Buttermilk, the newest stall at St. Roch Market, opened on March 1. The food stand, run by Chef Shannon Bingham, serves tasty fried and grilled chicken sandwiches, chicken fingers, biscuits, salads, and snacks in the spot that was previously Emmy Lou’s BBQ, also owned by Bingham.

Bingham was born and raised in New Orleans and has been cooking professionally for more than a decade. After working in fine dining at Cochon and Gautreau’s, he decided to switch gears and focus on more casual dining. He helped open Blue Oak BBQ six years ago and worked as the restaurant’s pitmaster and chef de cuisine. He found success there and put Blue Oak on the barbecue map. He raked in the accolades, including three top five finishes at Hogs for the Cause and earning the Grand Champion prize in 2017.

He opened his own spot, Emmy Lou’s BBQ, at St. Roch Market in January 2020. After being closed for months due to the pandemic, he decided to rebrand as Buttermilk when he saw that his fried chicken was beginning to outsell his barbecue.

“People seemed to really like the fried chicken, so we wanted to focus on that,” he said. “We seemed to have found our niche and figured out what people like.”

Bingham said St. Roch Market is a good place for entrepreneurs to cut their teeth and learn the ropes of how to run a restaurant.

“St. Roch Market has been a new experience. It’s a great opportunity as a new business owner. The entire concept and the people involved are all very supportive of what business owners want to do.”

In the future, as things start to settle back into some sort of normalcy, Bingham hopes that his quick-service fried chicken will be appealing for tailgates, parades and parties.

“As someone born and raised in New Orleans, I know how important those things are,” he said. “I’m looking forward to when we can get back to that.”

When I visited, I was immediately curious about the menu’s Hot Chicken sandwich, topped with lettuce, pickles and ranch dressing. Bingham assured me that it wasn’t too hot, and that Buttermilk was aiming for a sandwich that was flavorful rather than being overly spicy for no reason. The sandwich did not disappoint. The spice was perfect, and I like that the heat was in the batter on the meat, rather than just a spread layered on the sandwich. The cut of chicken was generous, juicy, and packed with flavor.

I was also able to try one of Buttermilk’s biscuits, served with a pimento spread. It was outstanding! I’m not sure if you would get this as a typical side addition to the sandwich, but the biscuits here are definitely worth checking out, with their flaky, crusty outside and soft inside.

If you’re a fan of barbecue, don’t worry. Emmy Lou’s is still popping up all over town, so you can get your saucy fix. In the meantime, Buttermilk will be holding its own at St. Roch Market, to satisfy your fried (and yes, grilled!) chicken cravings.

Buttermilk: 2381 Saint Claude Ave., (504) 267-0388.

Hours: Sunday to Wednesday, 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday 9 a.m. until 10 p.m.