Southfield, MI — I was finally able to cross a longstanding restaurant off my foodie adventure list recently, following an epic lunch that left me KO’ed (via food coma) afterward! I had been wanting to visit Joe Louis Southern Kitchen in Detroit’s New Center district for over a year now, so when I heard the owners opened a new location in Southfield, a mere five minutes from where I work, I knew a lunch adventure was in order.
FULL SECTION: MI Foodie Adventures Breakfast Series
This breakfast-geared restaurant is not only named after the Detroit boxing legend but pays homage to Louis with creative boxing-themed menu items, portraits, and historical placards throughout the establishment. Joseph Louis Barrow was born in rural Alabama in 1914 as one of eight children. His family moved to Detroit in 1926, with Joe taking his first step into the ring a few years later at 17. He reportedly wrote his name so large on the sign in that there was no room for his last name, so he became commonly known as Joe Louis. Louis would go on to become widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of his time until he retired in 1949.
The second location for Joe Louis Southern Kitchen opened around mid-November and held its grand opening on December 9th during a ceremony with City of Southfield officials. I went to the new Southfield location on the southbound side of Northwest Highway just east of Inkster Road for lunch last Thursday.
I walked inside and got a booth since I knew I would be ordering a few plates of food to showcase visually. After getting settled at a table, I walked around and took some photos of the enlarged portraits of Joe Louis, all taken during different stages of his life and career.
PHOTO GALLERY:
Even though I had already taken a peek at the menu online for the Detroit location, my exceptional server pointed out several additional options on the massive Southfield menu, which was nearly double the offerings I had seen via the online menu. There were quite a few options that caught my eye, from griddle items like bacon or cinnamon roll flapjacks, heavyweight plates including omelettes, Chicken & Waffle combos, skillets, and classic breakfast medleys. One of the main draws for why I had been wanting to check out Joe Louis Southern Kitchen was the eye-catching Smothered Turkey Legs!
I devised my order and decided to go with some of the popular dishes like the Banana Foster French Toast, the Brown Bomber, and Shrimp Alfredo Cajun Smoked Turkey Leg. Unfortunately, my timing for the turkey legs didn’t quite work out, as the ones in the kitchen were still being cooked at the time and weren’t quite ready yet, so I replaced the turkey leg with an order of the Joe Louis Southern Kitchen (JLSK) Creole Shrimp & Grits. Always finding the silver lining, I obviously have an excuse now for a return adventure to try those smothered turkey legs!
The Food
The first dish to arrive at my table was the Brown Bomber, which was a nickname for Joe Louis. The Brown Bomber consists of two buttermilk biscuits topped with turkey sausage and gravy. As you can see from the photo above, I was thrilled with the copious amount of turkey sausage and the pool of delicious and savory gravy coating nearly every bit of biscuit.
For starters, the biscuits themselves were exceptional! These delights were very soft and airy, with just enough baked hardness to the top/outer layer. The Joe Louis Southern Kitchen recipe for buttermilk biscuits is straight fire, with a great amount of sweetness baked in as well. Then, there’s the tasty turkey sausage, giving that nice salty combo one-two punch to the sweet and savory biscuits with the gravy. A great first-round dish to kick off any meal!
As soon as I took my first bite of the next dish to arrive, I couldn’t wait to hype it up in this post. The Banana Foster French Toast is not only pure eye candy, but it’s as delicious as it looks! And as someone who often does his best to avoid sugar, this dish satisfyingly falls under the “cheat day” category. I’ll admit, it’s probably been years since I last had French toast, but if I could get them served like this, I’d eat them a lot more often — even at the expense of adding an additional 20-30 minutes to my cardio routine!
The banana slices were perfectly soft and squishy, coated in JLSK’s New Orleans classic banana foster sauce and powdered sugar. I dispersed the Cool Whip evenly across each piece of French toast as well, so I really got a little bit of everything with each bite, and oh my was it one sweet heavenly treat. The French toast itself was also made to perfection, again a great tempering of keeping the bread soft and airy throughout, while giving it just enough of that exterior toasted crisp.
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I would love to find out the recipe for the New Orleans banana foster sauce, because the pool of it underneath and drenched across the top of the French toast was another aspect of this dish that I really enjoyed. It was really sweet but not too overpowering, so it didn’t distract from the other ingredients. I suspected that the sauce had a hint of caramel to it, but either way, by the time I finished even just two pieces of French toast, I was nearly knocked out for the count — but I still had one more round to go!
One of the Champ’s Specialties is the JLSK Creole Shrimp & Grits, which is one of those dishes I actually really enjoy, but only on rare occasions. The Joe Louis Southern Kitchen approach features a bowl of creamy southern cheese grits with sautéed spinach, char-grilled shrimp, spicy beef sausage slices, and a Creole sauce. Although I was really eager to try a smothered turkey leg initially, this dish ended up being quite a suitable replacement!
The cheesy grits were indeed creamy; I was loving the consistency and thought the zesty Creole sauce was a perfect pairing for these grits, which were simmered perfectly. The shrimps were cooked pretty solid as well, and really stood out from their hefty seasoning, which I know some might not be crazy about, but I actually tend to prefer when it comes to seafood. The sausage was indeed spicy, and really helped explode the flavor when included in a spoonful of grits and Creole sauce. Overall, I really enjoyed this dish; the only thing I would have wished added was the fried onion straws that were supposed to garnish the dish for that crunch factor amid the varying textures. But for what was served, it was a winner nonetheless!
Whether you’re adventuring to the Joe Louis Southern Kitchen in Detroit’s New Center district, or the newer location in Southfield, you’re bound to enjoy your meal! As I closed my tab and went to pay, I was also pleasantly surprised to see my bill wasn’t really all that much despite ordering two main courses and a side. That’s another great aspect of this establishment, the price point is very friendly, especially considering the robust portion sizes. I even chatted with the on-shift manager on my way out and had nothing but praise for the quality of the meal and service. Next visit, I’ll definitely be aiming to try one of those smothered turkey legs, but until then, happy foodie adventuring!
For more information about Joe Louis Southern Kitchen, click here.
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