SMOKE, HEAT, AND MEAT — SOUTHERN JUNCTION BBQ FOR BUFFALO SPREE
SMOKE, HEAT, AND MEAT — SOUTHERN JUNCTION BBQ FOR BUFFALO SPREE
The only South Indian Texas BBQ joint in America is just a few blocks from my house — and I love it.
This is my second editorial assignment covering the amazingly delicious food that Ryan Fernandez and the team at Southern Junction BBQ are serving up to customers. The first time around, I was creating portraits of him and Christian Stevenson (aka DJ BBQ) for the Scottish Whisky brand Ardbeg's Bizarre-BQ World Tour web series. This time, I was on a more locally-focused mission to create images of Ryan and his unique BBQ style for a feature in Buffalo Spree Magazine.
Ryan's style of BBQ was a total revelation to me the first time I tasted it — a mix of Texas-style smoking techniques meets the South Indian flavors of his childhood in Kerala that instantly appealed to my adoration of both types of cuisine. You'll find classic items like brisket and pulled pork on his menu, alongside biryani and a smokey chicken tikka. A lot of already interesting dishes are reimagined at Southern Junction with an Indian spin, like BBQ Tacos, but the tortilla is replaced with a flaky paratha. As a final note, I have to mention the cardamom cornbread — it has become my four-year-old son's absolute favorite food in the world. He asks me to go to Ryan's almost every weekend just to buy a piece, It's kinda like a little father-son ritual we have now.
Though Western New York is not generally thought of as a barbecue mecca by any stretch of the imagination, Ryan has created a travel-worthy destination for fans of both BBQ and Indian food. Buffalo's growing profile as one of the region's best food cities has paved the way for several incredible restaurants to open over the past few years — and these spots have been receiving some much-deserved recognition. One of my favorite Burmese restaurants, Rakhapura, recently received a huge shoutout from Alton Brown, and Southern Junction has been featured on Vice's Munchies and the aforementioned episode of Bizarre-BQ world tour with DJ BBQ. It's really cool to see these up-and-coming restaurants being recognized for their work not just in the local dining scene but by national outlets and tastemakers.
