I've had a major BBQ/Southern/Soul food kick these days. Luckily my friend Cicily loves this kind of food as much as me, so I was excited that I had someone to try out The Cardinal last night with me. The decor of the restaurant is much more cozy and cute bistro type vs. what you would expect from a BBQ hall. The menu here is more of a set menu vs. places like Fette Sau or Hill Country where you order meat by the pound. The BBQ here comes in a platter format with your choice of 3 kinds of meat (choose from ribs, brisket, hot links, or pulled pork) or if you're there with lots of people there is the President's platter or a bucket of fried chicken. Even though I do love my BBQ, I opted for the Fried Chicken plate (1 thigh, 1 drumstick, 1 breast) and 2 sides (I got the mac and cheese and the fried green tomatoes) for $19 and Cicily got the BBQ plate for $23. We did get the crab hush puppies to start ($10) based on the recommendation of the waitress. I haven't had hush puppies in a long time but once I bit into these I remembered that unique cornmeal-y flavor. The crab meat was mixed in with the cornmeal and then deep fried. It tasted exactly how it sounds and it was served with ranch dressing. It was good but pretty heavy tasting and 2 puppies (that actually sounds kind of gross saying it) was all I could take.
When I first laid eyes on my fried chicken platter I was "sure" that I would definitely not be able to finish it. Famous last words right? As soon as I cut into the chicken I could see how incredibly juicy the inside was. I mean, it was to the point where juice actually splattered on my shirt as I was cutting into it. And the skin was amazingly crispy and delicious. It was light and flavorful and the skin had the right amount of fat on it. It was so good that I finished all 3 pieces of chicken. Sick. I barely had room for the mac and cheese and friend green tomatoes. The mac and cheese was like your classic homey mac and cheese, nothing fancy with 7 different kinds of cheeses and penne pasta, but it was yellow/orangey cheese with soft elbow macaroni. And it was great. Unfortunately I didn't love the fried green tomatoes. That was the one side dish that I was looking forward to, but it just didn't have much flavor to it. It was needed some more spices or something because it just didn't taste like much. By the time I was done eating, I could barely move. I could totally see this place as a great post-hangover brunch place. While I didn't try the BBQ, Cicily said it was pretty good, although I think if you're serious about BBQ, you still can't beat Fette Sau. But I haven't met a better place for fried chicken in the city just yet. Just be prepared to have your heart stop and arteries clogged no matter what you order. Total bill with: $51 with tax, tip and drinks.
Photo Credit: Yelp
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