Cornbread – Montclair

Let’s get this straight, Cornbread makes some tasty food. I grew up in the South (of California) and ate tons of soul food as a result. Lies, of course. I regularly ate Pioneer Chicken and had Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles a couple times. I most definitely ate at Justin’s, P. Diddy’s restaurant, back in the 90s, which I think was classified as soul food. It’s probably best I don’t talk about it. Point is, this isn’t typically my genre. Though fried chicken is fried chicken, am I right?

And, yes, we got the fried chicken at Cornbread. And mac ‘n’ cheese. Because why wouldn’t you? Our first time there it was a bit of a revelation. The chicken was very well fried, the coating just the right amount of seasoned and the width and, uh, girth of everything was on point. I typically dislike every mac ‘n’ cheese that comes from Southern places. It’s usually watery or tasteless. And usually both. This was nice and creamy with noodles that didn’t feel like they’d been sitting around for the whole day. And the namesake cornbread — one slice of which came with each three-piece meal — was on the sweeter side of the cornbread spectrum. But was supple and moist. Almost more like a corncake than cornbread. We were impressed. The three-piece meal with a side was just the right amount of food. And we finished up, wiped the sweat from our brows — I got into the hot sauce packets — and vowed to go back soon.

But the next visit exposed a bit of a flaw in Cornbread’s approach. What cuts of chicken would you expect to get in a three-piece meal? Two legs and a wing? Yeah, me neither. But that is what one of our three three-pieces came with. And not even a meaty wing at that. That, my friends, is a terrible value. The second three-piece came with two thighs and a wing. And the third came with a wing, a leg and a breast. I don’t appreciate the chicken Russian roulette. Honestly, how can a business send three random, mismatched meals of such variable volume? It’s bad business. Also — and this was almost as bad, if not worse — they forgot two cornbreads. Yes, we got three meals and only one cornbread. It’s the name of your restaurant, bro!

Yes, I understand that new-ish businesses can sometimes struggle with consistency. With service. But that’s not the issue here. The food, the couple of times we’ve had it, is good. It’s hot and tasty and wildly satisfying. But the whole dumping whatever comes out of the fry basket into your bag in what should be an obvious value prop problem is a barrier to satisfaction. A hurdle just too high for repeat customership. How do I know my next three-piece won’t just be three wings and a black hole where my cornbread should be? You play with my chicken, I’m done playing with you. For shame, since what they do have is pretty darn good. Cluck cluck.

372 Bloomfield Ave. – Montclair
973/783-7685
cornbreadsoul.com