Plenty has changed in the 25 years since Daniel Briggs and a partner opened Daniel George restaurant in Mountain Brook Village.
Then, eateries were a rarity in the neighborhood, now home to a cluster of hip, world-traveling restaurants and food shops. Briggs now is the restaurant’s sole owner; its abbreviated new name, DG, is a nod to the original brand.
But one constant remains. Briggs and crew have always offered carefully sourced food that is creatively cooked and presented in an elegant yet convivial setting.
Briggs describes DG as a comfort food restaurant. “In modernity, that’s what we are,” he says. “We started out as a fine-dining restaurant and now we’re a neighborhood restaurant where people come to hang out, enjoy food and drink, and get back home safely and quickly.”
Briggs and his original partner, George McMillan III (who now owns FoodBar in the Cahaba Heights district), are part of Birmingham’s second generation of chef-owners who have made the area one of the region’s great food destinations.
In the 1990s, Briggs and McMillan both worked in the kitchens of renowned chef Frank Stitt at his flagship, Highlands Bar and Grill and for Chris Hastings, another Birmingham icon, at Hot and Hot Fish Club. Lessons in being restaurateurs learned from those chef-owners cast the foundation of Briggs’ and McMillan’s success, who in turn have helped train a new generation.
“Those guys taught me the very most,” Briggs says. “It was at a very exciting time. Food was blowing up and there was so much exploration and new ideas coming in.”
But when Daniel and George opened their own restaurant in 2000, they didn’t want to clone their mentors’ concepts. “George and I had such different cooking styles we were able to create a new style of fine dining for this neighborhood.”
Today, DG operates, essentially, as two restaurants. The menus, cooking techniques, set-ups, and style of service change completely from lunch to dinner.
Lunch features an upscale yet affordable meat-and-three menu. “It is the least pretentious plate of food, I think, I could serve,” Briggs says, calling it a reflection of his cooking philosophy. “It’s honest. It comes very quickly. And it’s good.”
Briggs brags about DG’s fried chicken, which joins hamburger steak with gravy, sauteed Gulf shrimp, fried oysters, and house-made chicken salad on the meat side of the lunch menu.
Of the 13 richly-flavored vegetable options, only one is cooked with meat. For an umami punch in DG’s collards, salt pork is replaced with pineapple, soy sauce, chile, onions, and basil.
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Dinner is more formal, with fresh seafood and choice cuts of steak among the entrees. “It’s more fine dining,” Briggs says. “Service is much slower. Portions are a little bit larger, a little more thoughtful in sauces and accompaniment. I am a traditionalist. I like the idea of a composed plate that has sauce, vegetables, and a garnish.”
The atmosphere is clubby at both lunch and dinner, especially among the regulars. It’s not unusual to see a couple stop to greet people at two or more tables on the way to their own. An anteroom is frequently used for private parties or large groups.
“Our customers have become very good friends over time,” the chef says. “When you see people for 25 years, it becomes a relationship.
Seating areas are intimate, with white curtains partitioning the main room. Add in white walls and white tablecloths, and the room acts as a canvas does to a painter. The people, the plates, the food, and the drinks provide the colors, Briggs says.
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“My wife is an artist and she is aghast there is no color in this restaurant,” he quips. “I’m sure eventually there will be some.”
After weathering recessions, pandemics, and the general vagaries of running a restaurant, DG is in a good place. Business is better than ever. Staff retention is strong and Briggs counts its leaders among his best friends.
“It’s a hard business and it can really get off the rails,” he says. “But it can be mitigated through patience, kindness, compassion, and love. That can really make coming to work a joy.”
Best of all, a daughter, Mia Briggs, now manages the restaurant at night. Working with her and considering she may one day take over is a “dream come true,” he says.
“I feel great. My family is doing great. My health is doing great. My restaurant is doing great. I feel as lucky and privileged as any human could be.”
