The King's Kitchen Visited 6/1/2018 4 Forks

The King's Kitchen  129 W Trade St., Charlotte, NC 28202

I'll be honest and say that I'm generally not a huge fan of the South - it's hot, humid, and it lacks the diverse population that I crave.  But the one thing I do enjoy about the South is the food and hospitality.  It's comforting, hearty and there's something about the food that can't be recreated in the North. 

I was in Charlotte for only 36 hours but I couldn't leave town without trying at least one restaurant.  Normally I would try to go for a BBQ place but I couldn't find any within walking distance of my hotel, so I settled for the next best thing - shrimp and grits. AJ and I found our way to this place since it was literally across the street from her hotel and they explained that they donate 100% of the sales to feed the poor which is a lovely concept.  The menu was a greatest hits of everything Southern - fried green tomatoes, gumbo, po boy sandwiches, fried chicken, catfish, okra, the list could go on and on.  Since we were going to a rehearsal dinner afterwards we tried not to go too ape shit on the menu.  We split a pimento cheese ($8), sautéed mushrooms ($4) and both got our own order of shrimp and grits ($22).

If you've never had pimento cheese before, then you are missing out.  Don't be fooled - it's not fancy cheese...I'm frankly not even sure it's really cheese but it's a tangy, slightly spicy spreadable delight.  The waitstaff was super nice and brought AJ some veggies since she has a gluten allergy to go with the cheese.  It's definitely not the healthiest thing to eat but honestly, not much is in the South..which is why we got the sautéed mushrooms to balance things out but they were soaking in oil (in a good way) so I'm not sure how healthy it really was.  As for the entrees, they were delicious.  The grits were creamy but still with a bit of texture to it and it had an extra special ham flavoring to it, which is always appreciated.  I usually like really cheesy grits but since this had a lot of shrimp on it, I was good that it was a bit more simple.  The shrimp was cooked well (not to dry and with the right amount of bite to it) and went really well with the grits.  I was definitely a happy person after this meal.  It actually started to rain while we were sitting outside so they were nice enough to seamlessly move everything inside for us with no issues at all.  The waitress was so sweet and friendly that it reminded me of the good things that the South has to offer.   Also a shout out to their wine buyer as they had an awesome Châteauneuf-du-Pape  by the glass - that's pretty hard to find outside of France. While I'm not sure I'll ever find myself back in Charlotte, I enjoyed the one meal I had there and would totally come back for the fried chicken, okra and even pot pie.  Total bill:  $50/pp with tax, tip and wine

Photo Credit:  Yelp

48 Hours in Durham, North Carolina - Part 2 Visited 9/8-10/2017 3.5 -4 Forks

Foster's Market  2694 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd., Durham, NC 27707                                    3.5 Forks

I was excited for Foster's because everyone kept raving about the grits bowl there and how amazing it was, so I was eagerly awaiting my chance to try it.  It's a super cute country market/cafe type place - you can walk around and buy all sort of adorable Southern focused food items and then they have a entire prepared foods section where you can order food to-go or to stay.  They have a lovely outdoor patio where you can sit and enjoy your food. 

I was all set to order the grits bowl when the guy at the counter said it would take over 45 mins for it to be ready.  I was super bummed because the bowl sounded amazing - stone ground yellow cheddar grits, two fried eggs, black beans and salsa.   Even though I wasn't in a huge hurry to go anywhere, it seemed a bit ridiculous to wait that long for food.  He said that we wanted something faster we could either order the farm plate or breakfast biscuit and those still came with a side of grits.  I'm not sure how they works where we could still get a side of grits but couldn't get an entire bowl of it.  Isn't it the same thing except the bowl is bigger and had more ingredients mixed in?  In any case, I wasn't going to argue with him and got the farm plate ($10) which came with 2 scrambled eggs, choice of meat (I got the country sausage), herb cheddar biscuit, fresh fruit and a side of cheese grits.  

