We've lived in the Jackson metro for over ten years, and for some reason Bully's wasn't on my radar. So when that James Beard Foundation award showed up, I thought: "I'm in." Now, I am a product of the Deep South, and I can assure you that I know homestyle Southern cooking. Jackson is rife with plenty of places to indulge, and some are really good.
Enter Bully's. It in a part of town that I don't frequent, and I tracked it with the GPS. I am here to testify that everything I've eaten there is just about the best possible rendition of the dish. Fried chicken? Crispy, moist, perfectly seasoned. Hamburger steak? Gravy, onions, and a portion roughly the size of your head. I tried oxtalis for the first time, which were like the most tender pot roast ever, smothered in gravy. I was glad I took the gamble.Vegetables? Squash, black-eyed peas, okra and tomatoes, mashed potatoes, fried green tomatoes, etc., all as good as they get. Of special note are Mr. Bully's greens - spicy collard greens were the best I've ever had (and I say that knowing that my Mama might come up out of the grave and "get me" for saying that, because her greens were sublime.)
Service? So help me, I've never had better - I genuinely felt like family. Attentive, gracious, warm, all that you could want.
Am I a fan? What do you think? Trust your Uncle Tony on this one. If you have any Southerner in you at all - or you, at least, want to have some of the South's delicacies - here ya go. I'm headed over there again in a couple of hours. I'm addicted.