I have a camera with me a lot to begin with. I was only kidding anyway.

I'd met Chef before and he told me to let him know if I ever made it in, so I did. I made it clear that I didn't want any special treatment. As it turned out, an old friend, who happens to be the architect who designed the space, dropped in unexpectedly and joined us. I'm guessing that these things all had some effect on the meal we had. Whatever the reasons, Chef kindly sent out a couple of things for us and we were appreciative.

I can afford and am happy to pay for my meals, so while 'free' stuff is always nice, it has little bearing on how I ultimately feel about a meal. Still, i think it's important to disclose such instances because they may not reflect a truly representative experience. That said, I find that expressing a bit of genuine interest and asking a few questions often results in some sort of special treatment. Enthusiasm can have this effect.

I bring my camera to restaurants because it's what I do. It should be clear to anyone who follows my photo-intensive posts here that there is no agenda behind this hobby. Again, I work for a living and take pride in being able pay my own way. The inference that there is some ulterior motive behind shooting pix at meals is disappointing.

Now please, let's keep this thread focused on Big Jones and have the debate, if we must, on a thread of its own.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:The inference that there is some ulterior motive behind shooting pix at meals is disappointing.

there was no inference. No one here seems to have a sense of humor. relax.

Chitown B wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:The inference that there is some ulterior motive behind shooting pix at meals is disappointing.

there was no inference. No one here seems to have a sense of humor. relax.

Ok, maybe I can get a chef to someday comp me one.

Let's move on.

=R=

If I can just say, before we totally move on...Ronnie, I wasn't implying anything untoward at all. I don't want you to think that I was, because I wasn't. In fact, I didn't suspect anything that you didn't actually confirm in your own response. Okay, thanks.

riddlemay wrote:If I can just say, before we totally move on...Ronnie, I wasn't implying anything untoward at all. I don't want you to think that I was, because I wasn't. In fact, I didn't suspect anything that you didn't actually confirm in your own response. Okay, thanks.

No worries. I was probably a bit overly defensive.

Now, on to the pics of our meal that I promised. 2 items -- the corn bread and the Lump Crab Cakes -- are not shown here but there are pics of both those items in my post upthread. Forgive the poor quality. It was dark and the images were relatively hard to capture . . .


Turducken
Before our meal, chef brought out his Thanksgiving experiment for us to see.



Cheddar-Herb Croquettes
Fried sage, Green Goddess, Frisee
For the most part, I've already commented above but I just want to emphasize how truly delicious this dish was, especially the green goddess.



Vegetable Terrine
Prairie Fruits Farm Chevre, Corn, Black Bean Salad, Crispy Grit Cake



Fried Frog Legs
Cajun-style breading, Creole Meuniere, mushrooms
You can see the difference in the sauce between this pic and the one in my post upthread.



Fried Green Tomatoes
Three Sisters Garden cornmeal, Pickled Shrimp, Remoulade



House Head Cheese
Gunthrop Farm pork, Buttered Baguette, Creole mustard, Piccalilli



Venison



Shrimp & Grits
Laughing Bird Caribbean shrimp, tasso gravy, creamy Anson Mills cheese grits



Sarsaparilla-lacquered Quail
Cornbread stuffing, sage, baked apples, squash puree



Reezy-Peazy
Vegetarian Sea Island red peas, Carolina gold rice panisse, confetti of house pickles



Fried Chicken
Mashed Potatoes, Smoked greens



Turducken
As was posted above, at the end of our meal, we were offered slices of the this test-item.



Chocolate-Orange(?) Praline

=R=

I wonder if the new sous chef who arrived via Alinea is influencing significant changes at Big Jones. When I see a dish with something called "andouille dust" I cringe. Maybe it's not as gross as it sounds, but I beg you Chef, if you have maltodextrin in your kitchen, throw it out!

BR wrote:Well, I might buy that it was "iced" to order . . . but the only way I can see it being made to order would be if you ordered it when you sat down (and assuming very, very slow service ) Unless of course there's some new Grant Achatz or Homaru Cantu device that bakes cakes faster than expected. In any event, I love red velvet cake and I've never tasted the version colored with beets, so that looks like something I'd like to try.

It's actually baked to order! Ever since we opened, the Red Velvet Cake has been one of the more traditional menu items that's been successful. That said, it's been through a few changes based on guest feedback. In the beginning, a lot of people thought it was too dense, so we lightened it up. We use more of an Italian cream cake method now, I'm not really sure if there's a culinary term for the method. Formerly, we had used a more traditional quickbread method (traditional to the Lowcountry at least.) With the addition of pureed roasted beets, that particular cake was rather dense. Live and learn. Eventually we went to a sponge cake method, and found that to be too light, so we went back to the cream cake method. The interesting thing is that even through these not-so-subtle changes, it was very well received. We only decided to tinker with it because there were guests here and there that didn't like it as was, and we take every comment very seriously.

