The Chain Restaurant With The Best Grilled Artichokes Around, According To Reviews

For many folks, appetizers follow a familiar script. You have nachos, of course, fried chicken selections like Chili's discontinued original Chicken Crispers, or shrimp cocktail, which Ina Garten roasts for extra flavor. A much less common app that nonetheless sounds absolutely delicious is grilled artichokes. Come to find out, there's a chain restaurant with locations in 16 states that dishes up this starter and does so with aplomb.

J. Alexander's is an eatery that falls neatly between casual dining and upscale, with steaks in the ballpark of $50 apiece and $20 salads. You may have peeped the "fire-grilled artichokes" on its menu and wondered how they tasted. Let us assure you that, if internet reviews are anything to go by, these are totally yummy.

"For starters, we had the Fire Roasted Artichokes. I've never seen or had artichokes like this. I'll spare the 'spoiler,' but you have got to try it. It was absolutely delicious!" gushes one Tripadvisor review of the Chattanooga location. "Best Roasted Artichokes around," raved another. A Facebook customer claimed, "Still the best grilled artichokes anywhere!" Meanwhile, another Facebook user who visited J. Alexander's for their wedding anniversary couldn't say enough about the artichokes: "They were very good and delicious, but what we found most interesting is just how different of a dish they are. Something truly unique."

Your most frequent exposure to artichokes at restaurants might be in spinach-artichoke dip (speaking of common appetizers!), but the humble, spiky artichoke is plenty worthy all by itself when prepared with love. Frank Sinatra loved stuffed artichokes, an old-school Italian meal, for instance. But while the 'chokes that made Ol' Blue Eyes sing were stuffed with cheese and breadcrumbs, among other ingredients, fire-grilled artichokes like the ones served at J. Alexander's are much simpler. They are roasted to make the petals tender and crispy and served with a luscious remoulade for dipping, almost like a greener, more refined blooming onion.

Artichokes are a quintessentially Italian ingredient, being native to the Mediterranean region of the world. Nowadays, however, most of the artichokes consumed in America are grown in California. It's appropriate that a contemporary American restaurant like J. Alexander's serves up a dish that grows so well within the country, especially when that veggie is particularly delightful and versatile. We don't have the exact recipe for J. Alexander's fire-roasted artichokes, but it's safe to say that it starts by trimming and prepping the artichokes, rubbing them down with oil or butter and seasonings, and sticking them in a screaming-hot oven to crisp up. It would be easy enough to duplicate at home, undoubtedly, but next time you have a special occasion — provided you live in a state that has a location — why not make a reservation at J. Alexander's and let it do the work for you?