Southern Joes

Where did you come from, where did you go?

Kentish Town - April 2015

Hot on the heels of Foxlow's awesome test drive, we found ourselves on another culinary march, this time to Kentish Town to run the rule over Southern Joe’s new northern outpost.

Having not visited the Covent Garden branch, which generated serious social media & food blog heat for the quality of its fried chicken, we were excited to give this a go.

It’s a mixed bag. There are some good things happening here, some disappointing.

The starters are a prime example of this. Jalapeno poppers come covered in the lightest crispy batter, with peppers soft and juicy inside. If I had my way, there’d be heavier with cream cheese, but that’s nit-picking. They’re up there with the best I've tried.  But then the popcorn shrimp... Anemic. Soggy. Bland.  It's rescued slightly by a dipping salsa that appears to be solely made up of blended jalapenos, that at least provides some fiery fun.

The mains: the shortrib is cooked to tender perfection, the meat falling apart like a cheap watch; clean off the bone without resistance. But it’s a little dull and a little bland, their rub seemingly rubbed off. No smokiness, no bbq-ness, no char, just a hunk of slow-cooked meat on a wooden board. Which isn't a bad thing, but isn't all that interesting either. Especially when coupled with the blandest slaw ever tasted. Not a hint of any flavour beyond thick mayo.

But smother the shit out of it all in their sticky, smokey, homemade BBQ sauce and suddenly you have an interesting plate (board) of food. We welcomed the addition at both starters and mains. A shame then, that eager staff kept clearing the jars away, only to bring it back at our insistence.

The much vaunted fried chicken is decent. We opt for two pieces with waffles. Chicken has a crispy coating, well cooked and not at all greasy. The 24 hour tea-brining preparation does not deliver any additional flavour, but has kept the bird perfectly moist (that’s what she said). I like the strength of the bourbon in the maple syrup. Covering savoury in sweet is something I have mixed feelings about; but mix in a ton of booze and it's all gravy. Well, syrup. Let’s just try and forget anyone ever put pieces of watermelon near this main course. A wholly unnecessary slice of Americana they can keep.

Other areas for improvement would be more crunchy topping on the mac & cheese. It says a biscuit crumb on the menu, which turns out to be the meanest crumb of a crumb. 

And the chocolate peanut pie is slightly dry, baked just that touch too long so that the topping edges into bitter. The salted caramel drizzle is delicious though.

It can be unfair to judge soft launch service so I won’t, other than to say if the waiters match skill with their enthusiasm and friendliness, then they’ll do very well. Nothing was bad, it all just needs some polish and no doubt that will come with practice.

All in all; a bit above average, Joes.

300 Kentish Town Road
Kentish Town
London
NW5 2TG
http://joessouthernkitchen.co.uk/