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Soul Food appreciation thread

#41
Ok, I sat back in the shadows and read all the posts. I was a bit concerned that everybody was just talking and didn't really know what was up, but I see from the food's that are listed that you guys are veterans of the soul food wars. As a cook myself I appreciate the knowledge. I was curious, since I live in the Midwest (Indy) and we have some incredible Soul/Southern restaurant's. Where do you guys(and gals), go to get you fix??? We have a restaurant in town called Mississippi Belle and the hot water cornbread among other things is to die for.
 
#43
Why did this thread get revived?

I'm SOOOO HUNGRY FOR SOME SOUL FOOD!!!! :bawl:


Portland is a great town in many ways, but the food here could be better. There was a decent place in Oakland called Soul Brother's Kitchen that I used to make a pilgrimage to when I was at Stanford to get my soul food fix.

There are several places here in Portland, but I'm still searching for one that's actually really good. :(
 
#44
terrelli721 said:
Ok, I sat back in the shadows and read all the posts. I was a bit concerned that everybody was just talking and didn't really know what was up, but I see from the food's that are listed that you guys are veterans of the soul food wars. As a cook myself I appreciate the knowledge. I was curious, since I live in the Midwest (Indy) and we have some incredible Soul/Southern restaurant's. Where do you guys(and gals), go to get you fix??? We have a restaurant in town called Mississippi Belle and the hot water cornbread among other things is to die for.
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I go home.

:D :D
 
#46
I have a question concerning southerrn cuisine/soul food.
Am i right in assuming 'southern cuisine'= white mans cuisine from the southern states and 'soul food' is black mans cuisine from the southern states? - sorry if i offend anyone with my choice of words... english is not my mothers tongue.
 
#47
link wray said:
I have a question concerning southerrn cuisine/soul food.
Am i right in assuming 'southern cuisine'= white mans cuisine from the southern states and 'soul food' is black mans cuisine from the southern states? - sorry if i offend anyone with my choice of words... english is not my mothers tongue.
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No offense my brother, that is a good question. As an African American male who comes from a long line of Cooks. I always thought of Southern cuisine as the typical regional cuisine in Southern areas that was prepared using fresh produce,livestock, and food's which are common to that particular region. This food utilized the better cut's of meat and fish, such as chicken,steak,ham,and non-scavenger fish which usually was prepared for the slave-master by the slave, or by the white families who may not have owned slaves,but still had the income to have a better diet, with better choices. Soul food is what is considered to be the food prepared by the slave, freedman or rural African American, that usually involved the throw away cut's of meat such as pork ribs, intestines(chitterlings),pig feet, catfish,possum,coon,squirrel or any other scrap meats that was available. Fresh vegetables and fruits were around only if you could grow them or trade for them. Lard and bacon grease were the prized possession as well. Creativity was extremely important as pickin's were pretty slim. The result was some of the best food you could put in your mouth. I would sum it up by saying that the main difference between Soul and Southern is just in the overall quality of the fresh ingredients, and historically white people in these areas had the better ingredients. I would say the two are very closely related and regardless of someone's background, it is food for the Soul.:)
 
#51
terrelli721 said:
Soul food is what is considered to be the food prepared by the slave, freedman or rural African American, that usually involved the throw away cut's of meat such as pork ribs, intestines(chitterlings),pig feet, catfish,possum,coon,squirrel or any other scrap meats that was available.... Lard and bacon grease were the prized possession as well.... I would sum it up by saying that the main difference between Soul and Southern is just in the overall quality of the fresh ingredients, and historically white people in these areas had the better ingredients. I would the two are very closely related and regardless of someone's background, it is food for the Soul.:)
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I agree, well said. As a chubby poor rural southern white man, I have eaten a lot of great soul food, man do I miss it. Northwest Arkansas has what you would call southern food, not bad though, just not as spicy. It's hard to find grits at a restaurant here. For what it is worth, I think the diet in the south is pretty homogenous these days, exceptions would be the very wealthy and subregional variations.
 
#52
higgi said:
I agree, well said. As a chubby poor rural southern white man, I have eaten a lot of great soul food, man do I miss it. Northwest Arkansas has what you would call southern food, not bad though, just not as spicy. It's hard to find grits at a restaurant here. For what it is worth, I think the diet in the south is pretty homogenous these days, exceptions would be the very wealthy and subregional variations.
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I agree as well with you my friend. It seems as though every area in the South has there variation on different forms of soul food, such as the low country cuisine compared with others.
 
#56
terrelli721 said:
Ha, I don't know if this qualifies as soul food Danny, but Carnegie's deli is awesome In Manhattan. You should check it out if you haven't already.
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Manhattan is a heck of a drive from NC for a sandwich. If I get to NY sometime, I'll keep that in mind ;)
 
#57
terrelli721 said:
I would love to try some. What do you recommend???
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Find any Ethiopian restaurant run by real Ethiopians. There are two in Kansas City so I'm guessing that Indy is going to have some as well.

Ethiopia is known for being the land of starving people, but that's a fairly recent development. The country as a whole used to be considered "the breadbasket of Africa" and at an Ethiopian place you'll find a lot of the foods referred to in this thread. It's good stuff.

That said, I wasn't trying to redefine soul food. I'd be surprised if Ethiopian cooking styles didn't heavily influence it at some point but I'd hate for some goofball to take my post as an attack on all soul food everywhere.
 
#60
I have lived in the Pee Dee area of SC for over twenty years, and I think my favorite southern "Soul Food" cuisine comes from this area. It's called "Chicken Bog." Now maybe you have had chicken and rice before, but probably nothing like a true bog. This is the only area I know that has a cult following of bog.

My favorite comes from east of the Pee Dee river, where they put slices of smoked sausage in the bog. West of the river they use bacon, and leave out the suasage. Most BBQ places serve this as a side dish, but there are a lot of chicken bog fundraisers where you can get a big pile served with candied yams, cole slaw, and a slice of bread. Man it doesn't often get much better than that!!

My other southern favorite is Shrimp and Grits. This started out as a low country specialty, and is quickly spreading out throughout the south. The grits aren't your normal white breakfast grits, but usually cooked with cheese or cooked in broth or milk. I have even been to a wedding reception where they set up a shrimp and grits bar where you could customize your plate with additions such as ham, mushrooms, green onions, etc. It's a great "gourmet" combination of two great soul foods.
 

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