You order at the counter, you seat yourself anywhere and then they come and find you.  Normally places will give you a number on a stick so that they can find you easily but here instead they take your name and then just scream it across the whole restaurant while they walk around with your food. There has got to be a better way for them to do it because most of the time you're trying to eat our food but the waiters are just running around screaming "Jenny! Is there a Jenny?".  In any case, my food came relatively quickly and in true Southern fashion it was hearty and great - for the most part. The biscuit was fluffy and you could tell that the sausage patty was home made.  It was easy enough to make your own biscuit sandwich with the eggs and sausage.  The Rise sandwich was better but this one was also really satisfying as well.  Ironically enough the thing that wasn't good about this dish was the grits.  They were actually really plain and flavorless.  I'm normally not someone who puts hot sauce on anything for flavor but for this, I dumped a bunch of hot sauce to give it some kind of flavor profile.  I was shocked at how bland it was and this was the whole reason we came here.  Aarti commented how it must have been a bad batch because it was normally much better than this.  It's too bad that I didn't have enough time to come back for another try.  Total bill:  $29 for 2 with tax, tip and coffees

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Rose's Meat Market and Sweet Shop 121 N Gregson St., Durham, NC 27701                           4 Forks

Even though Aarti and I were pretty full from our breakfast at Foster's, we had to stop by Rose's Meats and Sweets because Will and Aarti's friend is the pastry chef there and they were insistent that we stop by for a bite before we left for NYC.   When I walked in, this place reminded me of a place that you would easily find in Brooklyn.  It had a super hipster feel complete with heavily tattooed chefs and waiters, but I'm not saying this is a bad thing at all - in fact, it was nice to something that was very non-Southern.  Even the name has an artisanal feel to it, doesn't it?

Another surprising element was that the menu is actually Asian and not a BBQ focused place, which is what I would have thought with a place that had "meat market" in it.  The menu changes daily but they had things like steamed buns, silken tofu, smashed cucumber and ramen and then the dessert portion was more Southern focused with pies, ice cream, ice cream sandwiches, cookies and tarts. When we sat down the waitress told us there was only 1 ramen ($13) left, so of course without even knowing what was in it, I had to have it.  It was barely 1:30pm and they were already out of it, so I guess it must be good!  Plus everyone around us was inquiring about it so I figured I didn't have any time to waste.

I was pleasantly surprised by how tasty it was given that this wasn't a ramen shop.  It was a fairly traditional ramen with a salty flavorful pork broth, chashu, egg and greens in it.  The noodles were soft, the pork sliced thin and the egg was poached well so what's not to love??  It would have been nice to have some seaweed but overall I was impressed with the dish.

I was stuffed to the gills but of course we had to have dessert and the flavored ice cream sandwiches were awesome.  They are huge and the cookie is more like a soft gingerbread consistency and the ice cream is hard but not too hard that you can't bite into it.  We had a few samples the night before and trust me, they can be very addictive.  Unfortunately we had to run to the airport so we couldn't stay long but it was a lovely glimpse of a funky cool restaurant that caught me by surprise in what is otherwise a cute Southern town.  Total bill:  $35 for 3 people with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Hattie B's Hot Chicken Visited 8/10/2017 4 Forks

Hattie B's Hot Chicken    112 19th Ave S., Nashville, TN 37203

When I asked a few friends what's the one place I should go to if I had only 24 hours in Nashville, almost everyone said Hattie B's.  So I guess that settles it.  Nashville is legendary for its hot chicken and this is really the only place anyone ever talks about.  Yes, it's a tourist trap but there were also plenty of locals there too.

I stupidly thought there would be no line when I went at 2pm on a random Thursday but it was about a 30-40 mins wait in the blistering hot sun.  According to my driver, there is always a wait.  You order at the counter and they give you a number to put on your table.  The menu is really quite simple - hot chicken in either a plate or sandwich format and you pick your spice level (no heat to shut the cluck up).   They also have a yummy line up of Southern side dishes and if you get a plate, you get a choice of 2 sides.  Since it was just me, I opted for the small dark meat plate ($8.50) hot (which is the 3rd hottest level) with collard greens and pimento mac and cheese along with a banana pudding ($3) and a large ice tea ($2.25).  God damn, I love the prices here.

I was ready to sweat my face off with the heat of the spice but either I've gotten better with my spice tolerance or it wasn't really as spicy as everyone made it out to be.  It definitely had heat to it but I didn't feel like my face was going to fall off or anything like that.  But the chicken was juicy and tender and not greasy or oily on the outside.  It was also the right amount of crispiness on the outside. The mac and cheese was gooey in the most unhealthiest of ways but that's what makes it so good. It's not some fancy pants mac and cheese made with gouda or gruyere but it's good old fashion yellow oozey cheese.  I got the collard greens to be "healthy" but in all honesty I think it had pork in it as well but that's what gives it its salty, smokey flavor.  By this point, I was stuffed and had to run to the airport but I took my banana pudding with me and you know what?  It was just as good in the cab too.  It was probably even better since the wafers were soft and melted into the pudding.  Banana pudding is one of my favorite unsung dessert heroes and this one at $3, really hit the spot.

