Last month I was lucky enough to visit Buffalo, New York for the first time since 2019. A lot has changed in this city since my last visit, but today I want to talk about a restaurant that opened up in August 2023 – Southern Junction.
From the outside it looks like a typical Texan BBQ spot – serving cold beer and fresh smoked meats, with the smell of the slow cooker drifting over the street as you arrive. And inside, things don’t immediately seem much different from a spot like Franklin’s in Austin either. They don’t take reservations, you just go up to the food bar and order what you want, with the meat piled up right in front of you. And it’s here you’ll start to notice the different smells, and the variety of things on the menu – for this is no ordinary BBQ joint.
In a city famed for its chicken wings, Southern Junction brings together a fusion of two cuisines I’ve never before seen attempted: Texan BBQ and Indian Cuisine from the state of Kerala (aka Keralan cuisine). This means dishes like biryani rice and curried chickpeas are served alongside Creekstone Farms brisket. The blend of flavours is as rich as it is fascinating; dishes that shouldn’t work together, absolutely do. And it’s this quality and inventiveness of the menu that saw the restaurant’s chef founder, Ryan Fernandez, become a 2024 James Beard Finalist for Emerging Chef of the Year.
Fernandez’s story adds purpose to this offering – while he grew up in Plano, Texas, his family moved there from Kerala, India, when he was fourteen. The southwest Indian region is well known for its roots in spice trading, and its in these spices that this BBQ finds its unique flavour.
The restaurant is open five days a week, with Sundays serving brunch from 10am to 3pm – the only day where you’ll find their special brunch menu. And with the sun beaming down, and live music playing in the patio – Native Texan Jenuine Cello adding beautifully to the ambience – we dove right in to our feast. And boy was it a special meal.
For $55, as a group of four, we got our hands on the “Brunch Sampler”, which comes with all four of their tacos and toppings, plus Biscuit and Gravy with a hot link, a “Texas-sized Cinnamon Roll”, plus Masala Potato and local scrambled egg. It was more than enough food for all of us, and gave us a chance to mix up the flavours and try a little bit of everything – which is definitely the way to do it.
To give you an idea of those fusion flavours, let’s get to know the four taco fillings. Firstly, there’s the Carnitas and Creekstone Farms Prime Brisket, which may be more along the traditional line of Texan BBQ cooking. But of course with plenty of toppings that bend the expectation of a BBQ meal – from spicy mint to a Kerala style Coconut Curry Sauce.
Then, taking the fusion proposition to heart is the incredible “Barbacurry”, which they describe as “Kerala beef fry meets barbacoa… smoked and chopped beef mixed with caramelized onions, cilantro, and our house-made masala blend”. This was a highlight of the meal. I also loved the final option of the taco fillings, Masala Potato served with Chorizo – a must to pair with the spicy mint topping.
Of course there are plenty of other items on the brunch menu if you aren’t visiting with a group.
You can get individual tacos for $6, as well as the “Brunch Foldie” which is their take on a bacon breakfast wrap, the brisket biscuit sandwich, biscuits and gravy (served spicy with the option of a fried egg as extra), and the Texas-Sized Cinnamon Roll. You’ll see that pictured below on the right, with Cardamom Honey Whipped Cream and Pecans. It was really, really delicious. As were the biscuits and gravy with a Texas Hot Link (a spicy sausage), seen on the left. It definitely had some bite, and we enjoyed every bite.
Though there’s plenty of cross over between the two menus, from the Barbacurry to the Brisket, we only got to experience their brunch menu. So much love and care has been put into marrying these flavours that you can only imagine how vibrant their dinner menu is too. You can take a look at it HERE.
And we haven’t even gotten started on the cocktail list – which is impressive in its own right. There’s a separate bar for cocktail orders inside the restaurant, and you’ll find that menu HERE. I recommend the brisket-washed Old Fashioned, which goes down a treat alongside the bites on offer.
It was hands down one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten, and having never seen this fusion attempted elsewhere, it’s safe to say Southern Junction is a meal worth travelling to Buffalo for alone.
Getting There
Once you are in the USA, many domestic airlines offer services to Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF), including Delta, United, American Airlines and Southwest. You can also fly into Toronto, Canada, and get a bus down to Buffalo – which usually takes just over a couple of hours, depending on traffic.
Southern Junction is located at 365 Connecticut St, Buffalo, NY 14213.
It’s closed on Tuesday and Wednesdays but otherwise open from 4 to 9pm for dinner, with the exception of Sundays when they’re only open for Brunch from 10am to 3pm.
For more details about this restaurant, head to their official website: https://southernjunction716.com/.
The author dined as a guest of Visit Buffalo Niagara. While in Buffalo we stayed at the amazing Bed and Breakfast, InnBuffalo.
