From the President:
I was a bit leary of Juniper {A Southern Table and Bar}. Another officer of Good Dinner Club had expressed a desire to eat there so I had already checked out the menu a few months beforehand. Nothing really sounded good on the on-line menue so I was not very excited about trying the fairly new (or renewed) restaurant. I was really pleasantly surprised at the sophistication of the food being offered and how delicious it was.
Parking was easy enough. Even though it was just street parking, there were plenty of spaces available. The atmosphere of the interior of the restaurant was not remarkable on first glance. However, as diners had time to examine the restaurant, they noticed the unique art on the walls and the southern details. Unfortunately, the cotton blooms that served as centerpieces at the table did not go over well with our African-American diners and we asked our server to take ours away. Cotton has an association with the history of slavery that is not so comforting to all of us. Southern comfort was not quite achieved but if the restaurant was going for more avant garde effect to go with the art on the walls, then that was accomplished. Diners gave Juniper 3 1/2 spoons for having a good atmosphere.
Our server was very nice and the staff overall was very accommodating. I think diners felt service was a bit slow, but we were having a good time so I did not mind so much. Diners gave Juniper 3 1/2 spoons for good service.
The menu was not any more appetizing when I arrived than it had been on-line months before. Even worse, the waittress announced at the outset that no mashed potatoes were available, an important accompaniment to fried chicken in my opinion. However, there were also small treats that were not on the menu that were just as delightful such as the ramp butter. Furthermore, just about everything that I ate was really really good. I got some sort of fried shrimp for an appetizer that was out of this world! My fried chicken was good as were my greens. However, the greens tasted as if they had been cooked with maple syrup. Although I understand that typical southern style is to add some sugar to everything, I really hate the flavor of maple syrup so I did not love them. Diners seemed so pleased with the bread basket that I had to order at least just one biscuit to try with the delicious ramp butter. The drinks were really really tasty and I felt Juniper gave us a decent serving of alcohol in each cocktail. Diners gave Juniper almost 4 1/2 spoons for excellent food!
Overall we had a good experience and a good meal. I would definitely return but there is not anything that I have to have again as soon as possible. Overall, diners gave Juniper almost 4 spoons for being a really good restaurant.
The server was great! The food had an exciting twist! It was absolutely delicious! The art was a little strange but, the atmosphere was amazing. This restaurant was very different. I loved the scenery. Parking was limited on the street yet because of the great time we had the parking wasn't a biggie.
ReplyDeleteThe restaurant was flexible with our group size which was nice. Our server was really pleasant. They were able to split the checks and did a great job of accommodating our special requests. The food was really good. I loved the shrimp toast and the ramp butter that they offered with the bread basket was amazing. I was not as impressed with my fried chicken and my collard greens were too sweet for my taste. The menu had a misprint that indicated mashed potatoes and gravy would come with the chicken but instead we were offered potato salad. That was disappointing but one of the other diners said that the potato salad was really good. The drinks were strong and they had a couple that I really liked. Street parking seemed pretty easily available on Boyle. The space is nice with brick walls and interesting artwork. I think that the group in general did not like the art but it was an interesting topic of discussion. There is an upstairs venue and patio available for private events. We did have one issue with the table centerpiece. In order to promulgate their southern comfort theme, Juniper had cotton blooms as the floral decoration on the table. For African-Americans, that is not a comforting association (as it was slaves that picked cotton) so we asked for our cotton bloom to be removed from the table. Juniper had delicious food and a unique twist on things. I enjoyed my food overall and will likely return.
ReplyDeleteThe service was extremely slow. My food when it finally came was delicious! The restaurant was well decorated. Except the weird kid pictures. The food and drinks were delicious but not enough to make up for very slow service
ReplyDeleteA little slow but delicious. Artsy setting but the ambiance was a little let down due to the awful pictures on the wall. I absolutely enjoyed the experience and opportunity to fellowship with other professionals from such diverse backgrounds.
ReplyDeleteI thought the bread plate was amazing, the andouille corn dogs were also delicious. I was underwhelmed with the Deviled Eggs. The fried chicken entree was very good. I really liked the atmosphere a lot. Very cute space. Just perhaps remove the cotton center pieces. The drinks were also delicious. I really enjoyed Juniper
ReplyDeleteTimeliness was lacking to say the least. The general attitude was good but 3 hours to complete an entire meal was a little above and beyond delayed. The food was excellent on taste and preparation. Decor was a little comical with the evil children pictures and the cotton on the table. I have to say that the unisex restroom was not a selling feature of this place. I would give this place a 5 out of 10 stars, and say that I would probably never return. Only because it did not have a wow factor that would make me want to return. I can mark Juniper off my list as complete.
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