Saturday, April 2, 2016

Gimme that Souuuuul Food

On Monday morning we headed to Willie Mae's Scotch House right at opening time, as we heard it gets lined up.  We were there about 15 minutes early, and there were already a few people in line.


This place is definitely a dive, and it's not in the best neighborhood ... but it was recognized as having the "best fried chicken in America" by The Food Network and The Travel Channel, so we knew we had to check it out.

The cornbread muffins were warm and yummy:


I had the fried chicken with mac and cheese, and Christopher got his with mashed potatoes.  Both came with peas as well. 


Unfortunately we were both a little bit disappointed.  The mac and cheese was mediocre, and we think our homemade fried chicken is better than this stuff, as is Brother's in NOLA.  This fried chicken was unique though; it had a very light, flaky, almost panko-crumb-esque (tempura-ish) style batter.  We didn't let any of the food go to waste, and it was a good deal for the price; I just don't think we'd make the trip to this place again next time we're in New Orleans.

We spent our Monday afternoon wandering around the French Quarter, and stopped in at Cafe Beignet for some beignets, coffee and jazz.


We love Cafe Beignet, and think it's even better than the famous Cafe du Monde - plus there's no long line and there is always live music.

For dinner we walked for a long while to The Joint, a very popular BBQ spot we'd been to before.  They smoke everything out back:


I had ribs with beans and mac:


Christopher enjoyed pulled pork with coleslaw and mac:


We knew this after our last trip to New Orleans three years ago, but we belong in the south.  The way of life, the food, the music, everything just calls our names.

Do you have anywhere in your city you'd recommend for soul food?
What's the best dive restaurant where you live?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think I need to ask YOU where to go for soul food in Saskatoon LOL

I do love The Broadway Cafe, though I haven't been in years.

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

I can't believe your last NOLA trip was 3 years ago! It seems like it wasn't that long ago that you guys were there!

I don't have any great soul food recommendations as soul food is usually not Lisa-friendly due to my gluten intolerance. Womp womp.

The best dive place to eat in Minneapolis is probably the 5-8 club or Matt's Bar. Both are known for their Jucy Lucy's. Matt's Bar doesn't even have a kitchen - they just have a grill and some fryer baskets behind the bar so everything gets cooked out in the open. It's unique for sure!

Alli said...

All of your NOLA posts are making me so hungry. Have you ever been to Sylvia's in NYC? Also famous for it's soul food and especially it's fried chicken and also sooooo overrated. I've always wanted to try Melba's. I believe Melba is Sylvia's niece and her restaurant is supposed to be a more modern take on soul food. I've heard great things. We do have an amazing souther restaurant, Jacob's Pickles, here on the Upper West Side. It's so bad for you , but so so good.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

We actually have been to Slyvia's!! I'm going to add Melba's and Jacob's Pickles to my list of places to try - thank you!!