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Food Critic Question
Captplaid
Member Posts: 20,298 ✭✭✭
Seriously, we have all kinds of different ethnic food franchises. There is Chineese, Japaneese, Mexican, Italian, Korean, Greek, among others.
WHY IS THERE NO SOUL FOOD FRANCHISES. Seriously, why not restraunts that feature, or some would call it EXPLOIT, the best of the black, or afro-American, culture. There is more to it than four fried chicken white bread and a coke, (Blues Bros. joke).
I know some would call it stereotyping. I know some would call it it exploitation, but it's damn good food, excpet maybe the carp.
WHY IS THERE NO SOUL FOOD FRANCHISES. Seriously, why not restraunts that feature, or some would call it EXPLOIT, the best of the black, or afro-American, culture. There is more to it than four fried chicken white bread and a coke, (Blues Bros. joke).
I know some would call it stereotyping. I know some would call it it exploitation, but it's damn good food, excpet maybe the carp.
Comments
....."Mama Dip's Kitchen" in Chapel Hill NC oughta be a chain, but it wouldn't be the same.
....There's "Army and Lou's" in Chicago. You've gotta search out these little gems that wouldn't translate into the chain / fast food corporate plan.
Think about it. You're often eating stuff that most chefs toss out as waste. That's not to say that there aren't some good qualities about soul food, some of it is good, but obviously there's not a huge market demand for the stuff because most people aren't interested in eating it, otherwise someone would have gone ahead and started a chain.
And, true enough, there's a lot that isn't waste -- but is simply food that doesn't have mass appeal. Fried okra basically tastes like whatever it is breaded in, because, for the most part, okra is a bit skimpy on taste. Catfish can be good, and is served in other types of restaurants, but often as a chef's special or a low-level menu item.
Then you've got fatbacks, grits, tripe, collared greens, etc. -- stuff that would make most people nauseous.
Soul food restaurants typically do well in extraordinarily localized venues. That's not the making of a chain restaurant with mass appeal.
It's called Tommy Chans(I believe they're all drive thru only) and serves all the catfish, gizzards, chitlins, greens. etc., that a soul food eater would like.
Merc
It's called Tommy Chans(I believe they're all drive thru only) and serves all the catfish, gizzards, chitlins, greens. etc., that a soul food eater would like.
They got chicken n' waffles?
Well well....food critic????in a pigs eye.......GRITS DO NOT MAKE MOST PEOPLE NAUSEOUS....Grits are great...
Collared greens, as well as beet tops are great....dandelion salad is good too...and yes I have eaten all that...here and in Canada as well..
A good food critic appreciates the different cultures, and different tastes....
Are you nuts? Food critic my *.
And, while some might like grits, many don't.
quote:Then you've got fatbacks, grits, tripe, collared greens, etc. -- stuff that would make most people nauseous.
Well well....food critic????.....GRITS DO NOT MAKE MOST PEOPLE NAUSEOUS....Grits are great...
A good food critic appreciates the different cultures, and different tastes....
I Eat fatback, collards and grits regularly. You have not been to the south if you even remotely think that those things would make most people nauseous.
I have tried tripe and it was "ok" but didnt like the texture myself.
When you're looking at developing a chain restaurant, you've got to ensure that it will appeal to the general public, otherwise you're doomed to failure.
And, when you are looking at financing, you have to make sure that it appeals to the guys with the money.
Should we start the whole "grits are great"----"grits are the food of Satan" debate again? [}:)][:D]
Of course, a chef CAN make or break a restaurant, but if you've ever wondered why horrid restaurants can stay in business year after year after year, it is because they're oftentimes offering value for the money and cuisine that appeals to large numbers of people.
there used to be a great soul-food resaurant in Boston at the corner of Mass Ave and columbus Ave. It had a big red sign with black letters that said soul food and all the windows of the place were painted black. Not that i ever dared go into the place.
Memphis and Atlanta got more soul food joints than you can shake an african tribal rattle at. Just follow the semll of ribs to the sign that says cornbread and turn left at the pinto beans.
Cracker Barrel gots no soul.
Cracker barrel would be good down home cooking, but it would not be called soul. The place actually sold more crakers than anything else at one time.
I interviewed the founder of Cracker Barrel once and he told me he started selling food as a way to sell more gas. After a couple years he stopped selling gas and only sold food.
There is a sandwich on the menu called "uncle henrys favorite" or something like that. It's based on a real uncle named Henry who made the first sandwiches sold from the gas station.
as good going in as it was going out
.
I assume that is faRther? That is not correct, but if you think you will find great Chinese in any city under a million, you will be wrong.
There is a franchise called Churches Fried Chicken in NY, Boston, Phila. etc. that serves pseudo-soul-food side dishes like collared greens, corn bread, pinto beans etc. It's really more like a KFC for minority folks cause KFC wont go into some neighborhoods but you can find Churches in Roxbery, The Bronx etc.
they are also in southern IL., and most of Missouri, not bad chicken if you just get the chicken and a regular side with biscuits
just the sighting if a sign that says "TRIPE SANDWICH" makes me ill, them and Chinese food are all over the hoods
i do have to say i have stopped twice for some soul food ribs, and both times turned away, and will never go back due to some very unsanitary conditions i witnessed at both places, i have also seen some of their road side bbq's with raw meat sitting out in the sun unwrapped and unprotected, no thanks
They serve Okra, Red beans and rice, and a few other southern delicacies besides chicken and they were always in a predominately black neighborhoods (West coast anyways).
I honestly thought "Popeye's chicken" was a Soul food franchise.
They serve Okra, Red beans and rice, and a few other southern delicacies besides chicken and they were always in a predominately black neighborhoods (West coast anyways).
Yep, Popeyes is the Churches of the West coast. Last time i was forced into one was in Anaheim, just outside disneyland, it was the only place open outside our motel and i had just driven from San Jose with wife and child and they wanted to eat. I went in, waited for about 10 minutes before somone came to the counter, turned around and walked out. My wife asked why I hadnt oredered. I asked her to go into the the place. She waited ten minutes before someone waited on her and just like I told her, it was the skankiest looking chicken-fried wench you'd ever seen. I would eat in sight of this person, let alone eat anything they touched.