BJ's Market & Bakery

Has anyone been here? I've heard nothing but good things. What's the neighborhood like. This place is so far from home but I think I'd make the trip considering the reviews I've read. Thoughts?

BJ's Market and Bakery is one of the better Southern-style cafeterias in the Chicago area. They offer a great variety of soul food and southern specialties. And unlike many well-known soul food places, the prices are extremely reasonable.

IMHO, the specialty of the house is a mustard fried catfish which comes with hot sauce and a mustard sauce, both of which are excellent. While the food is serve on a steamtable, the food comes out fresh all of the time. The desserts are always very good.

I have been to both locations and they are both located in decent areas of the southside. I have not had problems in either neighborhood but I have always been driving.

My last visit to the Stony Island location was on the day of the LTH Christmas Party last December. (I live in McHenry Co. and I rarely drive to the city preferring to use METRA for the most part.) Food and service were a solid 8.0 out of 10.0 in my book. The meal was marred as a roach walked across the table as I was finishing my meal.

If the neighborhood bothers you, BJs has a booth at the Taste of Chicago and the food there - if you get the catfish right out of the fryer - is as good as the restaurant.


BJs Market and Bakery
8734 South Stony Island Ave.
Chicago IL. 60617
773.374.4700

1156 West 79th Street
Chicago IL. 60620
773.723.7000

I believe there are currently two BJ's (I think the one on Western in Beverly has closed). I've only been to the original on Stony. I've described it as Soul Food 101, what Boston Market would be if they served Southern food. All in all, a pretty good place. Their mustard-breaded catfish is often justifiably praised and many of their baked goods are excellent. If they still offer their Sunday buffet (call to be sure) you can try pretty much their entire menu. The Stony branch is on a heavily-trafficked arterial street with plenty of fast food restaurants and muffler shops. A parking lot is next to the restaurant.

BJ's Market & Bakery
8734 S Stony Island Av
Chicago
773-374-4700

BJ's Market & Bakery
1156 W 79th St
Chicago
773-723-7000

i've been to the one on stony a number of times.. and i always seem to get it at the taste of chicago

i do agree their specialty seems to be the mustard fried catfish. for some reason i really love the honey BBQ chicken strips, too, though the last two times i was there they had ran out. i've also had a few other things (a pork chop of sorts?). the sides are pretty decent.

..pricing very reasonable.

they have an all you can eat buffet on certain nights, other nights you just order a la carte... i think there might be 2 or 3 day/nights they have a buffet and it's a bit different depending on the night. i've been to the buffet only once ... it was well worth it, and they do have just about everything in it. and it was all very fresh. I seem to recall my biggest annoyance being the pepsi products ...

I'll vouch for this place too--and add that you shouldn't miss the sweet potato rolls. You might also want to hit Dat Donuts on the way back, home of great apple fritters and other reliably good donuts.

Dat Donuts
8249 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
Chicago, IL 60619
773-723-1002

(Can you tell I like carbs?)

BJ's is solid. I haven't been for a while but the catfish, beef short ribs, Mac+ cheese and greens have all been good. Seems like a really consistent place -- maybe not life-changing but really good, inexpensive food. I haven't travelled much into the neighborhood around the one on Stony but it seems like it's nothing to be afraid of -- predominently African-American and middle-class. Go.

if you're feeling a little more adventurous, about two blocks south on the east side of the street is one of BJ's big competitor's, Soul Queen.. the place seems to really pack them in. i've been by one bj's looked relatively empty and soul queen's lot was overflowing. i think the food is relatively the same though a lot cheaper than BJ's.. (and though i consider BJ's to be decently priced, there are certainly a lot cheaper options in the area..but perhaps less sanitary looking)

Soul Queen
9031 S. Stony Island
Chicago, IL 60617
(773) 731-3366
www.soulqueen.com

The rationale behind BJ's originally was "soul food made healthier but just as tasty." So, for example, smoked turkey leg was used as a substitute for salt pork or ham hock.

We used to go to the Stony Island shop fairly regularly, but stopped after a really awful string of bad performances--the kitchen out of everything, the employees completely clueless about their jobs, the bathrooms in unspeakably bad shape, some unpleasant interactions with less-than-upstanding people hanging out in the lobby. I think all of this boiled down to a complete lack of management oversight. The 79th street shop is newer, so maybe management is paying attention to that place. If someone has a recent good experience to relate about BJ's, I'd love to know.

In all honesty, unless you have some health-related diet restrictions, I would go with some of the other great options on the South Side like Soul Queen, Army & Lou's, Yassa, Pearl's Place, Soul Vegetarian East, Uncle John's, Lem's, etc.

rdb66 wrote: If someone has a recent good experience to relate about BJ's, I'd love to know.

..who says the above experiences weren't recent?

2 times ago when i went it was relatively quiet and i was the only one near the registers... an employee in the kitchen was being reprimanded by the manager for a sexist comment he made to a female co-worker, telling him if he said anything like that again he was going to be unemployed. really every time i've been there someone seems to be really running the show and keeping things moving..

yes..there's always 1 person at the door willing to open it and hoping you'll give him spare change... but i'd rather have this than some of the other things i've seen at other places nearby...

Ownership of all-day Southern food spot BJ’s Market & Bakery announced in a Facebook post last week that they will relocate the shop at 88th Street and Stony Island Avenue to a new space at 1737 E. 95th Street beside Jewel-Osco.

https://chicago.eater.com/2019/10/1/208 ... ood-report