Blogmas Day 11- Upscale Southern Food Exists (Maison Pickle Review)

If you haven't noticed already, I'm originally from the South and I LOVE Southern food. I don't think I could ever get tired of crispy fried chicken, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, warm biscuits, cheesy chips and queso or nachos, and tender juicy brisket. Sadly, living on the east coast means that its not often I get to eat these things at the same quality that I would normal have back in Texas. There just aren't that many restaurants that have the same taste as good ole' Southern cooking. However, last year my friends and I (on a homesick night) decided to try the Upper West Side staple, Jacob's Pickle, and we were so surprised at how good it was! The portions were huge too, which definitely reminded us of home. I recently discovered that Jacob's Pickle has a sister restaurant, Maison Pickle, also located on the Upper West Side. So naturally I dragged my friend to try it out.

Maison Pickle is a bit more upscale than Jacob's Pickle and the dishes are more refined and a smaller (although definitely still a good size). We started off our meal with this delicious pull apart bread with feta cheese, herbs, and olives. There were also options on the menu for the bread to be topped with butter or garlic, but we didn't want our breaths to stink! The bread was soooo soft and the flavors worked well together.

I ordered the brunch mac and cheese (such a genius idea!), which had sausage and jalapenos blended into it and was topped with a fried egg. I've been a lover of mac and cheese for a while now, but this was something on a while other level. The dish basically combined my love for cheese and my love for brunch and created a wonderfully made mac and cheese. I would come back and order this again in a heartbeat. Although, the restaurant does have two other types of mac and cheese available as well: classic and buffalo chicken. 

My friend ordered the sausage and rice dish, something usually not found at a typical Southern restaurant. But, I think this dish catered to a different type of palate, probably one that isn't needing in your face Southern food. The rice was cooked and flavored well and overall we enjoyed this more refined dish too!

Both of us agreed that Maison Pickle was worth 4.5 toasts. I think lower prices would have definitely bumped it up to 5 toasts. I'm not sure Southern food is meant to be upscale and expensive? Being raised in Texas, I've always the considered Southern food atmosphere to be very welcoming and family like.