South, Santa Monica

Let me start by saying that I recently visited New Orleans, and it was that trip that altered my appreciation for food. I have always thought that the best food originated from SF, LA, Paris, and NY, but in my recent trip, I was completely amazed at how phenomenal the food is in the dirty dirty. Obviously, there's some great talent out there, Emeril, John Besh, and Scott Boswell, just to name a few, but really, I think there's something about Creole-Cajun-Southern food that is just so damned good.

So imagine my glee when a new Southern inspired restaurant, South, hit Wilshire blvd. My friend Jessie raved about their chicken and waffles sliders and strong drinks (just like they do in the south!), so we decided to hit it up for happy hour on a Wednesday night. In a word, the food is pretty damned close to being legitimately from the dirty dirty.

We ordered the sliders, the mac n chz, jambalaya, cheezy grits with shrimp and for dessert shared the pecan pie and banana cream bread pudding. My favorite two dishes were the Mac n Chz and the Cheesy grits. The cheesy grits were really reat in texture, covered in a spicy cajun sauce, served up with five large shrimp. The mac n cheese was perfect, crisp on the top, and soft and creamy on the bottom layers.

I thought the sliders were just ok-- the chicken was a little dry and the waffles a bit soggy. The jambalaya was okay- maybe like 3 steps ahead of zataran's, but it was no Nawlins. As for the desserts, I thought the pecan pie was pretty good, but the banana cream bread pudding was just a little too much.

We each had 2 drinks, and with all that food, split the bill at about 35 bucks a piece, which is not that bad. Oh! And the BEST part is that on Wednesdays, it is Southern Belle Night, so they give the Lay-deez free shots!! Yum.

The service was not bad, our waitress was gorgeous, and very sweet, but after awhile she disappeared and it took forever to get our bill. But the good food made everything worth it.

You should DEFINITELY check this place out, it rocks.

South

3001 Wilshire Blvd

Santa Monica, CA

(310) 828-9988‎