Most people assume all Southerners like their music Skynyrd, their cars NAS, and their Buds tall and boyish. Exposing you to elevated Southern culture: Big Jones.

A classily stripped-down space piping pre-'73 soul tunes, Big's focus is gourmet fare from two distinct traditions: Charleston, SC, and New Orleans. In addition to fish & shellfish flown in 4x weekly from the Gulf, other ingredients are pulled in from the best possible sources, from Gunthorp Farms to Tallgrass -- where the beef eats only grass, and the men eat only beef. Everything comes together in deliciousness like Eggs Alexander (w/ creole ratatouille & Johnny corn cakes), crab & wild mushroom pie, and chicken-, andouille-, and gator-sausage Gumbo Ya Ya (secret ingredient = sisters).

Southern drinking's repped by two signature sazeracs (the Charleston version and the absinthe-abetted original). Big's also doing afternoon tea service, with iced-tea carafes accompanied by five simple syrup sweeteners: regular, cane, pom, ginger, and passion fruit -- clearly, this is a more refined South, or the mere mention of this would get you hate crimed.

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Check out the menus at BigJonesChicago.com