GA Russell Posted January 18, 2013 Report Posted January 18, 2013 (edited) At my age it's not often that I have the opportunity to do something I've always wanted to do that I've never done before. A 40-year old black woman at work appears to be an excellent cook regarding soul food. A couple of weeks ago she offered me some fatback which I had never tried before. She often offers to share a little bit of her lunch. (She has a boy friend, so she's not coming on to me.) At the end of last week, I asked her if she would make me some chitlins (aka chitterlings) if I paid her expenses, and I explained that I had always wanted to try them, and had never had the opportunity. She agreed, and brought me lunch on Monday which she heated up in the office microwave. There were chitlins, ham, collard greens and white rice! The chitlins were excellent, but finished with a little vinegar as is the custom here in eastern North Carolina. I'm not a big fan of this local custom of putting vinegar on pork, but the people here are very proud of their pork with vinegar tradition. The ham was particularly good. It reminded me of Virginia ham, but she said that it was called "Whole Picnic Shoulder Ham." The greens were very tasty. The white rice was nothing special, but I gather that most blacks put hot sauce on their rice, and I don't do hot sauce. Of course traditionally blacks didn't have much money, so their groceries were products with low price points. I think the "soul food" moniker was an attempt to put a positive spin on necessity. Anyway, I loved every bite of that lunch! Another black woman perhaps a little younger saw that I was enjoying it all, and said that her sister-in-law had made some chitlins over the weekend and left them with her, so she brought them in for me Tuesday. These too were very good, but different. There was no vinegar, which resulted in the chitlins being a little bland. Instead, the s-i-l had used red peppers. At first I didn't notice them, but as I was finishing up my serving, I could feel the burn of the peppers starting at the back of my tongue and working its way to the front! So now I am an experienced soul food aficionado, and I feel good about myself! Edited January 18, 2013 by GA Russell Quote
alocispepraluger102 Posted January 19, 2013 Report Posted January 19, 2013 (edited) as a new widower, i made a similar 1st soul food dinner stop at her home about 22 years ago. the food may have been better and more authentic. sadly, death parted us a few years ago. thanks for rekindling some wonderful memories. pasty blotchy me visits an occasional black church bazaar or sing at least twice each year; i miss the 'real' food. Edited January 19, 2013 by alocispepraluger102 Quote
Jazzmoose Posted January 19, 2013 Report Posted January 19, 2013 Where I grew up, this isn't called soul food, it's just called supper. Quote
relyles Posted January 19, 2013 Report Posted January 19, 2013 Where I grew up, this isn't called soul food, it's just called supper. That is basically what we called it in my house too. That reminds me that my grandmother has some chitlins for me. Quote
Larry Kart Posted January 19, 2013 Report Posted January 19, 2013 Sorry if I'm being too PC, but I edited the thread title to reflect a complaint that the use of "girls" to refer to two adult black women, one of whom was 40, was not too cool. Quote
Tim McG Posted January 20, 2013 Report Posted January 20, 2013 Out West, there isn't much in the way of "soul food" [stuff I have always referred to as Southern cooking], so count me as one who has never had the pleasure of sampling such delicacies. Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough... Quote
Jazzmoose Posted January 20, 2013 Report Posted January 20, 2013 Well...I grew up around it, but to be honest, I always ate better in SF than I did at home... Quote
Tim McG Posted January 21, 2013 Report Posted January 21, 2013 Know of any good Soul Food places up in the Bay Area? Quote
Jazzmoose Posted January 21, 2013 Report Posted January 21, 2013 No. When I grew up, eating in restaurants was to get away from soul food, not to look for it. If I looked for it, I went to grandma. Quote
JSngry Posted January 21, 2013 Report Posted January 21, 2013 I have reasonably good luck with Yelp reviews when I travel...here's the results for "Oakland Soul Food": http://www.yelp.com/c/oakland/soulfood Quote
Tim McG Posted January 22, 2013 Report Posted January 22, 2013 (edited) No. When I grew up, eating in restaurants was to get away from soul food, not to look for it. If I looked for it, I went to grandma. Gotcha. I have reasonably good luck with Yelp reviews when I travel...here's the results for "Oakland Soul Food": http://www.yelp.com/c/oakland/soulfood I post reviews on that site on a semi-regular basis. Thanks for the tip...though OakTown is pretty rough around the edges, safety-wise. Edited January 22, 2013 by GoodSpeak Quote
danasgoodstuff Posted January 23, 2013 Report Posted January 23, 2013 I have reasonably good luck with Yelp reviews when I travel...here's the results for "Oakland Soul Food": http://www.yelp.com/c/oakland/soulfood Really? I find that I almost always disagree with Yelp reviews...which can work too, I guess. Quote
JSngry Posted January 23, 2013 Report Posted January 23, 2013 If years of buying from Dusty Groove have taught me nothing else, it's that as long as you have a reliable baseline, any review system works! Quote
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