Mr. Hipster knows about as much about Southern food as the Pope knows about making a marriage work. The South itself is a big black hole of huh as far as he is concerned. Because of this, he couldn’t tell the difference between good, authentic Southern soul food and the Bayou Seafood Gumbo with andouille sausage at the Red Lobster in the Carousel Mall in Syracuse (which looks like it has vacated its old spot since I last saw in 1994). To The King, Jezebel was good. The fried chicken was moist, the potatoes were fluffy, and nobody asked me to eat black eyed peas or okra. The place itself is decorated like an old, Southern bordello, complete with draped scarves, a piano player and old fashioned chandeliers, tables and porch swings. Years ago, The King ate at Jezebel’s now defunct sister restaurant, Georgia, in Los Angeles. That menu was pretty much the same thing–packed with high cholesterol, highly caloric grub. It’s actually been a few years since we’ve been here, and rumor has it that the service has gone down the tubes, but Denzel and Bill Duke looked satisfied with their evening when we were there (although, as part owners, I’m sure they were smiling at the fact people were shelling out some serious cash for food that used to be considered the furthest thing from gourmet.) [MF]
630 9th Ave.
212/582-1045