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Phantom Gourmet: Ferry Street Food & Drink In Malden

MALDEN - It seems that a little southern charm has found its way to Malden, Massachusetts. Texas natives Jason and Shannon Ladd are bringing friendly hospitality and delicious southern style cooking to Ferry Street Food and Drink.

"We try to give a big hearty hello to everyone who walks in the door, as soon as they step foot on the front tiles," Jason said. "We were taught 'Yes ma'am. Yes sir. No ma'am. No sir,' and just a general cordialness towards people."

This place truly is a family affair. On most nights, you'll find Shannon up front working the room to make sure everyone is comfortable. Jason's brother John will be mixing up creative craft cocktails to the active bar, while Jason himself tends to a steady stream of tickets back in the rather cramped kitchen.

"It's tiny, but it's manageable," he said. "It's actually almost beneficial because being the only one back here, everything is within an arm's reach, so I don't have to travel too far. It's efficient."

The small kitchen kicks out all of Jason's favorite dishes from growing up.

"I like to cook the foods that I like to eat, so there are a lot of menu items that reflect a certain nostalgia for me; items that were on my dinner table when I grew up, so I try to bring that into my restaurant offerings as well."

So there are southern staples throughout the menu like Gulf Shrimp and Grits, spicy Jambalaya spiked with Andouille sausage and Cajun spiced chicken, and Fried Chicken just like Jason's mom used to make.

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Fried Chicken at Ferry Street Food & Drink in Malden. (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

"That was regularly on our dinner table. That was one of the few things that my mom could make, so there's a special place in my heart for it.

"It's very crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside," he described. "Big pile of mashed potatoes with bacon cream gravy, collard greens, and we serve it with some sliced white bread with more of that cream gravy on top, which is how I used to eat it."

For a southern twist on Italian food, order some of Ferry Street's BBQ Pork Meatballs.

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Barbecue Pork Meatballs at Ferry Street Food & Drink in Malden. (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

"It's a Texas spin on an Italian classic - meatballs. It's always on the menu and it's one of our most popular items," Jason said. "It's pork meatballs with Texas style BBQ over cheddar cheese grits, topped with cheddar cheese. You get a sweet spicy barbecue that's kind of balanced out with the creamy pecan cheddar grits."

The Ferry Street menu offers a small bites section, so you can belly up to the bar for one of their 16 carefully selected draft beers while you grab a snack like Deviled Eggs spiked with chunks of crispy bacon, or house made chips topped with blue cheese gravy.

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Chips topped with blue cheese gravy at Ferry Street Food & Drink in Malden. (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

"Our house cut potato chips are russet potatoes deep fried, so it is like a thicker kettle style chip, and drenched with Maytag blue cheese gravy, topped with scallions, so you get that crispy salty, piquant bleu cheese," Jason explained. "It makes you want to drink another beer."

For something more substantial, Ferry Street offers a lineup of creative entrees like Steak Frites served with thick cut sweet potato wedges, and house made Linguine tossed with braised pork, roasted butternut squash and sage. While most restaurants offer a burger, it's tough to stack up against the one they serve on Ferry Street.

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The burger at Ferry Street Food & Drink in Malden. (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

"The burger is far and away our biggest seller. I guess people love burgers," Jason noted. "We obviously make our own patties using fresh ground beef. Make our own buns, house made pickles, hand cut fries. It just kind of goes into our general food philosophy of making things well. Well executed, done right, cooked right and we change up the toppings so you can always get something different."

For a dessert that's deliciously different, order one of Ferry Street's signature Samoa Cheesecakes.

"It's a New York style cheese cake, so instead of using graham crackers, we use the Samoa cookies as the crust. We top it with a creamy coconut topping drizzled with chocolate, so it kind of looks like a Samoa and then we top it with an actual Samoa," described Jason.

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Samoa Cheesecake at Ferry Street Food & Drink in Malden. (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

If peanut butter and jelly is more your thing, you can cap off your meal with the Warm PB&J Cookie Skillet.

"It's like a PB&J in cookie form. The cookie skillet comes right out of the oven topped with a generous dollop of our house made ice cream, and you get the warm preserves on top which kind of helps melt everything. It's a little slice of heaven."

With appetizers all under ten bucks and many entrees in the teens, you'll find the bill heavenly.

You can find Ferry Street at 118 Ferry Street in Malden and online at ferrystreetmalden.com.

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.

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