FIELDTRIP

At Bankside, JJ Johnson Breaks Out of the Bowl With Southern Fast-Casual | Eater NY

"At Fieldtrip the slogan "Rice Is Culture" sets the tone: rice forms the base of almost every dish and the chain, launched in Harlem in 2019, pushes bowls beyond typical fast-casual fare; among the handful of items I tried at the Harlem and Rock Center locations the crab pockets stood out for using real crab (lots of it) with a Boursin-like filling, and starters included fried yucca chips dappled with sesame and quinoa falafel. Of the bowls, shrimp with coconut rice grits was the most striking — the grits were addictive — while a braised Angus beef bowl was a tour-de-force with richly textured meat, Texas-grown brown rice, and perfectly seasoned homestyle black beans; the jerk meatball bowl fell short, leaning too much on a salty Worcestershire-like tang instead of allspice, and my favorite bowl was boneless roast chicken thighs on bright, fragrant jollof rice with wok-cooked greens and pickled purple onions providing lively contrast." - Robert Sietsema