I’m going to start by saying that I am a proud member of the Cult of Brewer Union and regardless of the fact that this is like the 37th time I’ve written about them, I feel like it’s necessary because Christian just keeps doing wild things to blow us away. Tonight takes the cake without a doubt. Chelsea’s birthday was January 29th and we had messaged Christian to see about doing a southern food dinner for her because she was missing Alabama something fierce, but between work schedules and snow storms we weren’t able to make that dinner happen until almost a month later. Worth. Every. Second. Of. The. Wait.
Chelsea may have been born here in CNY but her soul resides in Birmingham, Alabama after living there for college. There are very few people, let alone places, in CNY that can truly recreate the magic that is authentic southern food because it just doesn’t sell up here. Much like authentic Mexican or Japanese or any other regional foods, a lot of places tend to lean into a more dulled-down version of the original recipes and ideas of their food. So when it came time to make truly authentic, SOUTHERN food I knew it had to be Christian. Sure, I could have made it myself, but I knew I could trust the accidental founder of a cult to make something truly magical and memorable. He did not disappoint in the slightest. So let’s dive in to this monstrosity of a meal, which Christian referred to as the “Roll Tide ‘Bama Birthday Meal.”
Our dinner started with fried whole okra with Alabama White BBQ Sauce. Fried okra is a hard thing to do because it can be hard to source here in Syracuse, especially in the winter. Sometimes tossed in a cornmeal batter, this was instead crispy fried in a lighter batter with just the right amount of salt. The key component of southern food that is also the biggest mistake most people make is a gratuitous amount of seasoning. As expected, Christian did not hold back and you could taste the okra, the salt and the batter and it all just worked together beautifully. Add in some true Alabama white sauce, a white barbecue sauce with a mayo and apple cider vinegar base and a mildly concerning amount of pepper, and you have the start of a truly authentic southern meal. Chelsea was dancing in her seat the second the okra was set down. When we heard that Christian had to source the okra online because he couldn’t find it locally, we knew we were going to be in for a wild ride from here on out.
What followed could only be described as a feast fit for a king. The core of this party platter was fried chicken two ways. Two hand-cut, eight-piece chicken (two whole chickens cut into two breasts, two thighs, two wings and two drumsticks) “magic redneck marinaded” for 12 hours, tossed with heavily spiced flour and fried crispy with half tossed in ‘Bama White Lightning Sauce. This chicken was absolute perfection. Crispy. Seasoned to the max. Big pieces. The chicken was so tender from the marinade that even the breasts were insanely soft and could have been mistaken for a thigh with how much flavor carried through. The white lightning sauce is just another name for Alabama White BBQ Sauce, but it added a lot of dimension and flavor to an already perfect piece of chicken. And more importantly, the sauce didn’t drench the breading and make it soft and mushy. There’s fried chicken and then there’s southern fried chicken, and KFC ain’t got nothin’ on this masterpiece.
There was a smorgasbord of sides on this plate and even more to come. On the far right of the plate we had Hoppin’ John on Carolina White Rice. Hoppin’ John is a deep south tradition of stewing black eyed peas, pork and diced vegetables. The rice was fluffy and flavorful and acted as a nice neutral base to the salty, spiced black eyed peas and pork bits and was so good I could have eaten a bowl of just Hoppin’ John and been happy. Below that is cheesy griddled corn muffins that you could tell were not just a basic cornbread mix. These were moist, sweet and savory all at once and mixed to just the right density to hold together after biting but not be tough. Smear a little bit of butter on one of these, which Christian did not hold back and brought out an actual 1/3rd pound slab of butter in true southern fashion, and it made for the perfect cornbread muffin. On the bottom left of the plate was maple bacon slow roasted collard greens. We had tried these particular greens in the past when Christian put them on my now mildly-infamous birthday burger and Chelsea fell in love with them then despite being adamantly against collards. They held the salty vinegar flavor of traditional collards but were elevated by the sweet maple syrup and crispy bacon mixed in. On the top left was sorghum and brown sugar sweet potatoes. Cooked tender and seasoned heavily, these sweet potatoes were out of this world. The chai flavors from the sorghum syrup worked perfectly with the brown sugar and natural sweetness of the potato by adding a light earthy tone to balance the candied flavors and they were cooked to the point of almost mashed when you picked them up with a fork. Lastly on the plate was milk corn and butter. Cooked through but not too soft, the milk corn is exactly what it sounds like. Soaked in milk before (or even during, sometimes) cooking, the kernels were soft and packed a ton of flavor before even adding butter or salt. The last of the side items was in it’s own bowl on the top right of the picture, Whiskey Baked Beans. The beans were just as insane as everything else with a sweet brown sugar flavor paired with the rich and smokey notes of whiskey.