It would have been sacrilege if I visited Nashville and didn't try out this place.  It was worth the wait even with the slightly annoying tourist population but the staff is super sweet, the food at it's Southern best and cheap as hell - what more could a girl ask for?  Total bill: $17 with tax and tip

Husk Visited 8/9/2017 4 Forks

Husk  7 Rutledge St., Nashville, TN 37210

Several years ago I visited Charleston, SC and I was so excited to to check out Husk.  But unfortunately I ended up having to cancel my reservation so I always had this place in the back of my mind as a place to come back to. While I never ended up back in Charleston, I did get the pleasure of traveling to Nashville for 24 hours and luckily I was able to squeeze this meal in before some work outings. 

While the location is kind of in a random area of Nashville, the decor was lovely - pure Southern charm.  It is an old Victorian House that they transformed into a restaurant but they still kept a lot of the finishes and character of it inside and out.  They have a great lunch menu where you can choose a la carte or also a Nashville Plate Lunch for $14 which includes a choice of 1 of 2 entrees and 2 sides.  I was all set to get the fried chicken plate lunch but then the waitress started describing the BBQ chicken sandwich ($14) in a mouth watering way that I got totally swayed into choosing that instead. For appetizers, we started with smoked trout deviled eggs ($8) and both Holly and Susanne got the cornmeal crusted catfish plate lunch.  

As a starter they bring out these pipping warm Parker House rolls and Jesus Christ are they delicious. The butter has pork fat in it, so you know it's good.  I could have eaten all 3 rolls but I was good and only ate 1 but don't say I didn't warn you when you try to inhale the whole basket.  I was excited for the appetizer as I'm always a sucker for deviled eggs and these were pretty damn good.  I originally thought the trout part was going to be in a roe topping but it was mixed in with the yolk instead. Either way, it was smokey and delicious and I was surprised that we got 5 pieces - I guess this is Nashville and not New York where you would have literally gotten 1 egg cut in half for that price.  It was beautifully presented and that was the case with the rest of our meal.  The catfish came out in this beautiful large mini tree stump-like plate.  I had a small bite of the catfish with the sweet onion relish and it was nice and tender.  My BBQ chicken sandwich wasn't plated quite a nicely but that wasn't a deal breaker at all.  I was expecting it to be kind of like a pulled pork sandwich and piled high on some kind of fluffy Texas toast but it was more like regular bread and cut up chicken instead.  The chicken was tender dark meat and was nicely sauced but I was kind of regretting not getting the fried chicken after all   Apparently they are also famous for their burger but after seeing it (it was a double cheese patty), I just couldn't bring myself to order it if I wanted to not fall asleep right away.

If our meal had ended here, I probably would have given it 3.5 forks - really solid but I was a bit let down by the chicken.  However, the dessert totally made up for it.  We got the brown butter soft serve ($9) which came with cocoa nips, caramel, and pecan.  I was a bit doubtful of this dessert and wanted a more traditional Southern dessert like peach or blueberry pie but this was out of this world.  It was sweet but not overly icky and it was just perfect.  This dish, the parker rolls and the deviled eggs definitely made it worth 4 forks.  The service was also fantastic - we had a super sweet and nice waitress who made the whole meal incredibly pleasant.  It was a great way to kick off my introduction to Nashville!  Total bill:  ~$80 for 3 people including drinks, tax and tip

Savannah, GA Day 1 Visited 4/8/2016 3 and 3.5 Forks

The Olde Pink House Restaurant  

23 Abercorn St., 

Savannah, GA 31401    3.5 Forks

I took a quick long weekend jaunt to Savannah before I started my new job.  While Savannah hasn't necessarily been one of my top places to visit, I'm glad I went as it's a quick 2 hour plane ride and it's definitely quite a change from being in NYC.  It's as pretty as people say it is - dripping Spanish moss everywhere, cute squares and friendly people.  Unfortunately, the food scene isn't as spot on as it is in it's competing sisters of the South, New Orleans and Charleston.  I would say that overall, the food is good in this city but not spectacular. 

One of the restaurants that came up on every food list of Savannah was The Olde Pink House - it's exactly what you would think of in terms of a typical Southern restaurant.  Old mansion dripping with charm and elegance.  Allison and I didn't actually have reservations but we strolled in around 2pm and were easily able to get a seat.  It's very old school there with waiters in bowties and formal wear.  While there isn't a formal dress code, I felt a bit out of place in my jeans and flip flops.  The menu here is typical Southern fare - lots of fried food, grits, collard greens, etc.  We had a dinner reservation for later that night only 5 hours later, so I decided that I wasn't going to do a full blown lunch and I got the crab cakes which came with fried green tomatoes and fries.  Allison got the arugula salad with salmon - one of the few healthy choices on the menu.  The crab cake was nicely stacked between 2 fried green tomatoes which were lightly battered in corn meal and fried.  While it was a nice dish and the crab cake was fairly full of legit meat, as someone who's had the best crab cakes in MD, these didn't quite measure up but I guess few do.  Allison mentioned that her salad was also good but nothing mind blowing.  

