If you haven’t noticed, we love Southern food. 1300 Fillmore is a Soul Food joint buried in the Western Addition. Don’t mistaken this part of Fillmore for the trendier strip in Pac Heights, this is the “soulful” Japantown neighbor where some of the best Jazz joints are (Yoshi’s). The low light, dark brown interior, and vintage-modern jazz revival decor give this place a beautifully comfortable atmosphere where a couple on a date, a hungry family or an elegant party with friends can mingle. Tonight we celebrated two birthdays, my dad’s and my brother’s.
When you first arrive, you are greeted by a very large (and heavy) front door into a boxed room that’s meant to keep the cold air out. That room leads into the main dining area, where the host gathers your party to seat you. Our entire party had not arrived yet, so we were invited to wait at the Bar and Lounge area. K helped my mom pick the Macallan Scotch to surprise my dad. Once the rest of our party arrived, the host gathered our party and sat us far in the back next to the kitchen.
The dinner included complimentary triangle shaped cornbread. For appetizers we ordered the Hush Puppies and Fat Fries. LOVED the cornbread and the hush puppies. I would’ve been happy stopping there.
K ordered the Southern Exposed Black Skillet Fried Organic Chicken. He was really excited for some crispy, delicious fried chicken and didn’t really look at the menu for an alternative. Boy was he disappointed. It was good fried chicken, but could have been better. The meat was dry, and not flavorful.
I had the special of the day which were the Baby Back Ribs. These were dry ribs. No sauce. But, it also tasted like they forgot to add the dry rub. It was almost flavorless. I had to dunk each piece into the the sauce for flavor. The ribs came with a side of mac-n-cheese which I was too full to eat at the restaurant. I had the intention to take it home with my leftovers, but the restaurant didn’t pack it for me! I was so disappointed the next day at lunch when I saw 2 bare ribs in my box with nothing else.
For dessert, K and I shared the Banana Cream Pie with a lime caramel sauce. It was the most interesting version I’ve ever had, but delicious! Creamy pudding, chunky bananas and a thin crust. It definitely doesn’t beat Tartine’s, but I still licked my plate clean!
Check out what else we ate!