Southern Comfort

The best country cooking is usually found off the beaten path. The Mason Jar by Fatboys, which recently opened on Ashley River Road between the Bees Ferry and Magwood intersections, possesses the deep local roots to be just such a place.
The Mason Jar was created by Lowcountry natives Charles Lee and Laura Black. Lee grew up in the food business, from an early age he helped his mother Peggy, a catering entrepreneur and the kitchen manager of the Country Club of Orangeburg. Lee has run his own catering business, Fatboys Lowcountry Cooking, for more than a decade. He has also been a go-to oyster roaster year after year for events like Pet Helpers’ Shuck Your Paws Off and the Lowcountry Hoedown. In addition, Lee owns Fatboys Boiled Peanuts, a food truck regularly parked next to Crosby’s Fish and Seafood on Folly Road.
Black studied corporate communications at the College of Charleston. She worked at catering events and in property management on Kiawah before deciding she wanted to be a food business entrepreneur full-time.
She thought hard about the perfect name when it all suddenly clicked. It doesn’t get more quintessentially Southern than a mason jar. It embodies the hearty, down home Southern plates that pair perfectly with an ice-cold glass of sweet tea or lemonade.
They bought their space this past December and revamped it with a lot of personal touches. The walls are covered in colorful bird and branch prints, there are tall wood booths and four-seat dinner tables with arrangements in mason jars for centerpieces. Black is proudest of an authentic 1950s glass-walled counter that houses individually wrapped brownies, T-shirts, koozies, and mason jar sipping mugs for sale.
Back in the kitchen, classic recipes are expertly handcrafted by local folks using local ingredients. Right now the bestselling starters are fried dill pickles and fried green tomatoes; other starters are smothered fries, okra fritters, crab cakes, and dips like crab and pimiento, and of course, regular and cajun boiled peanuts.
The hottest selling entrees are buttermilk fried chicken and the fried green tomato and bacon burger. Other entrees include a barbecue platter, a hamburger steak dinner, and a seafood platter. Hotdogs can be served wrapped in bacon and topped with pulled pork and slaw. There’s also a chili cheese dog and a gourmet dog, topped with classic ingredients. The Mason Jar offers a fried bologna sandwich, a ham and turkey sandwich, and a BLT.
Seafood items are also among the hottest sellers, include the crabby burger and fish and chips platter. Other sandwiches, available on a wrap or a variety of breads, include fried chicken, shrimp po’ boy, a fish po’ boy, and shredded pork barbecue. Salads include chef, house, and a Cobb salad with the option to include shrimp or chicken.
Regular sides are fries, onion rings, coleslaw, side house salad, potato salad, and a daily special side that is always something new.
There is also a kids’ menu offering a shrimp or fish plate, chicken tenders, hot dogs, or a grilled cheese sandwich. Desserts are served daily and change frequently.
Daily blue plate specials have included soft shell crab, fried oysters, pork chops, and meatloaf. Barbecue buffet nights are every Thursday and seafood buffet night is every other Friday. The Sunday buffet is breakfast served all day starting at 8 a.m.
All fish and meat are hand breaded in-house and all condiments are made in-house. Crosby’s seafood supplies the bulk of the fish on the menu. Cod and flounder are the only two that come from out-of-state.
Drinks include fountain sodas, iced tea, bottled drinks from the cooler, and juice drinks for kids. Beer, wine and champagne will be available very soon. They also serve takeout, and cater corporate events, business lunches, and picnics.
The Mason Jar also offers items people might not have tried before. “Our homemade pork skins with dip is a good mix,” says Black. “People who have tried them really like them.”
While she and Lee have made a tremendous effort to create authentic country cooking they remember, they want a restaurant that runs the gamut of Southern food and appeals to a lot of palates. Black says she is taking requests for dishes people grew up with, but haven’t had in a while.
The Mason Jar by Fatboys is open Wednesday–Friday, 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m.–9 p.m., and Sunday 8 a.m.–3 p.m. It is located at 2487 Ashley River Road. For more information, call 203-3290 or find them on Facebook or visit www.themasonjarbyfatboys.com.