And just when we thought that was going to be all, Christian showed up with another surprise of roadside boiled peanuts. Boiled peanuts are a huge thing down south that are genuinely one of the weirdest things I have ever tried but the second you cross the Alabama border you can’t throw a rock without hitting someone selling boiled peanuts on a street corner or a random roadside stand in the country. They. Are. Everywhere. I personally do not get it and am not a fan, but Chelsea loves these weird little suckers. Boiled in the shells and seasoned heavily (you should be sensing a pattern here with heavy doses of seasoning) until the nut is soft and mushy, these weird little snacks are a staple in the south. Christian, yet again, did not disappoint. He managed to make them have a light kick of spice, a deep amount of salt and the peanuts cooked to the exact perfect point that even when I ate one I wasn’t mad at it. Chelsea was sitting across from me and when Christian set the bowl of peanuts down next to me, she literally growled in excitement as she shot up and over the table to snatch the bowl away before it even made it all the way down. For a moment I feared for my life because I had just grabbed a piece of cornbread and thought she was coming after me for stealing her cornbread despite us sharing this meal.
And then there was dessert. A LOT of dessert. To start, we had a Rose Pistachio No-Bake Cheesecake with Flower Petal Jam. The cheesecake had a great flavor with the rose petals and pistachio mixed in, but it was nothing compared to the flower petal jam. I can’t remember exactly what Christian said he put in the jam, but it was sweet, tart and just out-of-this-world delicious. Next came Lane Cake with Brandy Pecan Frosting, or at least Christian’s version of a Lane Cake. Proudly touted as the State Dessert of Alabama, you can’t get much more ‘Bama than this and White Sauce. Traditionally, Lane Cake is a bourbon-soaked white cake with raisin filling, frosted with a thick whiskey-laced custard and topped with pecans. In true Christian fashion, he took it one step further and did a brandy custard and added blackberries as a garnish, which are the official state fruit of Alabama. The brandy was STRONG and even came with a sobriety warning because Christian knows I’m a recovering addict, but it was worth it. The fluffy texture combined with the heavy custard and brandy-forward flavor worked beautifully with the tart blackberries. But as the late, great Billy Mays once said “But wait! There’s more!”, there was indeed more. Banana Pudding with ‘Nilla Wafers. I would do inhumane things for banana pudding, and this one took everything I love about banana pudding and made it better. Layers of fresh bananas, crushed ‘Nilla wafers, whipped cream and custard, this was one of my favorite desserts kicked up a notch. I had to force myself to stop eating it because I was so full.
In the end, I’m glad Christian had the courtesy to warn me that he went a little overboard before I ordered a meal of my own, because this could have fed an entire family. He truly did go above and beyond with this and made Chelsea feel not just special, but like the queen of Brewer Union for just a night with the way he rolled out the red carpet for her birthday. He went overboard on the quantity of food, which is perfect for a southern-themed meal and even brought everything out himself in true southern hospitality. His Florida roots showed beautifully tonight as he transported a ‘Bama-sick woman back to the deep south for an evening just through food. I haven’t seen Chelsea this happy over a meal since we were actually in Birmingham five years ago. She was dancing in her seat as she beamed from ear to ear with every bite. I cannot express my gratitude to Christian for doing his research into Alabama foods and executing what could only be described as a perfect meal to celebrate my wife. Bravo, chef. I will gladly sign the back of my Cult of Brewer Union membership card and you have further cemented yourself as the absolute best in Central New York in my eyes. I don’t care how much I sound like a fanboy, I will sing your praises until the end of time.
Brewer Union Cafe
5771 Miller Rd. Brewerton, NY 13029
(315) 668-5207
5771 Miller Rd. Brewerton, NY 13029
(315) 668-5207