Southern — Restaurant in St. Louis

I've been wanting to try Southern for months and the ladies at work decided today was the day. Hooray! Except, not.

Southern was very crowded and seating difficult to find. When I asked the gentleman at the door about seating across the entry in a room that looked much less full, his reply was a terse "no! There'll be seats when you're ready." He was right but only just barely. The people behind us had to wait for a table to empty.

Then we learned they were having equipment issues and had no sandwiches. One of the ladies had been looking forward to trying a particular sandwich so we were discussing if we wanted to go a different place when the doorman (who was part owner Rick Lewis though we didn't realize this at the time) made a comment the gist of which was that it was a chicken place and why couldn't we have chicken. As we were talking over going to another place while moving up in line, the owner said he was going to send people ahead of us to order while we decided. That did not happen but the implication of it left a bad taste in the mouths of all our party.

The first person in line, who ordered what was assumed would be the simplest meal of chicken tenders, was served last because they were waiting on a side she ordered. It took one of our party mentioning it when Rick asked how everything tasted before her meal arrived.

As to the food, the chicken is passable. My breast, my favorite piece, was dry but the leg and thigh were very good. The wing, my least favorite piece, was better than most places but didn't make up for the breast. The breading was inconsistent with some bites being hardly hot at all and others being quite spicy even though I ordered the lowest heat level. The sides were all a half twist off from expected. My creamy cole slaw wasn't creamy and my mac and cheese casserole had a weird spice to it that made it slightly hot in bites.

I'm not inclined to give them another chance. I understand they were having a bad day given the equipment failure but the tone of our interaction with the owner did not leave a favorable...

Let me just say, this was probably the best fried chicken I have ever had. Connected to the famous Pappy's BBQ is this small, relaxing fried chicken heaven. The style of the fried chicken is Nashville hot chicken. There are about 6 different spice levels with the spiciest being "clucking hot". You wait in line and order at the counter. A very enthusiastic cashier takes your order. You sit down and your food is brought to you shortly.

I ordered 3 pieces of dark meat with mac and cheese and french fries. Let me just say that the sides were elite with the french fries being the perfect recommendation from the cashier. They came with this delicious creamy, slightly sweet mayo. It was the perfect combination to the creamy sauce with a crispy perfectly seasoned french fry. The Mac and Cheese was probably one of the most interesting mac and cheeses I have ever had, with the noodles having a firm al dente texture. It had a blend of a variety of cheeses giving it a nutty and also sweet flavor. Now the main course was also incredible, and held up in flavor with the sides. I ordered the medium level of spiciness for the chicken, and it had a nice kick to it. The skin was perfectly seasoned and crispy, with the same seasoning permeating into the juicy meat. Now one thing I didn't order, that my friend did was the biscuit. Now this isn't just any old biscuit, it is a large square biscuit about the size of an I-pad mini. It comes with homemade blackberry jam and butter. The small bite my friend gave me might have been the best thing I put into my mouth the entire meal. It was perfectly flaky with tons of butter.

Not that I am an expert on Nashville Hot Chicken, but compared to most fried chickens I have ever had Southern was definitely at or near the top of my list. I can't wait until my trip to Nashville in the spring so I can see how Southern's fried chicken stacks up against the...

Went to Southern just before the "dinner rush" hours of 4:30pm on a Saturday and the one thing I held high expectations for was the chicken. I live in central Illinois but I spend a lot of time in the Southern states simply because I love the southern style of food. Below are pictures of three separate meals, two of which were their tender meals. Of all the chicken joints I've been to, I've always stuck with the traditional thigh meat assortment so this could be part of my issue. The sides were well done. Pictures and tasted were the vinegar slaw, the mashed potatoes and pan gravy as well as the mac and cheese casserole. The slaw was a bit too wet for my liking but the balance of vinegar was very good. The mac and cheese casserole was also very good. Often times I find that the noodles are overcooked but this restaurant has definitely figured that out. Now on to the chicken. The two types of chicken I tried were the wings and the tenders. Between the two styles, I noticed the marinade was much too different. The wings were really tender and the batter was on the thicker side. The tenders were too dry to really enjoy and the batter was again, thicker than most I've tried. As for the heat levels, id say the cashier explained them pretty well. This place isn't here to set a benchmark in heat and that's obvious. While still being good, the sauce base was well mixed but the portioning was not. Granted, they provide each table with some standard hot sauce to add that extra kick but that shouldn't be necessary at a place acclaimed to be a southern chicken joint. All in all, id give this restaurant a chance if you've never had it. This is a good experience if you're too far north of more desirable southern chicken joints. If not for this restaurant, then absolutely make time to go next door to Pappy's Smokehouse and give...