Restaurant Week 2020: Big Jones
Author: Alyce Oh
Photographer: Shyn Ru Looi
Image from: https://www.theinfatuation.com/chicago/reviews/big-jones
Big Jones is a Southern restaurant located on Clark St. in Andersonville. Neighbored by thrift shops and artisanal bakeries, BJ was worth the hour-and-twenty minute train ride from campus just to get a glimpse of this less-frequented neighborhood. The restaurant itself, fortunately, was excuse enough in its own right. Upon entry, we were met by a warm, intimate atmosphere; every table was full for the night, and groups of new diners were bunched up at the front of house awaiting their tables. For those who didn’t want to stand around, a bar was available to start off the night.
For Restaurant Week, Big Jones offers a three course menu with 3-4 options in each category for $36 a person. Appetizer options include Gumbo z’herbes, Cochon de Lait and Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail. Our group opted for one order of gumbo and two of the Cochon de Lait. The gumbo was unlike any other I’d had before-- heavy on the greens and leaning heavily toward a tangy, vinegary profile, thanks to the pickled okra. The hominy was an unexpected but hearty addition, adding more substance to the vegetable-based dish. Overall, it was a comforting first course to dig into after trekking through the cold.
The Cochon de Lait caught our attention even before it arrived at our table. On the menu, it is described a dish of “crispy seared suckling pig, creamy grits, gratons, redeye gravy, sweet and hot chow-chow.” Nevermind that we had no idea what gratons or chow-chow were-- I was sold on the promise of pork and grits alone. This was the preferred dish of the two we ordered, though the portion of grits left one wanting. The pork was less than crispy, but a wonderful, salty accompaniment to the creamy grits.
Following the appetizer came what our group most looked forward to: Jalapeño Cheese Cornbread. Maybe it was the mini cast iron pan it came in or the huge quenelle of butter on top, but that cornbread was a sight for sore eyes. The taste had a great complexity due to the broiled scallions, cheese, and generous amount of butter, but the texture was far more reminiscent of cake than cornbread. Everyone agreed that a more dense and gritty cornbread would have been preferable.
For the entrée, we ordered Alligator and Andouille Sauce Piquant, Gumbo Fat Fried Chicken, and Crawfish Étoufée a la Breaux Bridge, ca 1930 (no joke, that’s the full name of the dish). The Alligator and Crawfish dishes were similar in style-- a tomato-based, gravy-like stew made with their respective proteins and topped with white rice. The flavors, however, were each their own.
The AASP was slightly creamy in texture and tomato-forward with a prominent kick of heat. The alligator meat could have been mistaken for white fish (it was really good, regardless), while the Andouille sausage was as good as one can always expect it to be. Mixed in with the rice, it all made for a dish that kept you scooping away.
The Crawfish Étoufée was my favorite of the three. Curiosity piqued by the all too unnecessary and pretentious name, I looked up Breux Bridge to find that it’s a city in Louisiana dubbed the Crawfish Capital of the World. Makes sense. This dish did its name justice with its buttery gravy and tender pieces of crawfish complemented by fresh pieces of scallion. It tasted a lot like seafood boil, and that’s certainly not a bad thing.
The last entrée was the Gumbo Fat Fried Chicken. For a restaurant that claimed its stakes on “Southern heirloom” cooking, I rightfully had high expectations for the fried chicken. Those expectations, unfortunately, were shot within a bite. It wasn’t bad, per se, but it was fried chicken that reminded you of take-out from KFC. Or any other standard chicken joint, for that matter. The only difference was that this one came on a bed of rice and beans with a side of turnip greens. The accompaniments alone made this dish taste more home-cooked and cozy, and for that reason, I didn’t entirely shun this dish.
Last but not least, the desserts. We had one of each item on the menu, including Gateau de Sirop, a cinnamon crumble pecan cake with kumquat preserves and whipped cream; Winter Bread Pudding, a brandy and orange peel bread pudding with spiced apple butter, salted sorghum ice cream, and toasted oat strudel; and Boca Negra, a dark chocolate chili cake with almond candy, dulce de leche, and horchata sorbet. The Boca Negra and Gateau were particularly outstanding. The Boca Negra was more a thick, rich brownie than cake, nicely dressed up with the crunchy almonds and cool, creamy sorbet. The Gateau--thought having the appearance of a humble, homemade cake-- was so, so delicious. The pecans along with the sweet and chewy kumquats, luxurious scoop of cream and soft, spiced cake was a somewhat familiar but novel combination. The Bread Pudding was good in the way that bread is never not good, but it did present on the drier side. Were it more moist as a pudding should be, it might have taken a prize home as well.
In short, Big Jones is a great restaurant to hit up if you’re looking for Southern food in an elevated, but intimate atmosphere. Was the Restaurant Week menu worth its $36 (really $44, including tax and tip) price tag? The abundance of delicious Southern food in Chicago at much lower price points begs disagreement, but I certainly don’t have any regrets about this dinner. If you’ve got the time and money to spend, go for it. Otherwise, Big Jones remains a one-time hit for me.