Authentic jambalaya, gumbo and po boys can now be found in Pleasant Hill.
Southern Comfort Kitchen, a new brick-and-mortar born out of the popular Bay Area food truck, has opened its doors downtown next to Spavia. The 2,100-square-foot restaurant is the second sit-down spot for the family-owned restaurant. The original location is in Castro Valley.
Operated by the Brill brothers, who are originally from New Orleans, this Cajun-inspired restaurant offers dishes like crawfish etouffee, seafood gumbo, barbecue shrimp and grits, chicken and sausage jambalaya, red beans and rice, and a whopping 10 varieties of po’ boy sandwiches, from oyster and catfish to blackened shrimp. Entrees will run you a reasonable $10-$14 while appetizers cost $5-7. Desserts, including housemade carrot cake and bread pudding, are $6.
But it is SoCo Kitchen’s chicken sandwiches that are already garnering attention. They offer not one but three: A charbroiled Blackened Chicken Sandwich ($11), Southern Fried Chicken Sandwich ($11) and Lil’ Wheezy Chicken Sandwich, which is the fried chicken sandwich smothered in housemade hot sauce. All are served on a French bun with vinaigrette slaw, pickles and Old Bay garlic aioli.
