Behind the Menu | Biscuits, fried chicken and gravy take flight at Boxwood
Boxwood Biscuit Co. entered the Short North dining scene a couple of months ago with a homestyle breakfast-and-lunch menu with multiple embellishments from veteran local chef Tyler Minnis, co-owner of the operation.
“We do have some underlying creative twists to the menu,” Minnis said.
It started out as a pop-up inside Law Bird, a wine and cocktail bar in the Brewery District. Minnis and Luke and Annie Williams Pierce, owners of Law Bird and partners in Boxwood Biscuit Co., decided to make the concept permanent.
Broken down, the menu keys in on three items — biscuits, fried chicken and gravy — and each was developed with suitable scrutiny and care by Minnis.
Good-old trial and error led to the classic buttermilk biscuits ($2 each).
“I did quite a few different recipes and testing,” he said. “Biscuits are finicky, for sure. It was a learning process at the beginning. I think we nailed it.”
The biscuits are cut thick and have a crusty top and bottom and well-aerated center, which Minnis attributes to the addition of cake flour.
They can be simply enjoyed with a number of spreads ($1), such as hot honey butter, seasonal jam and pimento cheese.
Others might choose to pair two biscuits with one of four gravies ($7.50): pork sausage with miso, vegan pork sausage (oat milk, no butter, coconut oil and sausage spices), coffee-forward red-eye with maple and truffled creamed spinach — “smooth, silky and rich,” Minnis said.
A flight of three gravies with two biscuits ($9.50) also is available.
Biscuits also are used in sandwich form.
One version is the “Patti mayonnaise” ($8), which offers a sausage patty, fancy sauce (“kicked-up mayo”), maple mustard, American cheese and homemade chili garlic crunch (crispy shallots, garlic, chili oil and a number of seasonings). Add an egg for $2.
The chicken is dry-cured, which was done basically out of necessity because of lack of refrigerator space, Minnis said.
Minnis said he uses a Korean wet-batter style, in which the chicken is dunked and fried at a low temperature. When ordered, the chicken is once again coated in the same batter wet better and fried at an even higher temperature.
“That’s how we get our chicken super-duper crunchy,” he said.
Chicken sandwiches are served on potato rolls made by Martin’s Famous Potato Rolls and Bread, although a biscuit substitute is an option.
The “simple Jack” ($10) indeed is uncomplicated: fried chicken, fancy sauce, dill pickles and Sriracha ranch dust.
“It’s a little different," he said, "than your Southern style.”
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At a glance
Where: Boxwood Biscuit Co.
Location: 19 W. Russell St., Short North
Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, closed Mondays
Contact: 614-745-2105, www.boxwoodbiscuitco.com