In mid-January, Chef Mitch Ciohon launched South Water Snacks, a new pop-up restaurant operating Thursday through Saturday at Boone & Crockett, 818 S. Water St.  

The menu, based loosely on the playful bar-inspired bites served at the now-defunct Snack Boys, features a weekly dose of nostalgia-inducing dishes, from Sticky A** Ribs and Tempura Fried Broccoli to perfect-with-beer snacks like Chips Toodaloo and Fries & Chz.

And, while there’s not really a way to bring back the freewheeling, fun-loving 80’s vibes that Snack Boys offered, South Water Snacks manages to recreate a modicum of the concept thanks to Boone’s naturally lively atmosphere, the visage of a mostly naked Burt Reynolds on the wall and the dimly lit quarters that lend themselves to a night of bites, drinks and coviviality.

Plus the view of the Hoan Bridge at Boone is so darned pretty.

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Drink up, Snack Babes 

It helps that Boone has joined the party with a menu of “Snack Babes” cocktails featuring throw-backs like the LaCroix Boy (choice of Tito’s vodka or Ford’s gin, lime, simple syrup and “market” LaCroix) and and the amazing Amaro-ridden Ferrari Boyz (Fernet, Campari, Carpano Antica and Chipotle Cacao Bitters).

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There are also options like Just Follow Your Nose (a hybrid Harvey Wallbanger and Fuzzy Navel with Pop Rocks); Alpine Hippie Juice (gin, Zirbenz Alpine, lime, simple and grapefruit) and the I <3 Black Metal (a Manhattan-esque Boone original).

Eat up, Boyz

Even more, South Water Snacks might actually offer some advantages. For one, the snacks are larger. Once composed of one or two bite dishes, they are now served in truly shareable portions (generally four to five bites a plate or more).

Just take a look at these noshes: 

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Pictured above you'll see Cheese-filled Bosco Sticks served with a tub of rich, delicious butter chicken dipping sauce (sans the chicken) for $9; Buffalo Chicken Dumps are fried chicken-filled dumplings tossed with Buffalo sauce and topped with pickled celery and blue cheese ($9); and sweet, super crispy Corn Fritters are topped with just enough garlic aioli and scallions ($7).

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The BBQ Blue Balls (and their double entendre of a name) are also as delicious as ever. Like little balls of delicious fried meatloaf swathed in barbeque sauce and served like a steak with a smattering of blue cheese ($9).

Then there’s the classic crispy fried tofu tossed with just enough sweet chili sauce and muttered with scallions and poppy seeds ($9). These are a classic for a reason. 

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Looking for something a bit less “snacky”? The delicious (and decidedly healthier) Kale & Cremini Salad features shredded kale and shaved cremini mushrooms tossed in house Caesar dressing with a sprinkling of flax seeds and a generous dusting of Parmesan cheese ($8).

Despite the modernity of the tender kale and the hippie vibes of the flax, the thinly sliced raw mushrooms gave me solid supper club salad vibes. 

Finally, the chicken

And then, after all that adieu, there’s the brand new Pull & Peel Half Chicken. It’s friggin’ delicious. 

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A cross between standard buttermilk-style fried chicken and a glammy, glossy Korean fried chicken, it’s crispy and tender on the outside and perfectly tender on the inside.

It’s served HOT (you probably want to wait a bit to start pulling it apart). And it comes with a generous pile of breaded fries that soak up some of the delicious chicken juices, but retain a decent amount of crispness. It also comes with housemade sauces for dipping: hot honey and hot ranch dressing. Just $18… and, in my case, the leftovers made a delicious chicken sandwich the next day.

Pulling apart that juicy chicken is a little messy. But your tray will come with napkins and wet wipes to repair the damage when you’re done. And yeah, it’s worth it.

But, before you go, a word of advice. If you want to try the chicken, you might want to plan to head to Boone early-ish in the night. Ciohon says he’s planning to have four to six of them available per night. But you don’t want to take any chances.

Also – and you may have thought of this – the chicken would go great with the Kale & Cremini salad. So, if you are inclined to eschew a cadre of snacks in favor of something more akin to dinner, that's an option. It would easily serve two. 

Before you go

Just a quick review of how the pop-up works. You can take a seat anywhere inside of Boone (booths, tables or the bar). You’ll find signs with QR codes that allow you to order with your phone right from the table. Be sure to record your table number and your name on the order so that it can be delivered to the proper table. (In the case that Boone is super busy and it’s standing room only, please provide the table number closest to where you’re standing and then stay there so they can deliver your food to you without confusion).

South Water Snacks is open Thursday through Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m.