Julep Southern Kitchen & Bar | 2207 Forest Drive, Annapolis | 410-571-3923 | julepannapolis.com
I’m a huge fan of dining alfresco as much of the year as possible and, amen, we needed true comfort food, more than ever during Covid-19. It was a luxury to still be eating meals from area restaurants in the new order of the pandemic. So we got creative, ordering takeout and dining alfresco at a private riverside spot, making this a unique first-time carryout review for the relatively new, yet extremely popular, Julep Southern Kitchen. And what better cuisine is there for the outdoors than Southern fare and barbecue? Julep has perfected the art of carryout while dining-in remained on hiatus, complete with a tidy little bag of carryout essentials like plenty of napkins, utensils, and towelettes.
Bob Krohn, creator of Julep, is skilled at running a multifaceted food business—eat-in, patio, and takeaway—and he’s extremely proficient at barbecue. So it’s our luck that the menus are based on foods smoked over carefully chosen hardwood. He first honed these skills at his lively barbecue Hideaway in Odenton.
Julep became a quick success when it opened in December 2019 in the former Bertucci’s location in Parole. I chatted with Krohn after the review but before the restaurant’s patio was allowed to open for outdoor dining according to state mandates. A restaurateur’s task on reopening is extremely complex with a very new protocol on separation and sanitation to meet federal guidelines. He expressed his biggest concern though, “If we can remain open and pay our people…that matters more to me than anything else.”
The spacious dining room with open display cooking has many of the same features as the old building, but when you enter, you can’t help but be impressed with a lengthy bar where the many featured drinks can shine.
To the left of the bar is a cozier dining area with special touches: newly stained repurposed pallet wood to create a homey side wall, lots of wood, stylized Edison double helix light fixtures, banquettes, and cozy four-top tables.
We found a lot of well-prepared satisfying comfort food choices for our picnic: savory smoked meats and all the sides, and several with new twists, like Twice Fried Crabby Fries and Southern Eggrolls (with blackeyed peas). Plus Southern favorites like hush puppies, cornbread, and “pillowy buttery” biscuits. There’s also a fabulous Beet Salad (more in a moment) and from-scratch, house-made desserts you don’t see often. Plus, carryout drinks in sweet-looking, lidded Ball jars.
Where to begin? With a Mint Julep of course. Especially from a place with about 50 kinds of bourbon on the menu! This was a generous pour of better-than-decent 1792 Small Batch, thoughtfully provided in a separate glass jar from a second one of shaved ice and oh-so-fragrant mint, fresh enough to have been picked minutes before.
We collaborated on our orders and settled on the Beet Salad and a delightful rendition of Fried Green Tomatoes and Shrimp. For the salad, ruby purple, golden beet, and avocado cubes blanketed Arcadian greens textured with candied pecan pieces. A white balsamic vinaigrette is served on the side. For the Southern classic, three large green tomato slices with a cornmeal crust still crisp after we unwrapped it—a feat for carryout, so likely even better when dining in. But wait: three darlin’ large and very fresh-tasting fried shrimp were skewered on top. Also crunchy with a light batter (no frozen breaded shrimp this one)., and accompanied by a very garlic-y remoulade.
Next, our mains. Blackberry Chipotle Sauced Chicken Thighs piqued my interest as in: gotta try it! Three blackberry garnished bone-in (for extra flavor) thighs glistened with more of a thick glaze then a sauce. The forward fruitiness was balanced with a mild heat finish. For one of my sides, I chose collards because of the deep earthy richness. These collards were tender and pepped up with a few shreds of smoked chicken instead of the standard bacon or fatback. I also ordered Julep’s famous Brussels sprouts (a premium side with $1.25 upcharge). What an abundant pile of browned Brussels sprout halves, all topped with bacon, goat cheese sprinkles, and candied pecans.
Never one to pass up a slab of meaty St. Louis-style ribs, my friend chose the half rack. It was the perfect size for one hungry person (too bad, as I begged for two of the ribs to try.) The lean ribs tasted of a masterful dry rub of spices with just the right pecan wood smoke note after its slow 12 hours of cooking. Two delicious sauces to slather on were both winners: one a hot spicy traditional barbecue, the other milder and more honey-based. Because there are multiple house-made sides to choose from, we compared notes on the choice of two for the ribs: coleslaw and red potato salad, although we thought about the baked mac and cheese.
The slaw was a creamy crunchy winner with a bit of pineapple, which sets it apart from the same old, same old. The potato salad also hit the mark. Baby reds still young and sweet, perfectly cooked and properly infused with a nicely dilled dressing. Altogether, the ultimate rib platter.
Desserts! I won’t pretend that we really had room even to share one dessert. Nonetheless, we ordered two just because they proved to be irresistible! The Hummingbird Cake with Benne Tuile and a scoop of rich pineapple sorghum sorbet was amazing—a dense banana-pineapple spice cake, rich with walnuts, carrying thick layers of cream cheese icing. The heavy duty cake sat atop a pool of passionfruit coulis while a wafer-thin benne (southern speak for sesame seed) tuile crowned the cake as a garnish.
When questioning Krohn after the review, I learned he has an excellent pastry chef who focuses only on desserts, which are frequently sold by the full cake. Although a seasonal choice that likely won’t be available by the time you read this, the strawberry rhubarb crisp gave testimony to a dessert commitment here. The aroma really was like fresh-picked berries. And the crunchy oatmeal crisp topping was great, not so overly sweet as such toppings can be. The portion was huge, too, so it made a nice doggy bag for a novel breakfast.