Switching to beet juice powder, we found we got a nice light cake that was at once creamy but with a nice delicate crumb. This only required the addition of a little extra buttermilk. That was our red velvet cake for probably 8 months, but it had to change, not because folks didn't like it, but because the icing contains all cream cheese and fresh butter and can't be left out overnight. It broke my heart to refrigerate a cake if we didn't sell it all and have to sell it the next day. The texture changes because we use all butter in our recipe. Refrigerate it, and it sets. Even if people loved it (and there was an observable change in guests' reception if the cake had been refrigerated) it wasn't all it could be.

We made a few minor changes to the recipe (baking powder/soda and sour milk ratios) and found a formula where we could keep a refrigerated batter that would bake up consistently from day one to day three. It takes 12-15 minutes depending on how busy we are (how often the oven door is opened) and goes out to the table hot. Now, when you order red velvet cake, it takes a couple of minutes for the server to get the order to the kitchen, and depending how busy we are, another 0-3 minutes for the expediter to call the order to pastry. Hence, the 20 minute advisory.

What's best with hot cake? Ice Cream! I needed a truer cream cheese icing flavor though, so instead turned the icing into a mousse with the addition of whipped egg whites and cream. Now, there's hot and icy cold on the plate, plus some cocoa nib brittle if you like a little crunch on the side.

Gypsy Boy wrote:
I sure hope so. On our first couple of visits, we would have agreed. On the last couple, not so much. We assume recipes changed. Let's hope that they changed back. It happens to be one of LDC's favorite desserts and the last couple outings have made us leery.

Could you tell me what kind of changes have made you leery, or when you last had it?

Gypsy Boy wrote:Perhaps as a recognition of this (perhaps not), during our wait for our entrees to arrive we received a gift from the kitchen and boy, do I mean gift: perfectly cooked venison with a blueberry reduction. There were other elements but, I’m very sorry to say, I didn’t take notes and should have. I hope Chef will chime in and tell us more about the dish.

Sorry it's been so long getting back to you all, it's hard to believe it's been a month! The run-up to Thanksgiving was crazy, I had some recovery time, and wanted to be able to respond thoughtfully. Forst of all, thanks for your candor and frankness on your experience. You posed a couple of questions I'd like to get to, but first, on a couple of the appetizers:

Crab Cakes: This recipe hasn't changed since we opened, but a number of factors can bunk it up if the recipe isn't correctly executed when making the mix, storing, and dishing up onto the griddle. I'm glad you pointed this out; we are going to have to take a closer look at execution here as clearly something may have been lost. Of course, at 85% lump crab by weight, they're going to taste good no matter what. Good isn't good enough, so I'll be watching these from start to finish very closely until they are back on track.

Fried Green Tomatoes: The breading did change over the summer, when we hooked up with Three Sisters Garden. Previously, we had been through at least four different corn meals without finding one we could get easily and that we also liked. I do believe the problem here is largely that we formerly did not season the breading, which was dumb. These are going to be getting some work done on them as well.

On the venison dish, that weekend we had run a venison loin special, and saved the tenderloins for VIP service (things we set aside usually industry people but also as a gift "spacer" when the kitchen is running slow.) Blackberries are my absolute favorite with venison, but you use what you have on hand, and we still had some Seedling blueberries we had cooked into a sauce for French Toast. So begins the base of the dish. The blueberries were combined with Colombelle (a tart white wine from the Languedoc) fresh sage and copious black pepper to bring out their own gamy elements. This was cooked into a reduction and fnished with a tiny amount of venison jus (already on hand from the weekends venison special.)

My favorite way to approach this is to use late blackberries and slowly render the juice over very low heat. It can take hours. After hours below a simmer, the skins burst, give up their juice, and float to the bottom. You can then very carefully pour off perfectly clear juice (and use the pulpy parts for jam.) The juice can then be reduced as far as you like with whatever flavors you like and makes a wonderful sauce for almost any protein, and even mushrooms.

The pain perdu was our standard Sally Lunn French Toast, just cut down for the plate. Pickled turnips - something we had on hand, and turnips are a slam-dunk with any game meat. Hell, I even eat them like apples.

