This meal took place on January 26th, 2024
It’s the wife’s birthday on Monday, so we wanted to go out and have a nice meal. Settled on Southern Fare in Oswego and it definitely didn’t disappoint. Buckle up, because I’m about to get really wordy again.
To start with, Southern Fare is small. Maybe 45 seats plus the bar. But it’s really well put together and has a very modern atmosphere. This is going to sound weird, but the flatware and plates we got were REALLY nice quality with cast iron skillets and stone plates. Table water is provided via a carafe of water left with you, so instead of waiting for your waiter to get a chance to come by and refill your glass you can fill as-needed, which was a nice touch. Chelsea got a mocktail called New Money that tasted like a really mild Old Fashioned. The addition of mocktails on the menu was really nice to see, as some of us dont drink but maybe want something a little nicer than soda or lemonade
For an appetizer, we got the Warm Brie. The whiskey caramel was really delicious and worked beautifully with the pecans and melted brie cheese. If I had to nitpick, the toasted bread could have been a touch crispier, but the softness wasn’t bad by any means. Just a personal preference.
For dinner, Chelsea got the Honey Mustard Fried Chicken Sandwich, no onions and substituted the included chips for crispy smashed potatoes. The chicken was a true, crispy southern fried chicken breast that was so juicy and pristine that Chelsea was wiggling in her seat with each bite. When you add in the house-made honey mustard, it just took it up a notch. The honey mustard wasn’t overly sweet and had a really nice mustard flavor balanced out with honey and cracked pepper. The potatoes were absolutely amazing and were smashed redskin potatoes seared with a soft crunch and beautifully seasoned. For a simple chicken sandwich, it really blew us away.
My dinner was a gamble, as I will absolutely JUDGE an establishment with the courage to put catfish on their menu as it is one of my all-time favorite meals. The single best catfish I have ever had was at the Irondale Cafe in Irondale, Alabama which was the basis for the book and film Fried Green Tomatoes. That catfish brought me to literal tears. That little tidbit of information is relevant because THIS particular catfish was a genuinely solid second place in terms of catfish for me. My plate was Blackened Catfish, which came served over sweet corn rice pilaf and bouillabaisse cream sauce. Just doing bouillabaisse is a massive risk because a good bouillabaisse is genuinely hard to execute. Not only did they succeed on a delightful bouillabaisse, they knocked it out of the park by thickening it and adding cream to make a sauce. Ballsy move that really brought it home. The catfish was really well seasoned and had a perfect sear to the bottom, giving a nice crunch with each perfectly flaky bite. Chelsea does not like fish at all, but she stole the really crunchy bit at the tip of the filet from me and even she said it was incredible. I’m still a little salty she stole the best part. The sweet corn brought a basic rice pilaf to a higher level and was a really nice, lighter starch to offer with a heavy cream sauce.
For dessert, Chelsea got the Lemon Cheesecake and I got a slice of Chocolate Mocha Cake. I feel like the cake should have came with a disclaimer that it should be shared, because I was wholly unprepared to get 1/6th of a 10″ cake. But it was really tasty and heavy and the instant coffee in the cake batter added a nice coffee flavor to go with that decadent chocolate. The lemon cheesecake was delectable and had a really smooth, lemony flavor to go with the graham cracker crumbs and whipped cream. The lemon wasn’t overwhelming by any means and the whipped cream was perfectly fluffy and smooth.
The biggest shock to us for the meal was that other than the toasted bread for our appetizer, the bun for Chelsea’s chicken sandwich and the chocolate cake, EVERYTHING is made to be gluten free by default. So if you get the fried half chicken on the menu, it is GLUTEN FREE. The only things in the menu not gluten free by default is bread, the pub pretzel appetizer and cake, but gluten free bread is available. If you don’t notice the text on the bottom of the menu stating that all fried items are gluten free, you genuinely would not know. The food is incredible, nice modern atmosphere, prompt service and almost everything on the menu is house-made. This place is well worth the drive to Oswego, especially because apparently on Mondays they do 50¢ wings and when I saw them at a table on our way out I was astounded because they were MASSIVE. We will absolutely be back.
tl;dr Food good. Go here. Shockingly gluten free but you wouldn’t know it.
189 W 1ST ST
OSWEGO, New York 13126
315-529-0187