Overall, this place is a lovely quintessential charming Southern restaurant.  You should go for the ambience even if it's albeit a bit toursity.  Total bill:  $21/pp with tax and tip

The Grey 

109 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, 

Savannah, GA 31401    3 Forks

The only reservation I made while visiting Savannah was at The Grey.  It was mentioned in Eater as a top restaurant in Savannah - they were especially wow'd by the design of the place.  It's located in an old Greyhound bus depot (hence the name) and it is quite lovely in there.  It's got an Art Deco vibe but with a modern twist.  The menu is New American with a focus on meat and seafood.  We split the country pasta ($16), the fisherman's stew ($28) and a side of roasted sweet potato ($8).  While I didn't necessarily regret my order, I did see the guy next to me get the pork shank which looked AMAZING - it was basically a giant leg of meat.  

The country pasta was a small bowl of pasta, rock shrimp, tomato and botarga.  While it was tasty and I love anything with rock shrimp, the portion was small and it could have used a bit more heat.  It was essentially tossed with some olive oil and salt and not much else.  The same can be said for the strew as well - but for $28, I expected a large pot of seafood but it was a fairly small bowl of monkfish, clams, mussels, tomato and saffron.  When I hear the word "stew", I envision something hearty and chunky. This was like a few pieces of seafood tossed into a bowl with not much broth or base to it.  While I enjoyed the saffron flavor, the overall dish was a bit of a let down given how much it was. The roasted sweet potato was exactly what you would think it would be - a roasted sweet potato.  

I agree with Eater that the decor was lovely and they make a great cocktail.  I can see this as a nice place to grab a few cocktails and snacks - but if you do want to stay for dinner, I would probably steer you towards the meat dishes.  Total bill:  $39/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Farmer Brown Visited 3/13/2016 3.5 Forks

Farmer Brown  25 Mason St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Ahhh, San Francisco.  I have such a love/hate relationship with this city.  It's a great city with the views of the water and a great food scene but slowly the city has become a total cliche right out of the show Silicon Valley.  Literally the city is full of socially awkward, hoodie/back pack wearing engineers who only want to start about the start-up or app they are working on.  It's a bit overwhelming.  But there are still pockets of hippie bohemians still flocking around the city.  The hippie Southern rockers all seemed to be hanging out at Farmer Brown - a soul food place in the middle of the Tenderloin area, which is quite unique as SF is generally filled with either Mexican or Japanese food.  

Louise had gotten us a reservation for 1:30 for brunch which sounded great.  The place was packed when we got there.  While they have a full brunch menu, the star of the show is their Southern-Soul food packed buffet ($25.95).  It's got fried chicken, waffles, biscuit, gravy, scrambled eggs, bacon, grits, catfish, cajun potatoes, succotash veggies, brownies, banana bread, fruit salad and house salad. But when we sat down the waiter told us that they would stop filling the buffet at 2pm, which was 15 mins from when we sat down.  WTF?! Who stops brunch smack in the middle of the afternoon - especially on a lazy Sunday?  So we rushed over to the buffet to pile on everything that we could on our plate.  They still had a little bit of everything but you could tell that it was definitely down to it's last bits.  We were also disappointed that they were out of the biscuits and gravy - how can you have soul food with no biscuits and gravy?!  Luckily, the waiter was nice enough to sneak into the kitchen and get us a few extra.  The food was all pretty filling and I was a big fan of the cornmeal catfish - it was flakey and not too heavy on the cornmeal.  The fried chicken was nice and crispy although I would have liked to have gotten a few thigh or drumsticks, as by the time we got there, all they had left were the wings which was a bit thin on meat.  

