Southern Roots

Located at 119 East Main Street in Jamestown, Southern Roots serves Southern-inspired cuisine for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Friday and dinner on Saturday. There is a full bar, a patio for outdoor seating, and catering is available.

Thanks to its proximity to both work and home, its local ownership and use of locally inspired ingredients, and its tantalizing menu, Southern Roots had occupied a spot on my to-try list for quite some time. I finally got my chance today, and while it was an uneven experience, I am glad that I did.

Nestled in downtown (if one can call it that) Jamestown across from the post office, Southern Roots is a fairly attractive space inside and out. It features an inviting patio, an elegant long bar, and plenty of wall art though the palette is very muted.

My wife and I arrived for lunch to celebrate our anniversary just after noon and had our pick of inside or outside seating. We opted for the former, which ended up being a mistake as we found ourselves in close proximity to two large groups. This made for a louder meal with slower service than anticipated, and one can hope that is the exception rather than the norm here.

Southern Roots offers an appealing menu full of local and regional specialties and a few surprises. Fried green tomatoes, pulled pork, and country steak mingle alongside artisanal pizzas (okra with caramelized onions, anyone?), sandwiches, salads, and more. Quinoas and quiches rotate daily, and one can cobble together a vegetarian plate from any four of the dozen-plus sides.

My wife and I split the fried green tomatoes (one of our go-to dishes) and went with the Cobb wrap (guac, house-smoked turkey, bacon, tomato, greens, and blue cheese) and seafood risotto (scallops, shrimp, crab, portabellas, and a parmesan cream sauce) respectively. The tomatoes were crispy and very nicely battered, but the dish could have used some more spiciness/smokiness (more pimento, perhaps?) to balance the potent sweetness of the accompanying applewood bacon jam. A similar theme could be found in the Cobb wrap. The turkey was great (as were the accompanying sweet potato fries), but there weren’t enough vegetables to counter the pungent strength of the blue cheese. The risotto, on the other hand, was magical. Scallops were perfectly seared yet not the least bit tough, shrimp were generously sized, portabella slivers fit in well, and the whole thing was cheesy, creamy perfection.

While a pricy dinner option, Southern Roots made for a more affordable than expected lunch. Our app was $8, the wrap was $9 (with one side included), and the seafood risotto was $16. Our server was apologetic regarding delays and acquitted himself well otherwise.

All told, while Lucky 32 remains my favorite for upscale Southern, I would still give Southern Roots another try. It would be worth it to learn if this place is ever not busy and if anything on the menu touches the quality of the risotto.