Buttermilk 摩登美式餐廳 — Restaurant in Zhongshan District

nothing traditional here, just southern comfort re-imagined

I was looking for a southern comfort fix here. While 阿嬤的炸雞(Grandma’s fried chicken) was touted here, it was more of millennial’s happy meal devoid of anything traditional. Staffs were super friendly and warm like the southern comfort. Table spacings, location, and ample amount of light.

Boneless fried chicken - was very crispy and juicy, but lack flavor. Tasted like large glorified fried chicken strips (or chicken fingers). Overall tasted like an immaculate follow-through of an internet recipe with every step and ingredients measured with robotic precision. Grandmas as we know them, DO NOT measure anything and just go with feeling and a dose of impromptu in kitchen. The crispy exterior had a slight tonkatsu ( Japanese fried pork cutlet) taste.

Biscuits - Star of the show here. Perfect flake and fluff on each bite. As an option, could use cheddar, honey or even maple to amp up the exterior crustiness...or go traditional sausage gravy. Ok, I’m comparing to a subjective perfection here, as the biscuits are job well done already.

Coleslaw - creamy, tangy and crunchy. Life’s good as is!

Lemonade - small glass for twd 280 (usd 9.00) ??? Throw in some rum then justify it with mojito.

The name “Buttermilk” is used in many places and is already synonymous with pancakes and breakfast, why not run a longer- fledged menu of breakfast items as my instincts tells ...it sells in this Taipei market that’s laden with brunch venues.

Lots...

After a few visits, i liked almost everything EXCEPT the fried chicken. Not a budget restaurant, but portions are generous. You likely will leave quite full.

The service is very attentive. Great job. When busy it can get quite noisy; some customers yell like they’re outside.

Burgers: all 5/5. Yum. truffle flavor was rich, beef patty was generous, bun was crisp/chewy and delicious

Fried chicken: 2/5. Was quite looking forward to this, but honestly most bites had more breading than chicken. Two sauces are provided, one is quite spicy (good), the other is white gravy (I found it too heavy with just fried chicken…maybe if there were a biscuit served alongside…). My favorite thing about this dish may have been the watermelon :/

Carrot cake: 5/5. Oh yum. Huge size. Probably supposed to be shared. Whiskey caramel sauce makes it even more rich and delicious.

Key lime pie: 5/5. Oh yum. Rare to see this in Taiwan. The sugar crumble crust was excellent, along with the thick pie filling.

Caesar salad: 3/5. Not bad, the lettuce and tomatoes were crisp, the Parmesan chips were good, but the dressing is a bit bland.

Crab cakes: 5/5. I would get these again. The tartar sauce is great.

Blueberry pie: 5/5. Maybe my favorite dessert here.

Fish and chips: 5/5. Surprisingly good (compared to the fried chicken I had). The tartar sauce is great too.

Macaroni and cheese: 5/5. Fresh baked and tasty.

Pork ribs: 5/5. Especially like the...

Shift manager was extremely rude when I gave the reservation last name but didn't know the full name since I usually call my friends by their English names and told me to find out the full Chinese name.

Food was okay, decor is nice but they cram the seats together. We had ribs and a side of spinach but they brought the spinach out by itself 15 minutes before the ribs, letting it go cold. When I asked them if they can keep it warm and bring it out with the mains, they didn't even warm it up and immediately brought it out again with the ribs.

The manager probably realised later she was bring rude (after I loudly told my friend what happened) but instead of coming over and apologizing, she just kept interfering with out lunch to infer excuses. First she called my friends phone to ask if she was coming, even though we were sitting there already. But she immediately turned to look at us when my friend said we're already here so she knew exactly who we were. Then she said there were 3 reservations with the same name and all didn't leave a full name. So why was she asking me for the full name in the first place? Maybe a phone number would have helped??

Later while we're eating she sends one of her staff to come with a notepad to take down my friends full name. Even though we were there and it's all sorted, he insisted and wouldn't leave until we...