Our friend May got there 45 mins late, so we asked to move to a larger table but it took forever for the waitstaff to figure out what to do with us and when they did find us a table it was smack in front of the live band that was there.  Maybe I am just an old lady and despite the guys being kind of cute, I was so not in the mood to have an electric guitar blaring in my right ear during brunch.  We quickly packed up our things and asked for the check but apparently that was a pain for them and that took forever too.  While I like the idea of live music, it just wasn't what I was in the mood for.  If you do want to come here for the buffet, definitely come here early so that you aren't eating the dregs of the pan and/or forced to sit next to the band.  Total bill:  $30/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Root and Bone Visited 12/21/2015 4.5 Forks

Root and Bone  200 E 3rd St., New York, NY 10009

Finally, a good review to write!  I know I've had a few bad experiences lately but luckily my team outing was at Root and Bone so my streak has been broken.  My work team has had this holiday tradition of always having fried chicken for dinner, so this year instead of going to someone's home and ordering chicken, I suggested that we go to Root and Bone.  It's a win for me because I don't have that many fried chicken loving friends left in the city and I get to cross this place off my list of places to try, so it was an extra treat for me.

We got there at a totally random time for "dinner" - 3pm, so clearly it was empty when we got there. The place is adorable - very rustic, cozy, and charming - exactly you would expect from a Southern theme restaurant.  They used old elementary school chairs,  had Victorian plates as the place setting, had white washed walls and of course mason jars as cups.  As for the menu, it's also what you would expect from a Southern restaurant:  buckets of fried chicken, biscuits, mac and cheese, collard greens, meat loaf, etc.  We ordered 2 full fried birds (no waffles), shrimp and grits, biscuits, waffle fries and deviled eggs.  This meal was definitely not for the faint of heart.  The deviled eggs came out first and they were delicious.  Perfectly whipped and seasoned and the egg white seemed to have been flavored/dyed with beet because it was purple.  One order comes with 3 pieces, so definitely order at least 2 orders because you will find yourself popping at least 2 in your mouth without realizing it. Next came the waffle fries and as a true fry addict, there's nothing that gets me more than a really crispy and delicious waffle fry.  It was lightly sprinkled with herbs and served with some addictive aioli type sauce.

One of my co-workers didn't eat chicken, so she got the shrimp and grits and of course we all had to sneak a bite.  It was a huge dish and some of best shrimp and grits I've gotten in the city.  There were several large pieces of Gulf shrimp that were really well cooked and tender.  It was on a bed of creamy, ham flavored grits - so really a true delicious Southern meal.  Next came the biscuits - which sadly I didn't try because I was trying not to eat so many carbs knowing that I would demolish several pieces of chicken.  But it looked fluffy, dense and amazing.  It was served with roasted chicken jus as a dipping sauce and the biscuit was sprinkled with fresh thyme and sea salt - I could see myself eating the entire serving if left alone with it.  Finally, the star attraction:  the fried chicken.  We got 2 birds, so there was plenty of pieces to go around.  They looked and tasted amazing - juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside.  They are sweet tea brined for an element of sweetness, lemon dusted for a hint of acid and then served with a tabasco honey sauce.  The batter wasn't too thick and not too salty - even though I love chicken skin, to me great fried chicken means getting to the juicy center with just a hint of crispy skin on it., which is what I got here.   It was an all around heart stopping and delicious meal.

Overall, I'm super happy to finally get to check this place out and even happier that it broke my streak of mediocre and uninspiring meals lately.   Although I wouldn't normally think of this as a big group, team outing type of place, it was actually really nice to get there early and have the whole restaurant to ourselves.   If you and your stomach and heart can take a meal here, definitely check it out.

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Brennan's of Houston Visited 8/5/2015 4 Forks

Brennan's of Houston  3300 Smith St., Houston, TX 77006

Once a year I go to hot humid Houston in August to see some clients and I've always been surprised at how decent the food is there.  Of course when you think Texas you think either steak of Tex Mex. I've always wanted to go to a down and dirty Tex Mex place but it doesn't seem quite right for work, so we always end up at the nicer steak houses.  This time my client recommended Brennan's and everyone from the hotel staff to the cab driver said that we were in for a very nice experience. 

I don't know what I was expecting but it definitely wasn't this.  First off, the restaurant is gorgeous, straight out of the old charming South, but it had a much more New Orleans feel than Texas one. Apparently this place had burned down many years ago but they re-built it and it was really quite lovely and elegant.  Definitely dress up when you are here because you will look super out of place in jeans and a t-shirt.  When you walk in, the entire staff lines the hallway and is overly accommodating but not in a creepy way.   You can just tell that they were trained to provide the upmost attention to detail and customer service.  The menu here is straight creole and cajun inspired stuff - which is basically a lot of yummy spicy seafood goodness.  I opted for the shrimp and okra gumbo to start and then got the dover fish special of the day because it came with a topping of lump crab meat.   Everyone else at the table either got the fish special or the steak special because that also came with crab meat on top - I could definitely get used to eating like this.

