Road Trip Eats: Maple Street Biscuit Company
Biscuits are near and dear to our heart. Whether they're homemade with butter aplenty at home or we grab a biscuit from a drive-thru outside of Athens, we love biscuits. While we have our opinions on what makes a great biscuit, most are pretty good to us. Give us a flaky, soft, and warm biscuit and we likely won't have many complaints.
But then there are those moments where you order a biscuit and think...is this the one? Will this be the biscuit that changes my life? While seated at your table you eye the waiter bringing said biscuit to your table. Your pulse quickens. It looks as good on the plate as it sounded on the menu. The waiter places it in front of you. It's time. Dive in and decide if this IS in fact the chosen one of biscuits.
The picture above you is "The Squawking Goat" from Maple Street Biscuit Company in Jacksonivlle, FL. While our family isn't unanimous about the following statement, some of us will agree that it was the best biscuit of our life. A flaky biscuit, perfectly fried chicken filet, goat cheese medallion, and house made pepper jelly make this a combo of salty, sweet, creamy, crunchy goodness. These are a few of our favorite things.
Maple Street isn't your typical hole-in-the wall biscuit establishment. The interiors are sleek, bright, modern, and the staff is young. There are multiple locations across the Southeast and one in Chattanooga, TN. It's relatively quick and easy, with a counter to order, self-serve coffee, and waiters that bring your food out. It does have a trendier vibe than "old school" biscuit/breakfast places, but it's much more family-friendly than a fancy brunch spot. It also has gluten-free and vegetarian options. Clearly we didn't go that route.
One of the coolest quirks of Maple Street is what "name" you put down with your order. Every day there is a different question they ask you, and your answer is the order name they call out when it's time for you to pick up your food. These answers range from adorable to slightly inappropriate, but that's all part of the fun.
We also got a biscuit with gravy (to our delight the biscuit was swimming in sausage gravy) and "The Ralphie" which adds a fried egg to the equation. These were also delicious, but the squawking goat was the star of the show. Their menu has some pretty incredible sounding biscuits but our full stomachs outweighed our sense of adventure. Another time, perhaps.
"The Ralphie"
"The Ralphie Deluxe"
As Georgia fans, sometimes Jacksonville can be a disappointing place. But now there's a bright spot in a beacon of football losses and confusing roads. And it's just a 35 minute drive from our favorite vacation spot, Amelia Island. Expect more pictures of Maple Street Biscuit Company on our instagram come summertime and hope that the company's runaway success creeps up into Georgia and more locations around the Southeast. We'll leave with you with a close-up of The Squawking Goat for good measure.
