Living over 1,200 miles from home as a Southern Expat in college and beyond can leave you craving some Southern favorites far from the South. Lucky for me, I found found one restaurant that satisfies the craving every time with a variety of good New Orlean's style Southern food: Buttermilk and Bourbon.
Chef Jason Santos started this restaurant to bring a taste of classic New Orleans to Boston residents & Southern expats like myself. This is one of his many successful restaurant ventures in the city, and if you want to see his cooking chops really put to the test, check out Season 7 of Hell's Kitchen where he was a competitor and ended up placing as the runner up on the season!
This beautiful spot on Commonwealth Avenue has a patio to enjoy in warmer months and a cozy interior with a variety of New Orleans themed decor and brick walls. This memorable set up is the perfect environment to enjoy some of their delicious offerings
Chicken & Waffles
The Chicken & Waffles was the perfect brunch menu item. The crispy chicken has the perfect amount of salt: something that is harder to master than I expected. The crunch on the chicken when you bite in is an experience that brought this Southern Expat right back to the classic fried chicken from a favorite restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee. The crispy skin and perfectly cooked, juicy meat is a combination that cannot be beat. The waffles, while not as good as ones I have had other places, were still well cooked and seasoned. They are slightly denser waffles than the classic chicken and waffles I grew up eating. However, they completed the meal well. Be sure to liberally use the condiments, syrup & butter, on the waffles and chicken to provide a bite of sweetness. The watermelon provides a nice finishing touch for the meal too.
Biscuits
Flaky, delicious goodness.
These biscuits are perfect in almost every aspect. With honey & sea salt on top to finish, you get a little bit of sweet and salty with every bite. The outside of the biscuit is well cooked and provides a perfect crust while the inside is soft with lots of layers. The flavored butters provide a fun additional twist, however, this biscuits are amazing even without the addition of the butter.
Beignets
These beignets, while slightly denser than the ones you might find at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, still bring you right to New Orleans with every bite. The copious amounts of powdered sugar, the air pockets on the inside, the fried dough: overall these are just delectable. These beignets are pretty incredible and very filling. I highly recommend splitting a meal with a friend to save room for these at the end.
This is only a small selection of Buttermilk & Bourbon's menu, you can find the rest here! Plan a brunch, lunch or dinner trip here with friends, and if you are a Southern expat like me, it's a small taste of home in city hundreds of miles from the American South.