, but is now returning to what he says he’s best at: his first love of cooking.

Tags: restaurant, Leah Fleming