Corey did the technique on the venison loin - cut into 1" segments, rested with salt and pepper rub for thirty minutes, and seared very, very crispy on one side, long enough to bring up the unseared side to a warm, but not hot temp. You got crispy on one side, creamy the other, and chewy in between. Glad you like it!

Mashed potatoes: I love all potatoes, but we use russets for one reason: low moisture, high starch. More capacity for absorbing butter. It's critical to boil them in the skins. You can remove the skins later if you wish, but peeled potato chunks absorb water, and we want them to absorb as much butter and buttermilk as possible. The more water they absorb, the less butter they can. So, we boil skins on. In the mean time, butter is melted, and crushed garlic is fried in the butter along with black pepper and a small amount of cayenne. Salt is added at the end. That's it. Potatoes, butter, buttermilk, salt, pepper, garlic.

ronnie_suburban wrote:I'd met Chef before and he told me to let him know if I ever made it in, so I did. I made it clear that I didn't want any special treatment.
=R=

We sent out the fried green tomatoes because the server, Dave, had overheard some comments about having previously tried them and not being impressed. Since we'd changed them a bit, and also since there were folks at the table who had clearly not been here before, we sent them when they were not ordered. They are a popular item, and that is the sort of thing we often do when we sense such an opening, blogger, foodie, or regular customer notwithstanding.

I had met Ronnie previously, as he mentioned, and the venison course was preplanned (as in just that afternoon based on what was on hand.) We always have something in back on reserve for VIP's, which is usually industry people, regulars, etc. As much as I've enjoyed our interaction on LTHForum, I was also thrilled to have ChitownB, GypsyBoy, Ronnie, and KennyG all in the house, and just as Ronnie wouldn't expect any special treatment, we just wanted to show off a little bit. I think everyone's comments have reflected sincerity of purpose and frankly I would have been disappointed if there weren't any down points conveyed that we could work on. I certainly wasn't rying to sway any opinions, and even if I was, it doesn't appear it would have worked

Kennyz wrote:The frogs legs with meuniere sauce seemed like a strange combination, not because the 2 components can't go well together, but because they didn't go well together in the way they were prepared and served. The frogs legs had thick, crispy breading, and I just don't understand the logic of serving something like that in a bowl full of very thin liquid. The meat doesn't really pick up the sauce, and the sauce turns the breading into mush. To me, this kind of sauce belongs with something that is lightly floured and pan seared, not something that's fried with a thick and crispy coating.

I did a double take on your frog leg comments until I saw Ronnie's photo (and also read his comments) but the sauce on that plate wasn't right, and I'm not sure how it got past me. I was also handling a photo shoot for the Tribune in our back room, and that must have snuck out. That Meuniere is cooked a la minute, like almost everything we do, and has to be watched closely. That one slipped by. It most definitely should be a thicker, darker sauce. Not sure what to say about the shrimp and grits - I'm glad Gypsyboy liked it - and Cary is a great chef, I'll bet Chaise Lounge's is delicious. We'll chalk this one up to personal taste

rochambeau wrote:KennyG

That is awesome.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, when I had read about changes coming to Big Jones (a long time ago now), I thought to myself that I'd have to give the place another try. And as I also mentioned, my two prior visits were met with pretty sub-par food. So perhaps not surprisingly, I had a bit of an edge when I went there for dinner last night, perhaps with a bit of a "prove it" attitude, not really believing that my third meal would produce better results. Well, I'm pleased to say that I had a very respectable meal last night at Big Jones . . . good enough that I'm pretty certain there will be a fourth visit.

We started with the Gumbo Ya-Ya which was a very good version of the dish. Dark, a little smoky and nicely flavored. It was a little too salty, but not that much. Also, although the menu indicates that the gumbo contains chicken and andouille, I suspect it might also have contained boudin judging by the texture of one of the meats in the gumbo. Anyone know if this is true?

Our other starter was an evening special of duck egg, bacon and a couple of other elements I can't specifically recall. What I can tell you is that the dish was very good. Salty, smoky, a slightly sweet sauce and rich and perfectly cooked egg oozing onto the plate.

After our first courses, we were served the previously mentioned cornbread. I was initially impressed, as I always am, with the lack of sweetness in the cornbread. Too many restaurants turn this bread into a cupcake. This version was so light, hot and delicious and just perfect with the smallest dab of the sweetened butter.

For mains, we had another evening special, the halibut which was nicely cooked and tasty, but I only had a couple of bites so I can't remember much more.

