A Fresh Take on Southern Comfort at Big Jones Chicago
Big Jones in Chicago was mentioned on one of my favorite Netflix series High on the Hog, so you know I had to add it to my list. If you can find any type of cuisine in Chicago, it’s Southern food, thanks to the great migration, and Big Jones beautifully marries tradition with a fresh approach to Southern cuisine.
I started with the Fried Green Tomatoes, a quintessential Southern dish that I’ve grown to love in my adult years. They can be hit or miss when it comes to ordering them at restaurants, because they must be fried to a perfect crisp on the outside, while the tomatoes inside must maintaining their juiciness without becoming mushy.
We dined on the back patio, and one of my favorite parts of the experience was looking to my right and seeing green tomatoes growing right at the back of the restaurant.
Next up were the Buttermilk Biscuits made with King Arthur flour and Farmhouse Kitchens butter. If I have a choice, I would normally go for muffins over biscuits, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed these. They were fluffy the way biscuits should be, and the whipped sorghum butter added a subtle sweetness. I most enjoyed the homemade fruit preserves that gave summer freshness and perfectly complemented the biscuits. It was such a simple but really satisfying starter dish that reminded me of the warmth and comfort of a Southern kitchen.
I went back and forth between the catfish and the shrimp and grits, and you can see here what I landed on.
The Gulf of Mexico white shrimp were cooked to perfection, smothered in a savory Tasso ham and shiitake mushroom gravy that was both hearty and flavorful.
The Anson Mills grits were more chunky than smooth, which was interesting to me, because across the Southern restaurants I’ve visited in Chicago, i’ve noticed a similar playfulness with food textures. I’m never going to be mad at that, because in my experience, Southern cuisine has a sort of haphazardness that makes it fun to cook and eat.
Against my diet and exercise plan, I did have the peach cobbler for dessert. Made with local Klug Farm peaches, the cobbler was sweet and juicy on the inside, with the perfect crunchy snickerdoodle crust topping. Paired with homemade Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream, this dessert was a warm and satisfying end to a really good Southern meal.
