Where class meets comfort

Bartender Graziele Maiden is one of the very friendly faces you meet at Hungry Mother. (ARAM BOGHOSIAN FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE)

To get an idea of the carefully constructed balance going on at Hungry Mother in Cambridge, located in the old Kendall Cafe building near Kendall Square Cinema, look no farther than the two unisex bathrooms. In one, pages from Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," with recipes for puff pastry and pate and how-tos on deboning a leg of lamb, are pasted on the walls. In the other, selections from "The Virginia Housewife" including instructions for making pickled radish pods and plum pudding, provide the decoration.

The two cookbooks are a testament to chef/co-owner Barry Maiden's diverse background. Maiden was born near Hungry Mother State Park in southwestern Virginia (hence the restaurant's name), where he absorbed an affinity for Southern fare; and he refined his French cooking techniques at L'Espalier, Sel de la Terre, and, most recently, Lumiere.

The result is a delightful mix of down-home and upscale that is carried out throughout the cozy restaurant. Inventive cocktails such as the No. 10 - bourbon, sweet tea, and limoncello - are served in mason jars, alongside 16-year-old Scotch and 23-year-old rye. The comfort food on the menu - rich braised pork shoulder with soupy grits, barbecued quail with a tangy fried green tomato and quail eggs, tender roast chicken with a deliciously eggy sweet potato spoonbread - can easily pass for fine dining.

Two of the owners acting as hosts last Friday night dressed up for the occasion: Rachel Miller Munzer (who opened Rachel's Kitchen in the South End with her husband, Alon Munzer, also a Hungry Mother co-owner) had on a black pinstriped dress, and John Kessen wore a suit jacket. The diners, on the other hand, were in jeans and T-shirts, and there was an abundance of beards in the room. The clientele feels comfortable coming straight from the home office, it seems. It's nice to know that you don't have to dress up to be treated to a special night out.

The staff is uncommonly pleasant and attentive, hurrying to open the front door for a woman on crutches and offering a napkin to a man with fogged-up glasses. This must be why so many donors gave anywhere from $5 to $100 apiece to help open the restaurant. The donors are all listed prominently on a wall in the bar area; one of them even put up a marriage proposal - apparently he's planning to bring his girlfriend to the restaurant to pop the question.

The bar area, enhanced by gilt-framed pictures and mirrors on an olive-green wall, was packed with 30- and 40-something Cantabrigians the night we were there. Two women clinked their glasses of red wine beside a lone diner eating cornmeal-crusted catfish while her BlackBerry blinked on the bar in front of her. The little room has a pleasantly buzzy vibe, a perfect spot for a post-movie cocktail or snack. There are pork rillettes, fried oysters, and super-smooth deviled eggs with crisp, salty bits of bacon on top. We were partial to the thin-sliced ham served on a bread board with olives, sliced peppers, sweet figs, and crunchy toast - and to the not-overly-sweet bourbon pecan sticky bun with sorghum ice cream. The dining room, up a few steps from the bar, is a little cramped, but it gives the place a kind of communal dining feel.

In short, Hungry Mother gets the details just right, from the roasted cauliflower in an addictive mustard vinaigrette to the thin, perfectly crisped onion rings on top of the grass-fed steak. Look up and you'll see light fixtures made of Italian crystal drinking glasses. Look down and you'll see boiled peanuts on the menu.

It all adds up to a lovely night out, where comfort and class sit side by side, sipping rye and Dr. Pepper out of little mason jars.

Hungry Mother, 233 Cardinal Medeiros Ave., Cambridge. 617-499-0090. hungrymothercambridge.com Entrees $16-23. Wines by the glass $6-$16.

Katie Johnston Chase can be reached at johnstonchase@globe.com.