The gumbo came with the shrimp and rice served in a bowl and then the waiter poured the hot gumbo on top of it.  It was fantastic - not too spicy but it had definite cajun flare and the shrimp and okra were both cooked really well.  While I'm not from the South (ok, fine, technically Maryland is the South but let's be real, it's not really), I have always had a soft spot for really good gumbo and this really hit the spot.   Next they served a full filet of dover sole, deboned a the table and then topped with a heaping pile of lump crab meat.  I mean what the hell is there not to like here? It came with some asparagus which were a bit on the wimpy side, but who comes to Texas to eat vegetables?!  I did find a few tiny bones in my fish but as someone who has grown up eating whole fish her whole life, that didn't really bother me that much.  The crab was full-on all meat, no filler and it paired nicely with the mild dover filet to give a wonderful seafood flavor combination.  

Of course, when I'm at a client dinner, I look to be incredibly indulgent with my entire meal, so we went to town and ordered 4 different desserts:  their famous banana fosters, pecan pie, strawberry shortcake and peach cobbler.  When in Texas, you have to do everything big and extravagant.  They come to the table flambe the banana fosters in front of you which is always a nice spectacle.  I haven't had this dish in a long time and it's always a good sweet favorite of mine.  One of the clients chose the peach cobbler and we all agreed that it wasn't a great dessert.  Clearly they had put in the ice cream when the filling was pipping hot because by the time it arrive at our table, the ice cream was totally melted and in a messy puddle.  Plus the cobbler didn't have much crust or crumble to it at all, so that was a fail.  I had chosen the strawberry shortcake dessert and it was a doozy.  It was a huge portion with lots of whipped cream and sweetened strawberries.  What I like about these kind of desserts is that it's not overwhelming sweet but you still get a rush of sugar.  I didn't get a chance to try the pecan pie which was fine with me because it's not something I was super excited by.

Overall, this was a classic over indulgent client dinner.  Luckily, they are really great, Texas nice people and it was a very enjoyable dinner.  I was surprised to see such New Orleans style food in Houston but I guess this just goes to show you that I still have a lot to learn about the food scene in different parts of the country.  Total price: Unknown, I didn't get to grab the check!

Photo Credit:  Yelp

The Front Porch Visited 5/30/2015 3.5 Forks

The Front Porch  65 29th St., San Francisco, CA 94110

When you think of San Francisco, one usually thinks of organic salads and other healthy foods.  But alas, places like The Front Porch also exist too.  It's a funky Southern divey restaurant in Bernal Heights with a menu you'd more likely find in New Orleans or somewhere less health conscious.  I met a bunch of my old high school and one college friend there while I was passing by SF.  

The menu has bunch of yummy sounding starters like deviled eggs with bacon bourbon jam, chicken gumbo,  crawfish hush puppies and frito pie.  We split an order of the mac and cheese ($7.50) for the table.  I had just come back from a gluttonous weekend of excessive eating and drinking so I didn't feel like I could dive into the bucket of fried chicken (no matter how much I wanted to).  So I opted for the shrimp and grits ($24) instead - even though grits aren't really super healthy, I figured it was better than eating fried food.  The mac and cheese came out first and it was a bit small (I guess it was a side order and not an entree) but it was gooey and cheesey like a mac and cheese should be.  It had a hint of jalapeño and heat to it as well.  As for our entrees, the shrimp and grits was served with andouille sausage and gravy.  There were several pieces of medium sized wild Louisiana gulf shrimp and they were cooked just right.  As for the grits, they were super buttery and garlic-y.  I think there may have used 50 cloves of garlic in it.  But it was creamy and paired really well with the shrimp and sausage.  I definitely enjoyed it and kind of wish there was more of it because I finished it quickly and still felt a bit hungry afterwards.  Jill did end up getting the fried chicken and it looked delicious and I would totally be game for it if I ever end up back here.   

For dessert, we all hovered around May's order of the beignets and I must say they were quite good. Warm, soft and sprinkled with lots of powdered sugar.  I'm glad someone had the common sense to order it.  