We also had the Shrimp and Grits which I did not enjoy on a previous visit. This time, it was very good. The grits were thick, creamy and delicious. The shrimp were well cooked. And the tasso gravy was rich and flavorful (a bit too salty though, but again not that much), a far cry from the completely bland tasso gravy served on my prior visit. In fact, the two gravies did not even look remotely the same - this time it was much darker.

I don't know why last night's visit was so much better than my previous two visits - perhaps an on night, perhaps changes to the restaurant, I don't know. What I do know is that I will be returning and I hope I enjoy it as much as I enjoyed it last night.

Mr. X and I delved into our A La Card deck and come up with Big Jones last night. We have been there a couple of other times and have enjoyed it each time. I think they do a nice job with cocktails, but couldn't tell you what we ordered last night. (It was only one drink, I swear!!) For dinner, we split an order of fried green tomatoes, a burger, and shrimp and grits. Mr. X ranks this burger at the top of burgers he's consumed. I'm not sure if it ranks as high for me, but it is a damn fine burger. The fries were cooked very well, but way over-seasoned last night. The shrimp and grits was different than I remember. Grits cooked perfectly, but the gravy seemed darker and spicier than before. I asked the server if they had changed their recipe. He said it hasn't changed much, except they are now smoking their tasso ham in-house. We've always had excellent service and enjoyed our meals. I'm sure we'll return.

The GP wrote:The shrimp and grits was different than I remember. Grits cooked perfectly, but the gravy seemed darker and spicier than before. I asked the server if they had changed their recipe. He said it hasn't changed much, except they are now smoking their tasso ham in-house.

I don't know if they changed the recipe, but I've ordered the shrimp and grits twice and this past time (documented in the post above yours) it was definitely darker, more flavorful and spicier than the first time I ordered the dish (probably a year earlier), and really hardly comparable. And on the plus side, I really enjoyed the gravy this past visit, and really disliked it on my initial visit.

BR wrote: I don't know if they changed the recipe, but I've ordered the shrimp and grits twice and this past time (documented in the post above yours) it was definitely darker, more flavorful and spicier than the first time I ordered the dish (probably a year earlier), and really hardly comparable. And on the plus side, I really enjoyed the gravy this past visit, and really disliked it on my initial visit.

I asked if they changed the recipe because it was so much different than the last time I had it. I liked both renditions, but this version definitely had a deeper, spicier flavor.

The GP wrote:I asked if they changed the recipe because it was so much different than the last time I had it. I liked both renditions, but this version definitely had a deeper, spicier flavor.

I went last week and wish the shrimp and grits had a spicier flavor. By spicier I mean any seasoning at all. The fried chicken was very good, though it too could have used quite a bit more seasoning.

We decided to go to Big Jones for lunch on a rare tranquil afternoon last week, giddy about the prospect of Southern food. We opted for a window seat, enjoyed the restaurant's pristine, symmetrical decor - as well as the intricate and vaguely psychedelic wallpaper, which resembles Big Jones' fried green tomato appetizer reimagined by Ken Kesey. (I write that fondly - Samantha later purchased similar pillowcases, and now each evening is a potential descent into the explosive world of celestial produce.)

We were the only two customers at that moment, and our server, a young woman, was sweet but discombobulated. Approaching our table long after we placed our menus down, she seemed to struggle with the specifics of the menu and alternately disappeared and hovered.

We ordered the pork belly, shrimp and grits, pulled pork sandwich.



All three dishes came out room temperature. The pork belly was a miss - pure fat with negligible pork essence, and the johnnycakes they were served upon came out soggy and rendered the texture of each bite mealy. A simple, balanced sweet and sour sauce was the lone bright spot.

We enjoyed the shrimp and grits, although some assembly is required. The smoke and salt of the tasso gravy composes the overwhelming majority of the dish's seasoning and flavor, and, barring some carefully constructed bites, caused some salt-induced face-crinkling. The grits were texturally perfect, and otherwise blank. The shrimp were enduringly sweet and delicious.



The lowlight of the meal was the pulled pork sandwich, a dish that I almost universally enjoy. The spare, dry pork (which had the toughness and chew of a prolonged stay under a heat lamp) could have been dreamily overlooked in a hearty barbecue sauce. And the purely vinegar tang of the sauce would have been forgivable on a buttery toasted bun. We didn't get any of this - and on a menu that boasts obvious familiarity and passion for southern cuisine, this dish, such a crowd pleaser in its simple, soulful abundance, felt like an afterthought.

We didn't enjoy our first experience at Big Jones, but the cuisine's premise excites - and seeing Chef Fehribach on here, engaged and accessible, makes a real difference. We'll be back with fingers crossed.

