BJ's Diner — Restaurant in Ashville

BJ's diner.

First off, fame is often an overhyped commodity. The best chefs all have "right arms" which is to say their most reliable second in command of recipes if not other staff. The best executive chefs have their miracle workers you will never meet or see who make your plate perfect. Like the lion & the lamb, these chefs do not need or seek limelight. These miracle chefs work behind the scenes because prolific artistic expressions are in their bones. Many industries nickname them tanks, or castles, or bastions. Generally such chefs are immune to flattery genuinely, such is their favorite proofs of how you feel is an empty plate, lots of joy during the meal, & continued custom. Once in a rare while these men & woman of renown step away from all the glitz of the cities & find a beautiful piece of America in a small town & bring all that rare beauty of their awesome skill with them.

Thus I find BJ's. On a mission, introducing a new southern transplant, to one of my good friends who is born & raised Southerner. For all who love traditional southern comfort food, this is a wonderful spot!!!

Take a trip on 59 & stop in Ashville Al. Create a new family cornerstone for memories, you will be well rewarded with flavor profiles.

I've tried the menu (I have, I did it all in a weekend) The hamburgers & shrimp & chicken livers are awesome.

Grilled catfish Buttery, Clean lake, kiss your tongue beautiful!

Fried/battered catfish crisp like a summer breeze, it tastes so good.

Collards just a bit bitter that makes the fish taste good, better, best!.

Even better than homecooked straight from the lake.

Onion hushpuppies dense & lush. Squash is not overcooked with a light aromatic sweetness, like gramma used to do in an iron skillet.

Chicken livers, served hot, crispy, to your preference & tender in the middle. Perfect to heat up the next too if there is any left over (rarely).

Fried okra, addictive for the soul. If you've never tried fried okra, this is where you go, it is just like Momma makes.

Coke & sweet tea & lemonade make it all good.

Just come on & make this...

The good: Excellent food. Quarter pounder was good. So was the fries and hush puppies. I was greeted when I walked inside. Good portions. They also stay open pretty late which is convenient.

The bad: VERY pricey. The drinks and extras do not have prices nor do they communicate with you how much it will be. The menu needs updated with what all comes on each item. I could be wrong but I didn't see on the menu or anywhere super noticable in the store that they fry their stuff in peanut oil. That will be a major issue for people with allergies. I believe they also fry their fish along with everything else so again, issue for people with allergies. I feel like for the price the staff could have been more customer oriented and the place could have been more decorated. The pricing is lux but the restaurant doesn't feel lux. To be honest with the high prices I expect it to go out of business like everything else that opens at this location. It's also very cold which leads to a bad experience.

Overall: the experience just wasn't it. The place needs a little work and it would do better in a larger, richer area. A little town like Ashville is not meant for lux priced restaurants. Food was good, the chef definitely has talent.

I HIGHLY recommend to lower the prices. By having high prices you severely limit your demographic and will not get enough business to stay open. The food was very good so it's unfortunate.

I can take pictures of all the menu items and design a menu. If the owner could please reply and leave me...

I’m going to give this place my honest and transparent review.

For starters, Some of the very best service I’ve had in a really long time. So kind and attentive. Offering the best options and grateful for any feedback.

The food was fantastic. Hands down some of the best fried tomatoes out there. Give them a shot. They are lightly breaded BUT with the seasoning they use, you don’t actually need much breading and the breading has a fantastic crunch. But not the tomato’s. They are perfecting cooked. Not too fleshy but not to soft either.

I was also quite surprised at how good the blackened shrimp was. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that. It was spectacular. The shrimp were way bigger than expected and seasoned to perfection, and you get plenty. I paired the blackened shrimp with the grilled veggies, and you cannot go wrong with them. Also perfectly seasoned but not over cooked to where they have no bite.

Then the macaroni.

Oh, the macaroni.

I have no ideas how many cheeses they have in that heavenly Mac. It’s beautiful with the spiral noodles and then the FLAVOR. it’ll smack you right in the face. It’s PHENOMENAL. I will be back. I give this place my best 10/10 rating.

Will lightly touch on the sweet tea being perfect and the cheese cake being out of this world also.

Just so so good....