Local Chef Tiffany Derry opened her much anticipated Southern Food Restaurant concept in Farmers Branch, TX last week… and Southern Food is taking it to the next level!

Roots Southern Kitchen is inspired by Derry’s upbringing on the family farm to the south. For Derry, her family’s cooking style was to eat with the seasons, can and store freshly picked fruits and vegetables, and never waste anything.

“I wanted the menu to talk about this ever-changing evolution of the origin and direction of Southern food,” says Derry. “People always say, you know, ‘Oh, fried chicken or mac and cheese! When they talk about southern food. Why classify the South by specific dishes? We don’t do that with Italian. We don’t do this with lunch food. But the cuisine of the South? It’s like it doesn’t fit into a category, it’s no fun. So I really want this concept to be something different.

(We spoke in detail with Tiffany about her inspirational story in 2016. Read here!)

The minimalist design of Roots Southern Table is sober and welcoming. The open kitchen, stylish bar and botanical flowers create a relaxed and welcoming experience, with a gourmet touch to its Southern cuisine offerings.

And later this summer, a large outdoor patio will be added for outdoor dining.

What you gotta try

We’ve got you covered for every Roots Southern Table course, but don’t just take our word for it! You have to experience this upscale variant of Southern cuisine for yourself.

But if you need some help getting started, here’s what we recommend for beginners:

• Tiffany’s mom gumbo with Chicken, Zummo Sausage, Louisiana Shrimp, TexJoy Lime and Herbed Rice.
• Cast iron cornbread topped with Steen’s syrup, salted smoked butter and jam.
• Hummus with black peas with a crispy pea fritter, XO chili sauce and pea sprouts.
• Spring Pea Salad with burrata, lemon confit, radish and bacon confit.

(Watch Chef Tiffany make the Spring Pea Salad!)

Overwhelmed by your main course ‘dinner’ menu? We don’t blame you. For the main dishes, here are our choices:

• Ravioli with crayfish with crayfish tails, Zummo sausage, corn and herbs.
• Pork Osso Bucco with Texas tamale, West African peanut sauce and mustard green salad.
• Famous Tiffany Duck Fat Fried Chicken served in a family style with cookies, canned watermelon zest and homemade sauces.

And of course, for your enjoyment while sipping, the cocktails that we obsess over:

• The Kingfish, a take on an old classic square with house infused plum rye whiskey, brandy, sweet vermouth and lemon bitters.
• The beginner with homemade Orangecello, Lillet Blanc, prosecco and fresh seasonal herbs.
• The Kool-Aid cocktail with vodka, hibiscus tea, strawberry, dry curacao, lemon and crushed sugar cane.
• the Laveau, with Bacardi peach infused rum, Luxardo maraschino, grapefruit and a bubble of smoke that makes this decadent drink as fun to watch as it is to sip!

(Look at the magical creation of Laveau!)

This experience will undoubtedly broaden your horizons in Southern cuisine. Derry has seen this happen with its customers before.

“We had a lady the other day who said she liked and understood all the items on the menu and loved a good Southern meal,” said Derry. “But when she got the food, it was wonderful; and when she ate it, it was so different from the southern food she was thinking about. It made her so happy to discover the South this way. And I was like, ‘She got it!’ “

Where you gotta go

Southern Roots Table is located at 13050 Bee Street, Suite 160, Farmers Branch, TX 75234.

Visit the Roots Southern Table website for more details and follow Roots on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.