Foster, have you or Samantha ever thought about becoming hand models?

went back last weekend for dinner with my parents and grandmother for her birthday. GREAT meal. Here is a shot of my homemade andoullie and chicken gumbo:



They even brought out a free fresh red velvet cake for her. Great service, great food.

Enjoyed a nice brunch here this morning. Wife had

Eggs New Orleans: Lump crab cakes on fresh popovers with poached eggs, béarnaise sauce, and potatoes O'Brien

and i had

Omelet Bayou Lafourche:
Louisiana crawfish, jalapeno, cream cheese, bearnaise sauce

ts
Can't wait to go back for dinner sometime.


Edit: starter of cheddar herb croquettes was great as well, crispy creamy and flavorful.

Chitown B wrote:went back last weekend for dinner with my parents and grandmother for her birthday. GREAT meal. Here is a shot of my homemade andoullie and chicken gumbo:



They even brought out a free fresh red velvet cake for her. Great service, great food.

looks pretty greasy actually. thanks to the huge photo.

it really wasn't that greasy, but yeah it does look it since it's a big photo.

BR wrote:We also had the Shrimp and Grits which I did not enjoy on a previous visit. This time, it was very good. The grits were thick, creamy and delicious. The shrimp were well cooked. And the tasso gravy was rich and flavorful (a bit too salty though, but again not that much), a far cry from the completely bland tasso gravy served on my prior visit. In fact, the two gravies did not even look remotely the same - this time it was much darker.

Cool that you ordered something again that you didn't like the first time.

Last Saturday, MikeG and I split a bowl of shrimp n' grits and I liked it quite a bit. I thought the tasso gravy really made it, though it was certainly salty (but not nearly so salty as the bacon that the chef sent out for us to try, which I really liked but which MikeG decided he didn't want to finish). Shrimp and grits are, by themselves, rather mild, and the spicy gravy brings the piggy flavor that is so good for the crustacean.

I *loooved* my burger at Big Jones in Andersonville:

http://www.bigjoneschicago.com/

The decor was fresh but discrete. I could've done without the scruffiness of the staff. They served up some awesome cornbread for starters - four of us, five pieces, I waited for about five minutes before I broke off a piece of the fifth. To hell with manners! That good! My dinner companions were neglected when my burger came.

Any other venues similar in cuisine/atmosphere?

Try The Southern.

I don't think Big Jones gets enough love around here. Three of us enjoyed an excellent brunch there this past Sunday.

Beignet amuse could have been a bit hotter and fresher, but still made my mouth happy.
Our appetizer, boudin fritters with cayenne mayo and frisée, was richly flavored and outstanding; my favorite bite of the meal.
Ronna loved her fried catfish and cheddar grits, topped with two sunny-side-up eggs.
MiL and I each finished every bite of our Eggs New Orleans (basically, crab benedict - two popovers topped with crabcakes, poached eggs, and béarnaise). The popovers were fresh, slightly sweet, and really made this dish special.

I'm hoping to make it back in for dinner soon. It's been too long.

--Rich

RAB wrote:I don't think Big Jones gets enough love around here.

<snip>

I'm hoping to make it back in for dinner soon. It's been too long.

Been too long for me, too. Their house-made andouille dish at the recent Green City Market BBQ Fest was one of my favorites . . .


Big Jones' Charred Andouille with Hominy, Pickled Slaw and Bacon-Sorghum Pralines at the 2010 GCM BBQ Fest

Hoping to make it back here again for any meal before too long.

=R=

RAB wrote:I don't think Big Jones gets enough love around here. Three of us enjoyed an excellent brunch there this past Sunday.

Beignet amuse could have been a bit hotter and fresher, but still made my mouth happy.
Our appetizer, boudin fritters with cayenne mayo and frisée, was richly flavored and outstanding; my favorite bite of the meal.
Ronna loved her fried catfish and cheddar grits, topped with two sunny-side-up eggs.
MiL and I each finished every bite of our Eggs New Orleans (basically, crab benedict - two popovers topped with crabcakes, poached eggs, and béarnaise). The popovers were fresh, slightly sweet, and really made this dish special.

I'm hoping to make it back in for dinner soon. It's been too long.

--Rich

I'm also a big fan of the brunch here. I'll admit to knowing very little about coastal southern food, I have never been there, I don’t dine out at places that specialize in it often and I’ve never cooked it, so I’m probably not the best critic of what’s good, but I enjoy the food here a lot. Thanks for the reminder and i'm looking forward to trying their dinner offerings.