Kale and bone broth have their place. But what many of us need right now is carbs. Light, airy buttermilk biscuits, fried chicken wrapped in a waffle, deep-fried mac-and-cheese balls…. Do we have your attention?
Butter “UR” Biscuit offers all those things and more, arriving at just the right moment on the North Shore. While owners Julissa and Dwayne Walker rose to popularity with their food truck, which has become a favorite over the past year at area breweries, their first brick-and-mortar location in Beverly opened in October, offering another way to access their special brand of handcrafted Latin Soul cuisine.
With the luxury of designing a restaurant to suit the times, Butter “UR” Biscuit skews strongly toward take-out, with just a few seats inside. But if the strong experience at the food truck is any indication, everything they make travels beautifully.
Take the Chicken & Waffle—Julissa came up with the recipe for a student cooking competition at the Institute for Culinary Education in New York City, where she got her degree. The waffle—her own recipe—somehow manages to stay crisp and light while also folding around the chicken like a pita. Topped with a house-made coleslaw and roasted corn relish, with the most subtle sweetness from a touch of real maple syrup, it deserves a place in the comfort food hall of fame. It would be easy to eat with one hand while walking around a fall fair—which was the original concept—but it’s just as lovely sitting outside at a beer garden or at home on the couch watching football.
While it’s unusual for a food truck, every part of that dish is made from scratch. It starts with raw chicken soaked in buttermilk and seasonings for 48 hours. Then, when an order is placed, the chicken is battered, breaded, and fried to order. The waffle is made from scratch as well, griddled to order, and the slaw and corn relish are made on the truck, too.
Even their popular fried macaroni & cheese balls are a three-day process. Starting with a roux, the base pasta and cheese is mixed up and cooled on day one, on day two the balls are formed and frozen, and then on day three, the balls are breaded and frozen again to ensure the perfect consistency when they are dropped into the fryer.
Those mac and cheese balls, served with a side of horseradish aioli, are a food truck exclusive, but the storefront will have baked mac and cheese, along with take-and-bake empañadas and an array of biscuits made by a full-time salaried pastry chef. Emily Mitchell won the position when she showed up with home-baked biscuits to her interview and the Walkers were hooked.
Mitchell is not the only salaried employee—in a unique arrangement for a food truck and now a quick-serve restaurant, every worker at Butter “UR” Biscuit is on salary, with health benefits, commission, and even an IRA. Dwayne says the reason is simple—it was important that employees feel like they have a stake in the business, especially since the Walkers hope this location will be the first of many. While they are not ready to reveal any specific plans as yet, they hope to start with two more branches on the North Shore in the near future.
Meantime, you can visit them in Beverly or track down the food truck around the North Shore. Just be aware—when those fried macaroni & cheese balls are gone, they are gone.
For more information, visit butterurbiscuit.com. For food truck locations, follow them on social media @ButterURBiscuit.