Chef Stephen Jones stuns and delights with the latest, tasting-menu-driven incarnation of his beloved Southern eatery.
by Nikki Buchanan | Photography by Grace Stufkosky
They say the third time’s a charm, and if a recent fantastic meal at the larder & the delta is any indication, the idiom certainly holds true for chef Stephen Jones. This past September, the California native opened his third and most polished iteration of the Southern cooking restaurant he founded as a fast-casual in DeSoto Central Market in 2015, later upgrading the concept when he moved to a cheery, diner-like space at Portland on the Park, which he operated from 2018 to 2023.
Now, Jones presides over the cozy Midtown bungalow formerly occupied by Binkley’s Restaurant – hallowed ground indeed for Valley food fans. Its garden, fireplace-furnished patio, open kitchen and refreshed country-chic décor provide an intimate backdrop for a jaw-dropping parade of dishes that artfully argue Jones’s premise: Southern cooking – a rich and diverse cuisine bearing influences from Native Americans, Europeans and West Africans – deserves a prominent place at the regional American table.
His 12-course tasting menu, strongly seasonal and subject to a thorough overhaul every three months, is priced at $155 per person, with optional wine pairings ($125), advanced wine pairings ($225), and add-ons such as Wagyu and foie gras ($65-$100). Portions are diminutive, and gorgeously composed presentations are served on disparate but beautiful dinnerware (inherited from Kevin Binkley) by servers (also inherited from Binkley) whose graciousness is deeply ingrained. A few of the dishes on the tasting menu show up à la carte at the bar, and Sunday brunch (intermittent for now) is another more affordable option.
Lucky for us, Jones is not content merely to reconstruct classic Southern dishes; he reinvents them, introducing global ingredients while drawing on an arsenal of cooking techniques ranging from time-honored to trendy.
A late-summer menu featuring okra, beets, pickled watermelon and gelatinous pork trotters has given ground to a holiday menu featuring winter vegetables and richer, more complex proteins. It runs through January and begins with a handful of light bites such as Jamaican coco bread – pure white buns sweetened with coconut milk and steamed instead of baked. Pillowy and bao-like, they’re offered with smoky, intense roasted carrot butter and salty country ham butter. I could down them by the dozen.
A rub of coffee and brown sugar adds depth and complexity to lightly seared hamachi crudo, dotted with pineapple and fresh serrano slivers, which bring sweetness and heat. Although it doesn’t scream “Southern,” I’m betting many a Southerner has applied just such a rub to meat. Meanwhile, a savory tart, filled with peppered feta, is topped with killed lettuces, a traditional Appalachian dish of greens wilted with bacon grease. Jones pours bacon vinaigrette over peppery mustard greens and bitter collards for a lighter rendition.
In Jones’s hands, down-home biscuits and ham become a playful mini course built upon a tiny drop biscuit, smeared with burnt apple purée, then layered with Tennessee country ham and sage leaf and perched on a dainty pedestal.
The canelé – a cylinder-shaped French dessert (custardy inside, crunchy outside) – is reimagined here as a tangy, salty appetizer, perfectly rendered with crème fraîche and Royal Ossetra caviar set in black plum sauce for a touch of sweetness. It’s out there, and I love it.
Jones beat Bobby Flay with his Hoppin’ John recipe (a Low Country dish of black-eyed peas, rice and pork), and it’s easy to see why. Reminiscent of Korean bibimbap, his version brings satisfying crunch to a dish that’s traditionally a bit soupy. Jones uses Sea Island red peas (cowpeas from Africa) and nutty Carolina Gold rice (famous for its fluffy grains, which remain separate when cooked) – heirloom ingredients that demonstrate his respect for culinary history.
The next course glorifies the humble turnip, roasted in brown butter, then set in turnip-green salsa along with pickled garlic chives and crispy chicken skins. Never has a turnip been more fancy or flavorful.
Next up, a live diver scallop – massive, firm, supremely sweet and basically raw – is just plain brilliant. Its crispy seared top has been smeared with chunky XO sauce (a spicy seafood-based specialty originating in Hong Kong) that Jones makes in-house, adding country ham for a salty Southern touch. It’s a spicy, sweet, salty knockout.
I’m just as wowed by swordfish cleverly prepared to look and taste like country ham, a six-week-long process that involves dry-brining, wet-brining, curing and smoking. Set in a puddle of red-eye gravy (made with country ham and coffee), its top strewn with raw matsutake mushroom and preserved pineapple, the fish tastes exactly like salty, smoky, funky country ham, an acquired taste (for some) that’s well worth acquiring.
Sticky smothered oxtails, tucked beneath a silken parsnip purée and strewn with shaves of crisp-fried parsnip, borders on the opulent, sweetened with Cheerwine (a cherry-flavored soda created in North Carolina) and given the zing of pickled mulberries, harvested from the Binkleys’ nearby backyard. How’s that for local?
The evening winds down with soothing rum-based hot toddies, aromatic with spices, and sugar-dusted pâte de fruits (France’s elegant precursor to gummy bears). A final, fabulous dessert trio of rich chocolate crémeux, calas (Creole rice-based fritters) and terrific key lime pie, sprinkled with burnt ginger and coconut, confirms what I’d figured out an hour earlier: Jones is at the top of his game, and the larder & the delta offers an incredible dining experience for a comparatively modest price.
Go with an open mind and prepare to have it blown.
the larder & the delta
Cuisine: Modern Southern
Contact: 2320 E. Osborn Rd., Phoenix, 602-388-4874, thelarderthedelta.com
Hours: W-Sa 6-10 p.m.
Bar Menu Highlights: Hamachi crudo ($24); killed lettuces ($17); Hoppin’ John ($18)
