After working under Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette for many years, chef Jason Cheek struck out on his own last month by opening this South End restaurant inspired by his North Carolina roots. You’ll find lots of smoked meats and traditional sides on the menu, but Cheek’s meticulously prepared fried chicken (1)—brined in Lipton tea, pressure-cooked, and garnished with lemon and thyme—has instantly become his signature dish. “It’s something I have a pretty deep passion for,” he says.
Full and noisy, but not unpleasantly so, on a chilly Saturday in February. A yellow rooster sign welcomes guests as they enter what looks like a high-beamed farmhouse — and so does a blast of music. If you’re a classic rock fan, you have found Valhalla: munch hushpuppies and tear apart fried chicken to the tunes of Steely Dan and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Antique lamps and plants dangle from the ceiling, and ornate dishes are mounted on the pine walls. While this approach could call to mind grandma’s attic in a more claustrophobic setting, the space is big enough that it’s just an eccentric design quirk, stuff to stare at while waiting for rye. A healthy cross-section of the South End is here: young dudes on a date, a happy toddler on someone’s lap munching a biscuit, a swarm of ex-pat thirty-somethings in from the suburbs, marveling over their ace parking space.
Similarly stylish, albeit with a very different vibe, is nearby Southern Proper, opening its doors tomorrow on the ground floor of the Girard, a South End luxury apartment building. Chef-owner Jason Cheek, who grew up in North Carolina and comes from a long line of tobacco farmers, says he based his restaurant’s look on a “tobacco barn my grandmother would have decorated.” Light pinewood stretches up to vaulted ceilings, and the airy space — illuminated by big walls filled with windows — is adorned with antiques, such as tin reclaimed from an old movie theater that is used to wrap the bar front.
Get hungry for fried chicken: Southern Proper debuts tonight in the South End (600 Harrison Ave., Boston). “It’ll be heavily oriented toward chicken and beer,” chef-owner Jason Cheek (Toro, KO Prime) previously told Eater, and the space looks like “a tobacco barn [his] grandmother invaded.” To start, Southern Proper is open from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, but stay tuned for lunch service and Sunday brunch, which are slated to begin in the spring.
On March 1, Southern cuisine comes to Boston's South End — courtesy of Southern Proper, a celebrated local chef's return to his culinary roots. Though it inhabits the ground floor of the Girard, a new luxury apartment building, there's a down-home feel to this delightful newcomer, where the rustic-refined spins on comfort eats, clever cocktails and laid-back vibe come together to create some genuine-feeling Southern hospitality. Here's what to know before you mosey on over.
Chef Jason Cheek—formerly of Toro and KO Prime—is bringing his Southern roots to the South End. Cheek, who was born and raised in North Carolina, will serve authentic low country cuisine when his first solo venture, Southern Proper, opens its doors on March 1.
Justin Winters, the chef de cuisine at Cinquecento, said that he’s looking forward to trying out Southern Proper, a South End spot with a thoroughly Southern menu slated to debut March 1. Chef Jason Cheek, a North Carolina native, told Eater Boston that the menu will be “heavily oriented toward chicken and beer.” Winter said he’s excited for some authentic Southern cuisine.
