Upward Trends: Southern Style Brunch Staples

The Boxing Room's Brunch Offerings

Having rarely travelled below the Mason/Dixon line, I won't claim to be an authority on southern cuisine. Recently, however, it feels like you don't need to leave Yankee territory to get a yourself a helping of southern staples — you just need to go to brunch.

Zero Zero's Chicken & Waffles

In San Francisco there seems to be an ever growing abundance of menus serving up the almost unholy signature southern dish: fried chicken and waffles. From fancy brunches to street-side service, you can get a crispy waffle smothered by even crispier chicken.

Top choices for a fixing of fried chicken & waffles in San Francisco are:

• Zero Zero, they cover your waffles in a layer of butter and syrup to get the perfect balance of savory and sweet.
• Farmer Browns Little Skillet —they will do you right, with a distinctly sweet waffle and the crispiest of chicken.
• Citizen Band — does refined diner better than anyone, and their fried chicken is no exception.
• Good Foods Catering — A regular at the Window SF,  Good Foods makes chicken & waffles with some soul.
• Town Hall — The fanciest entry on the list, brunch at Town Hall is a must-try. Regulars will know that the only thing that could make their fried chicken better is a helping of waffles.

Farmer Browns: Fancy Soul Food

But make no mistake, chicken & waffles isn't the only southern flavor popping up around San Francisco. More than just southern and soul inspired, The Boxing Room and Brenda's French Soul Food have menus wholly devoted to bringing New Orleans cuisine to San Francisco (you won't find chicken & waffles on either of their menus).

Both Boxing & Brenda's serve up a good number of brunch dishes featuring crawfish, catfish and grits. If you're feeling adventurous, you'll regularly spot alligator on Boxing Room's menu too.

I'm keeping my eye out for the growing number of shrimp & grits dishes around San Francisco (a personal favorite of mine), so I may be following up with another southern post soon. And with that, I'll leave you with a tantalizing look at Serpentine's biscuits & gravy.

Serpentine's Biscuits & Gravy