Southern Hospitality BBQ & Bar

We were in the Upper East Side of Manhattan on Saturday to meet up with some of my friends for a late lunch. One of my ex INTI college friend Sabrina was in NYC, visiting from Atlanta, Georgia. Also, another ex INTI friend Audrey, just had a baby girl (well, not JUST, she is about 3 and a half months now) and we wanted to meet baby Meryl.

We decided to meet at Southern Hospitality which was on 2nd Ave, between 76th and 77th St. It was already almost 2pm when we arrived. The restaurant was kinda packed but the waitress was really good and got us a table really fast. There were 9 adults and a baby but she still managed to get a big comfortable table for us on the stage.

Truthfully, Kevin and I didn't know how popular this restaurant was until after we came home and looked it up online later that day. All we know is that Sabrina told us the food is pretty good and the Mac n Cheese rocks (it's really cheesy). For those of you who are as blur as us, Southern Hospitality is owned by Justin Timberlake and the Executive Chef is Ray Lampe, also known as Dr. BBQ. He is supposed to be one of the best BBQ chefs ever. There are also quite a lot of celeb sightings in Southern Hospitality (though we didn't see any celebs while we were there). I think Lindsay Lohan and Chance Crawford was spotted hanging out in SH only last weekend.

Anywayyyy...all this young celebs all don't interest us much lah. The important thing is...is the food really that good? We had the brunch menu that day. The food offered in Southern Hospitality is Memphis Style BBQ. I must say that the food selection wasn't really that large..maybe cause it was the brunch menu.

Here is a photo of baby Meryl while we wait for the food. Isn't she such a cutie? She is such a good lil girl. She just sat there in her stroller and didn't make a fuss at all while her parents enjoyed their meal. We were there for about 2 and a half hours and I only heard her make a fuss once!

Another photo of baby Meryl and Aunty Sabrina, all the way from Atlanta.

It didn't take very long for the food to arrive. I ordered Fried Chicken and Waffles ($11.95). The Belgian Waffles were really nice. It was served with syrup and butter. I wasn't really impressed with the chicken though. It's supposed to be Southern style buttermilk marinated chicken but it tasted just like any other fried chicken. Yes, it wasn't oily and stuff but it was a lil bit burnt and over fried.

Kevin had the Pulled Pork Sandwich ($10.95). It's a slow smoked Memphis style pork shoulder that was hand pulled and piled onto a sesame seed bun. Kevin seemed to enjoy it and a few other friends of ours who had it said that it was good too. Most of the food had positive reviews, well, except for Eugene's Chicken Fried Steak n Eggs ($13.95). He said that the steak cutlet was rubbery and they messed up his egg order. He ordered scrambled but he got fried egg instead. Audrey who ordered the Smoke Pit Huevos Rancheros ($10.95) had ordered fried eggs but got scrambled instead. I guess they mixed up Eugene and Audrey's order. Hahaha.

Overall, we had a great time. The bill came up to $167 for 9 people. That's not too bad at all. It was good to catch up with old friends over brunch. We also noticed that our topic of conversations has changed over the years. Back in the day when we were still in INTI college, we would talk about where to go clubbing that weekend or where is the hot and 'happening' spot for that season. These days, everybody just got so excited talking about their favorite chef on the Food Network and which bakery has the best HK style pastries in Chinatown! I'm glad that we are still in contact after all these years and it was still fun to hangout with them. I'm certainly looking forward to the next time we head out for lunch or dinner again :D Oh before I end, here is another photo of baby Meryl. She is just so cute! She looks so comfy and warm in her stroller, all ready to face the cold winter chill. She must be thinking, "When can I go home? All this aunties and uncles talking non stop..I am so bored!" Hahaha!

Southern Hospitality BBQ & Bar
1460 Secod Avenue (between 76th and 77th Street)
New York, NY 10075
Tel: (212) 249-1001
Web: http://www.southernhospitalitybbq.com/index.php