Overall, this place was a nice and pleasant and not what I expected from California.  It's kind of nice to know that you can still get a heart stopping Southern meal in a hippie town like SF if you want it. Total bill:  $54/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Sweet Chick Visited 7/6/2013 4 Forks

Sweet Chick 164 Bedford Avenue, (at At North 8th St), Brooklyn, NY 11211

Holy crap this place was delicious.   It's a straight up down-home Southern cooking restaurant that was all sorts of yummy and definitely not for the faint of heart.   Everything about the place is just freakin cute from the uber trendy jam jars they use to serve every single beverage to the adorable font they use for their menu.  I got there around 11:30 and it was jammed packed so Dan and I opted to sit at the bar - which I usually love to do anyways.  Honestly I barely looked at the menu because as soon as I saw eggs benedict (they called it eggs benny - $12) I was sold.  They are pretty well known for their chicken and waffles but that concept just never really appealed to me but it looked like lots of people were going for that.  Dan opted for the pork hash and a coffee and sangria.  Given that I had just had a night of heavy drinking the night before, I wasn't in the mood for any of their cocktails but it looked like they had a pretty serious bar and some great sounding cocktails if you are there for dinner or lunch. 

The food came out relatively quickly given the packed house which I greatly appreciated given the ridiculous wait times I had at Littleneck.  When I actually looked at my eggs benedict I realized that I hadn't really looked at the details of what was on it very carefully.  I kind of assumed it was your regular eggs benedict  of 2 poached eggs on an English Muffin and ham with potatoes on the side - which is always fine by me.  But instead this one took it up a notch because it came on a buttermilk biscuit and pulled chicken on top of it.  Jesus, talk about a full meal.  The biscuit could have been a bit moister but honestly once I broken open the 2 very well poached eggs, it didn't matter very much because the yolk just covered it all.  I loved that fact that there wasn't a ton of hollandaise sauce - not because I don't love hollandaise but because too much of it will kill me and it masks the taste of the other items on the plate.  The chicken had a slight BBQ rub flavor to it and it was just a really unique touch to what is a pretty standard breakfast dish.  The roasted potatoes had bit of ham in it to really give it a strong Southern touch to it and it was also sauteed with green pepers and onions.  I could barely make it through half my meal and had to take the rest home because it was just too damn filling.  I had a bit of the pork hash and it was also pretty killer.  It was essentially a cast iron skillet full of pulled pork, roasted potatoes and topped with 1 poached egg.  There was so much of it that every time I turned around, it looked like Dan hadn't made a dent in it event though he had been eating it for an hour.  He also got a cup of coffee and a sangria and this was the one small thing that bothered me.  The coffee was one of those fancy french press kind - which is fine but it was $6.  Luckily I don't drink coffee but $6 for coffee, no matter how fancy pants it is, is a bit ridiculous.  Plus when they served it, they didn't bring any milk, sugar, or a spoon.  I know some people drink coffee black but it would have been nice if they at least asked if we needed any of the other usual coffee items.  The sangria was tasty with a very heavy hand on the red wine.  I ate some of the sangria soaked apples and they were amazing and could get someone drunk if you ate enough of them. 

By the time we left, the place had almost cleared out even though it was only 12:30.  I would totally come back again not just for brunch but for dinner to check out the rest of the dinner menu.  But I will say that the food is not for someone looking for a light summer meal and was probably not the best idea on one of the hottest days of the year as it just weighted me down afterwards.  But this new Southern restaurant is definitely worth a trip to Bedford and Pies n' Thighs should watch their back.  Total bill: $50 for 2 with tax and tip. 

Photo Credit: Yelp

Gravy Visited 4/1/2012 3 Forks

Gravy 32 E 21st St., (between Park Ave S & Broadway), New York, NY 10010

When you hear a name like Gravy, you obviously assume that it's all about heart stopping Southern-soul food.  While there were some very Southern dishes such as crawfish benedict, and a shrimp po'boy, I was rather surprised that they delegated a lot of the more Southern traditional dishes to side dishes such as biscuits and gravy, grits, and fried green tomatoes.  You'd think these would be big front and center dishes or that they would serve their main dishes with grits instead of potatoes or fries.

I ordered the Tasso Benedict ($15) which was served with tasso ham, arugula, and a chipotle hollandaise sauce.  Anyone who reads this blog knows that I jump at any chance to order a benedict, so I was torn between the crawfish and tasso benedict and for some reason I just couldn't picture crawfish being a great mix with eggs.  When some of the other gals ordered their dishes, they were told their dishes came with sides of fries or potatoes so I had kind of assumed that my dish would too.  But sadly it did not.  It was just the bendict and for $15 I was kind of hoping it be a bit more than that.  If I had known, I might have ordered a side of fried green tomatoes.  The bendict itself was was completely drenched in hollandaise sauce and I never thought I would say that there was such thing as too much hollandaise sauce, but this was really bordering on too much.  The eggs themselves were very runny and when mixed with the sauce, it literally made me feel like I was drinking cholesterol.  The ham was extremely small and was barely a 1/4 of the size of the English muffin.  If there's going to be ham with a benedict, it should be big enough so that you have enough of it with every bite.  Here there was barely enough ham for 2 bites. The arugula was tossed haphazardly on the dish like an afterthought and it was sitting in so much sauce that it was kind of soggy at first bite.  I didn't get to try anyone else's dish but 2 girls got the duck sandwich and they commented on how much duck was in the sandwich and a few of the girls did comment on liking the potatoes and fries that came with their food.

