Jay's Southern Cafe — Restaurant in California

I'd like to begin my review with this... Phil's who?! At the suggestion of my bestie, we took a drive up to Alpine, after she made me check the reviews. This little place is nothing short of amazing! It took a moment to stop salivating at what the menu had to offer, so we decided to split a shrimp Po Boy and brisket plate (shown).

As we waited for a group of ten people to be served their dishes, my bestie and I found our mouths watering even more. Every plate that we saw go by looked delectible. Of them, at least four were fish platters. We then listened as several would comment on how good each side or main item tasted.

Marie and her crew brought out drinks and our food. Marie dropped by our table a total of four times to ensure we were doing okay. We had nothing but praise for everything we tried while sitting.

The Po Boy was perfect. The bread was well toasted, but still soft. The shrimp was fried to perfection and very tender. We requested tartar sauce on the side, as to avoid being overwhelmed by too much. I added it to the sandwich and it was obviously homemade. If I get my own next time, I'll opt to have it placed on the sandwich, just to get the full experience of it soaking into the crusted toast of the bread. The fries were nothing to brag about, but certainly nothing to downplay. They were simply...good.

The brisket was as tender and well-smoked as any I've had lately, having returned from vacation the week prior from Texas. In comparing to others that prior week, this brisket wasn't overly salty nor loaded with smoke. The BBQ sauce was perfectly blended sweet and tangy, not leaning more in either way. The brisket had a nice smoke ring, easily separated with a fork and was very moist. We received three hearty slices.

My bestie loved the beans, although I'm not a huge beans fan. They reminded me more of the black can of ranch-style beans I grew up on in Texas, although the juice was a little runnier than I prefer. Phil's has a bit thicker, and more preferrable, sauce.

Now, the collard greens were a delicacy all on their own! We both agreed, so much so that I went back to order another so we could each have our own, that they were beyond good. They were firm, as opposed to so many versions that are almost soggy. They also had a slight smokiness to them, adding to the joy.

As we ate, and continued to hear more praise of items we missed out on, I went back to get a sausage link, cornbread and then yams and sweet potato cinnamon roll to go. The cornbread was a perfect way to soak up the collard greens juice, and the sausage link was seared to perfection, with a very nice, spicy kick to it. After a stop at the Viejas outlet and making it home, we dove into the cinnamon roll. O M G! It is beyond good! If you can manage it, I might suggest eating it as you order it, to get the most of its freshness.

All in all, we'll be going back frequently, as well as bringing family when they visit from out of town. It really is THAT good! SUPPORT...

Well Alpine you certainly have kept this place a secret. All I hear about is Grand Ole BBQ and I personally think it is very over priced for mediocre food at best and is the most overrated BBQ place they are 0 from 3 visits for me, not a fan at all. My family and I moved back to alpine and decided to give Jays a try and we were in no way disappointed in fact blown away. Firstly over the phone I got Jay he was fantastic and helped with the menu, we ordered some ribs, grits, yams, kids cheeseburger and a brisket sandwich with potato salad. RIBS- were fantastic great smoke flavor tender and juicy. POTATO SALAD- I have never really ever tasted a potato salad quiet like this it was deliciously creamy and tangy back bite. YAMS- these are from another planet it was like a Christmas flavor explosion in my mouth those who love the old pumpkin spice will smash a plate of theses yams. GRITS- these awoke my ancestors creamy and so delicious. BRISKET SANDWICH-oh my days this was just what you want it is served dry but the BBQ sauce added and you can thank me later for this flavor journey. KIDS BURGER- great value for kids meal $7-99 good juicy grilled burger kid was smiling. Truly we spent $51 that night and we polished off everything, the food was superb and deserves to get recognition and some support as this is a family owned business, the son gave me my order and his smile and enthusiasm were enough to return for. I spoke with the owner again when I was there he remembered my name from the call and we had a nice chat...

Finally got to try this place as I work Tuesday through Saturday, and they are closed Sundays and Mondays. It was well worth it. First we got a nice greeting from Jay himself from the kitchen. We got the 2 way combo and got the pulled pork and ribs, with macaroni and cheese, and yams. All of it was very good. I could eat the mac and cheese as a meal on its own. The sauces were good. I'd suggest getting them on the side, as the spicy sauce was quite spicy. I definitely had to use it sparingly. My 3 year old got the chicken kids meal and ate nearly all of it. He's a very picky eater at his age, so you know it's good if he eats a lot. My older son got a BBQ cheeseburger and I was jealous. It looked very good and I had to try a bite. I'll be getting it on another visit. Oh and we got a sweet potato cinnamon roll for dessert, another good item. Jay even went around to say hi to each table, which was a nice personal touch. The women keeping our drinks full were very nice and got whatever we needed. Jay, could you please consider adding one more day that you're open? Or add one more hour to closing? I'd love to come more, but can't due to working the same days...