Sugar Jam – Scottsdale, Arizona

I often describe my youth in rural, agrarian Peñasco as “bumpkinly naïveté.”  I may have been book smart (and insolent) enough to intimidate some of my teachers, but insofar as experiential smarts, I was one pretty sheltered guy.  The very first black people I ever saw up close were Drew and Shane Roebuck, gazelle-quick running backs for Menaul High School.   I wanted to kill them…not because they were black, but because I couldn’t catch them.  You see, I had a reputation as a fierce tackler.  It didn’t matter the race, ethnicity, religious affiliation or favorite breakfast cereal, I wanted to tackle everyone in a uniform that didn’t have Peñasco’s blue and gold.

In basic military training for the Air Force, I shared close quarters with young men of every demographic.  It was the start of many beautiful friendships.  Over the course of an entire military career, many of my best friends were black.  Some of those friendships were borne of proximity and job, but flourished from the heart.  Even today–some 28 years after my retirement–fond recollection of such wonderful black friends as Dwayne (not The Rock) Johnson, Patrick Fields, Michael Gordon, Moe Myers and so many others remind me just how beautiful black is.

New Mexico boasts of being a tricultural state, one in which Hispanic, Anglo, and Native American communities sing kumbaya in harmony.  We’re often cited as an exemplar for the rest of the nation.  Triculturalism, as with all labels, leaves out a lot of people.  According to the U.S. Census, there are approximately 55,000 black people in New Mexico, making up only about 2.6 percent of the state’s population. About half live in the Albuquerque metropolitan area.   Perhaps rather than touting itself as “tricultural,” New Mexico would be more enchanting and inclusive calling itself a “multicultural state.”  Better yet, why any labels at all?

Meeting and befriending members from so many culinary cultures during my time in the Air Force and while working for a  multinational corporation and a major university, has exposed me to a vast repertoire of foods.  My black friends introduced me to everything from chitterlings to collard greens, two dishes that might have have escaped my taste buds had I not been accepted into a culture so wonderfully accepting.  I love (and miss) Southern and soul food (not entirely synonymous) and long for the day the Land of Enchantment offers Southern and Soul restaurants that  pass the test of time.  All too often, Southern and Soul restaurants (along with Cajun eateries) open to high acclaim only to shutter their doors within a few years.

Before my Kim and I travel outside our homestate, I research the dining opportunities at our destination, in particular scouring trusted sites for restaurants we can’t find in New Mexico.  The Phoenix area has a number of Southern restaurants.  Yelp’s highest rated (4.5 stars on more than 1,000 reviews) as of this writing is Sugar Jam.  Other sources wax eloquent about this popular Cabrona virus survivor that got its start as a cookie bakery. After three years of touring farmers markets – adding delectable pies to her menu – owner Dana Dumas launched her  first store, Sugar Jam Bake Shop and Bistro, in Scottsdale Airpark in 2014 and remained there for six years.  Sugar Jam moved to its current location in 2022.

Perhaps wrongfully so, most of us have a stereotype as to what a Southern or Soul restaurant should look and feel like.   Sugar Jam blew those stereotypes out of the window.  Little did we know Saturday and Sunday brunch featured a live DJ.  The volume was turned up to an ear-splitting level reminiscent of when my friend Patrick Fields and I listened to Double Dutch Bus on the mean streets of Albuquerque.  There were no seats available within the restaurant, but we were graciously offered seating on the patio.  Mind you, it was 48-degrees, parka weather in The Valley of the Sun.

Sugar Jam’s weekend brunch menu is brunch on steroids.  Quite simply, its one of the most extravagant brunch menus we’ve ever found.  The “From The Sea” section of the menu includes several items Arizona landlubbers don’t find in its rarefied waters: lobster, shrimp, crab, catfish and salmon.  The “Chicken N’ Things” section showcases buttermilk fried chicken tenders served with such brunch favorites as French toast, waffles and flapjacks–all elevated to new heights.  Picture Grand Marnier marinated challah bread served with buttermilk fried chicken tenders drizzled with SJ signature BBQ-maple sauce served with two eggs, housemade vanilla butter, and rum pecan syrup.  The rest of the menu is similarly spectacular.

We first discovered fried lobster at Woodman’s of Essex in Massachusetts and have since longed to once again enjoy the delicious decapod fried just right.  Sugar Jam does it just right: fried lobster tail on top of Southern-style creamy grits layered with seven sautéed shrimp in savory Creole gravy and two handmade crab balls.  It didn’t take long to wipe out the lobster tail which was surprisingly fresh and characteristically sweet and meaty.  The savory Creole gravy did wonders for the grits.  The shrimp and crab needed no amelioration.  They were terrific.   We never had a brunch plate like this during eight years of living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast (about as “South” as you can get).

My Kim’s plate, the French Toast N’ Fried Chicken (Grand Marnier marinated challah bread served with buttermilk fried chicken tenders drizzled with SJ signature BBQ-maple sauce served with two eggs, housemade vanilla butter, and rum pecan syrup) was equally magnificent.  First of all, the best bread for French toast is thick, fluffy challah.  No argument!  The Grand Marnier marinade takes the challah to another level.  Then there’s the buttermilk fried chicken tenders, two white meat planks slathered in Sugar Jam’s signature BBQ-maple sauce (which we found preferable to the rum pecan syrup for the French toast).   The combination of sweet and savory flavors was exhiliarating.

When discussing Southern food, Paula Deen emphasizes “It’s not all about the fried chicken and the biscuits.”  Maybe not, but we can’t visit a Southern restaurant without having biscuits with jam.  Sugar Jam’s biscuits are light, fluffy and delicious–the perfect receptacles for melted butter and strawberry jam.  Each biscuit is about the size of a discus.  Their golden hue is most appropriate considering they’re worth their weight in their color.

Sugar Jam is yet another Scottsdale surprise.  It’s Southern with a capital “S” and truly one of the best brunch restaurants we’ve had the great fortune to visit.

Sugar Jam
15111 North Hayden Road, Suite 170
Scottsdale, Arizona
(480) 948-621
Website | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 23 December 2023
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $$$
BEST BET: Biscuits With Strawberry Jam, French Toast N’ Fried Chicken; Fried Lobster With Creole Shrimp, Crab N’ Grits
REVIEW #1366