While hanging out in the CHOMP food hall the other day (which we do because it’s right by our office, only don’t try to find us because you’ll still never guess who we are), we popped inside for a bit of warmth only to discover that the newest booth occupied by 2 Floyds Southern Kitchen was mere minutes away from its soft opening. Finally, a little bit of luck!
Let us be clear—THIS IS NOT A REVIEW OF 2 FLOYDS. The new spot from former Brunch Box Blue food truck owners DJ Sugar and Scott Blevins had quite literally been open for 15 minutes by the time we tried ‘em, and it’s in no way fair to evaluate the entirety of their deal based on that alone. Restaurants (and food hall stands) come with kinks on the best days, and we’re not about to sit here and nitpick a place that has been open for 15 minutes. Still, we thought everyone would like to know that they’re now makin’ it happen, and we think it’s going to be great.
In fact, if you click that link up above, you can see the 2 Floyds menu. And when you see the menu, we’re thinking you’ll have a similar reaction to the one we had, which is to say we were like, “Oh, dip, this place has biscuits?!” We love a biscuit and have rarely found a decent one here (or outside of Texas and the South, really), so we had the fried chicken/biscuit sandwich. La Forkette was with us, too, and she had mac ’n’ cheese with fried chicken. Again, this is not a review, but we had a bite of that mac ’n’ cheese and found it quite tasty. We’re picky about that stuff, and we won’t eat Kraft (but we will eat Stouffer’s), and this one reminded us of being a kid.
Again for the again’th time, this is not a review, but really more of a casual notice that we later texted our buddy to be like, “BTW, 2 Floyds was AMAZING and also we’re totally gonna play that Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remake assuming it drops in March like the internet says.”
“That’s awesome!” he responded, but he couldn’t have possibly understood how thrilled we were to find a restaurant with fried chicken thighs and the aforementioned biscuits.
Not that it’s a review, but we particularly enjoyed the sweet corn casserole that came with our biscuit/chicken sammie, too. And did we mention 2 Floyds makes its own pickles, and they were on that sandwich? Well, they were, and we loved those, too. Honestly, we wish Sugar and Blevins well, and not just because of the food that rules that’s near our office, but because we still would like to see CHOMP succeed. So while this is not a review (have we already said that?), it’s definitely an alert that there’s a new option, baby, and that option includes macaroni and cheese with fried chicken all up in it.
The song that plays in our head whenever we eat Southern food (or food inspired by Southern food).
Also
- We here at SFR have long been proponents of Crepas-oh! and their food. Firstly, we’d like to remind everyone that you pronounce it like “Que paso,” and secondly, we hear the house that Fernando Cuevas built has some new menu items (including a new mexican burger, a green chile steak sandwich and a turkey club, among others. If you’d like to learn more about the business or find out where all of its locations are…uh, located, check the Crepas-oh! site.
- Thanksgiving drops this week, and consider this item a PSA about how it’s not all fun and games for everyone. Setting aside the obviously problematic colonialist lies inherent to the holiday we assume was created due to some kind of turkey surplus in 1800-whatever, Thanksgiving becomes a minefield of work and responsibilities for people. Maybe not everyone feels like clamming up while their more racist family members talk shit, and maybe some of us don’t give a shit about turkey because it’s so dry and boring. It’s OK to be thankful, of course, we just don’t need a day to remind us, especially when some of us have weird family lives. So enjoy yourselves if you wish, but please try to take it easy on your people for whom the day is tough. Cool? Cool. We probably won’t get into any Thanksgiving info here, other than to say that if you’re reading this the week it came out, it’s likely way too late to worry about a restaurant or whatever. Our heart goes out to you all, though.
- We here at SFR have struggled with our relationship to Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen for years. In the old days, it was a bastion for New Mexican foods and margaritas. Since then, however, we’ve seen it decline, pick up, decline again and…well, let’s just say we don’t have it listed at the top of our, uhhhh, list. Anyway, we recently learned the restaurant is offering $10 lunch specials, including a relleno plate, a taco plate, flautas and other choices, all of which come with a sopaipilla, so maybe we can give ‘em one last shot? What do you think, dear readers?
- From what we’ve seen in the last day or so, there’s just not a whole lot going on in restaurant land right now. With the holidays creeping up, all kinds of places are feeling the end-of-year tough-sies and people getting real weird because it’s cold, it’s just that time of the year when there aren’t a whole lot of people making big moves. Just remember to tip big and be cool.
As has become tradition, enjoy this Thanksgiving tune from Nerf Herder’s Parry Gripp.
More Tidbits
- We know inflation is still hitting home for a lot of folks (most folks, really), but you’ll be glad to know that things are steadying out in restaurants. Burgers and coffee are still pretty pricey, however, so know that. If you’d like a broader view, look no further than this link, which breaks down some of the goings-on when it comes to eating and drinking out.
- In how is this not grossing people out news, mega-corp Heinz has dropped a new squeezable gravy product that is reportedly inspired by the television program Friends. Hmmm…we would have already balked at a food item inspired by such an insipid show, but throw in the whole gravy-in-a-bottle thing and we’re kinda like, “Naw, bro. We’re good, Heinz.” Still, if you’d like to see what it looks like out of curiosity, go ahead and click right here.
- Lastly, in not just local news, Eater-dot-com has a new list of its 25 top restaurants in the country right now. New Mexico isn’t on the list, but we’ve been scrolling through and fake planning trips for various restaurants around the country. Some of these seriously look amazing, and if you’re not in Santa Fe reading this, something that made the list might be closer than you think. Check it out here.
In Summation
Pumpkin pie is the best pie. Let’s all just admit that right now. Look, dear readers, we’ve been known to GO TO TOWN on a key lime, and we’ll always have a special place in our hearts for the apple pie from The Shed, but there’s something about pumpkin pie that just feels so…it’s like the good old days, y’know? We’re not naïve, and of course we know that the good old days often boil down to the period of time during which folks first start to form feelings, but we can think of no pie more indicative of family and home (the good bits, at least) than the noble pumpkin. They’re not that hard to make, either, and everyone is pretty down. So remember that this year when you’re putting together some weird new thing you read about for Thanksgiving or whatever. Sometimes, the old/simple ways remain the best ways. We’re not going to find a better way, and deceptively simple trumps needlessly complex any day. What we’re saying is, somebody make us a pie or something? Thanks.
Officially a 2 Floyds Fan,
The Fork