I think if you're going to be a Southern restaurant, you might as well go all out and be a Southern-heart-stopping-gut-expanding restaurant, which Gravy was not.  The space itself is nice and spacious, so it was a good choice for our big group of 7.  They also had a great deal of $16 for an entree and a brunch cocktail.  Total bill: $21/pp with tax and tip.

Photo Credit: Yelp

Hill Country Chicken Visited 5/21/2011 3 Forks

Hill Country Chicken 1123 Broadway, (between 25th St & 26th St), New York, NY 10010

I hadn't really planned on going to Hill Country Chicken for lunch today.  I had originally wanted to check out the food stalls at Madison Square Park but it was pretty crowded and there was no where to sit, so Dan and I decided to give this place a visit.  We both didn't like Hill Country BBQ, so we were a bit weary of going here, but how hard is it to get fried chicken wrong?

The inside of this place is sort of like a 50's style Southern kitchen, which was cute.  The place is not really a restaurant in the sense that you don't sit down and order.  You order your food at the counter and seat yourself, so it's a very informal place.  We ordered the Country Club ($10), 5 piece Texas Tenders ($12) and a small side of corn salad ($2.50).  The tenders were huge and very meaty, which was a pleasant surprise.  While it was fried, you could definitely taste the juicy chicken in it.  While the tenders were good, they weren't anything really to write home about.  It was like getting the chicken tenders at work but one notch above it in quality.  Meanwhile the country club sandwich was actually quite delicious.  It was a nice thick piece of juicy fried chicken in a square shape, with buttermilk ranch dressing, lots of guacamole, tomato and all on a soft potato bun.  I almost wished Dan and I weren't sharing this because I would have rather eaten the whole thing myself!  It's a combination of all the good things Southern.  On the other hand, the corn salad was a serious bust.  I am a huge huge fan of a good fresh corn salad (and can't wait for the farmers market to start selling corn again), but this corn tasted old and dry.  It didn't have any fresh crunch to it at all. It was such a disappointing side.

I definitely enjoyed my meal here more than my meal at Hill Country and really liked the sandwich.  The chicken tenders were enjoyable but for $12, I'm not sure if it was really worth my money.  And at  $10 for my sandwich,  I wished it came with a side instead of me having to order one.  But I'm glad I checked this place out and if I'm ever in the area again, I would consider it but only if Shake Shack and the food stalls nearby were totally crowded.  Total bill $28.  

Brooklyn Star - Visited 12/31/09 3 Forks

Brooklyn Star 33 Havemeyer St between 8th St & 7th St Brooklyn, NY 11211

I had been wanting to go to Brooklyn Star for brunch for a while since I heard that the biscuits and gravy were pretty good. But as New Years Eve rolled around and since we didn't have reservations anywhere, I decided that it would be best to go to Brooklyn Star for dinner given that I knew that they didn't have an expensive NYE prix fixe menu. We rolled into the restaurant around 10pm and luckily for us, the staff allowed us in since they were closing the kitchen (I'm sure so that they could get out in time before midnight). I ordered the Country Fried Steak with mashed potatoes and cole slaw ($14) and Dan had the BBQ Catfish with onion rings and beets ($14). As you can tell the menu is pretty southern focused and if you are looking for a healthy meal, I would go somewhere else. Since it was the New Year, we felt it was necessary to get a drink, so we split a pitcher of Six Point Sweet Action ($23), which amounted to 4 glasses. I had never had country fried steak before and I must say this one was pretty damn good. The only issue I had was that the fried part seemed to want to separate from the steak so that often I was just eating a piece of steak with the fried part falling off and being left on my plate. I generally don't like cole slaw very much, but this one was pretty good. It was kind of warm and didn't have much mayo on it, so it seemed more like chopped cabbage instead, which helped cut the intense amount of fatty/friedness on the plate. Dan's catfish seemed well seasoned and the onion rings were pretty good - not too greasy...they almost seemed baked. Several people in the restaurant were eating what looked like a really juicy T-bone steak, but that was a bit much of us for dinner. While I'm generally not a huge fan of "american" food, all-in all, I thought the food was well done and I would be interested in checking out the brunch menu soon.