Jazzy’s Diner

FOOD

Jazzy’s Friday dinner makes fish the unlimited attraction, with two side selections included in the first meal. Fried, grilled and blackened fish are available, and a mixed first plate can pair any two preparations. That’s a welcome bit of freedom for a dish so often treated as a single decision. The name may say fish fry; supper can follow your appetite somewhere else entirely, with the grilled version or blackened seasoning taking the lead.

The fried choice invites the traditional companions: French fries and coleslaw, with tartar or cocktail sauce beside the fish. It’s a familiar combination for good reason, bringing a fried main course together with potatoes and a cooler cabbage side. Onion rings offer another standard side choice when fries feel a little too predictable. There’s something delightfully Friday about a plate that has room for fish and onion rings. A very reasonable use of the end of the week.

Grilled fish opens up a different sort of diner supper. Collard greens and black-eyed peas are both among the side selections, as are baked beans. Those dishes give the plate a Southern accent without needing a second fried component. Blackened fish can head in the same direction, or pair with yellow rice and green beans. The appealing part is how readily the preparations fit the homestyle menu: a change of fish treatment can make the whole dinner feel different.

Macaroni and cheese has an entirely persuasive case for joining the fish, too. Mashed potatoes and potato salad offer two more familiar comforts, each taking the plate in a different direction. That potato salad is especially handy for anyone who likes a cooler accompaniment beside a hot main course. Broccoli, a side salad or sliced tomatoes can keep things simpler. Dinner doesn’t have to become a grand nutritional statement; sometimes the winning argument is merely that macaroni and cheese sounds lovely.

The potato choices go beyond fries and mash. A baked potato with butter and sour cream is on the side roster, while home fries and hash browns borrow happily from the diner’s breakfast vocabulary. Grits are another crossover choice. With breakfast served all day, those accompaniments belong comfortably to the kitchen’s character. They also make the fish meal feel less fixed: a potato-and-fish dinner needn’t look quite the same each Friday, even when the main attraction stays reassuringly familiar.

For an extra charge, hush puppies, fried okra and fried green tomatoes bring still more Southern company to the plate; grilled or fried shrimp can be added as well. Drinks and dessert are separate purchases. Those optional additions are there if they appeal, but the fish preparations and ordinary side choices already give supper plenty of personality. Start with the pairing that sounds best, enjoy the sauces, and leave a little room for another helping of the Friday favorite. The fish has quite sensibly declined to make this a one-plate occasion.