Agreed on Sweet Cheeks - biscuits are genuinely good, meats are “good enough” but not up to real smokehouse standards, fried chicken is IMHO a little better but not a standout even in “Yankee land.”
If you’re looking for brisket, as mentioned upthread by @smtucker The Smoke Shop does a very good one (best thing on that menu by a fair margin), and I have to agree with @kimfair that BT’s Smokehouse does absolutely everything better than anyplace else I’ve found in New England. BT’s is a real destination-worthy spot even if their logo is oddly disturbing.
Assorted thoughts on other places - a couple from the OP, a couple from the thread above, and a couple not mentioned yet:
- Buttermilk & Bourbon is mostly Cajun/NOLA, and not particularly authentic at that. Has echoes of other “Southern food” (mac’n’cheese, black eyed peas) only as they might be reinterpreted in NOLA (andouille bits in the mac’n’cheese) or Boston (let’s make the black eyed peas into HUMMUS! I’m pretty sure that was Scarlett O’Hara’s favorite dish). Fine enough as a themed bistro.
- Tupelo’s menu looks to me to be leaning Cajun, but they claim to be “influenced by New England, Louisiana, and Virginia” (their ordering!). IMHO it’s a bit more true to its roots than B&B, and I think of it as tasty “comfort food”.
- Highland Fried has been covered in another thread, but deserves mention here. I don’t think they’re trying to project a Southern heritage, but their mainstays are foods from the South, and they do a workmanlike delivery of them.
- Coast Cafe (mentioned by @T.B above) is pretty good Soul food - fried chicken, smothered pork chops, fried catfish, braised ribs (sorry, just drowning it in BBQ sauce doesn’t make it BBQ), cornbread, candied yams, non-hummus black eyed peas, banana pudding with the Nilla wafers at the bottom. Plus a tiny bit of island thrown in (plantains, beef patties, jerk). Oh-so-comfort food.
- Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen - their normal menu is a mix of Cajun & Southern and for parts of it I think they try too hard to make it upmarket in New England. We go occasionally for their Sunday jazz brunch buffet - for brunch they stick to the comfort food repertoire instead of reaching too far, and while buffets bring their usual quality issues, hey, jazz.
- Just a couple blocks from Darryl’s is Slade’s Bar & Grill, an institution which I’ve been meaning to try out but haven’t gotten to yet - can anyone give a report? Their menu sticks to core Southern & Soul food: fried chicken, smothered pork chops, fried smothered chicken livers, fried catfish, black eye peas & rice, fried okra, candied yams. If you’re looking for real Southern country cooking, this might be a spot to check out.
