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Where is the Nearest Soul Food Restaurant in your Community? Sometimes, when I get in the mood for Soul Food, I will try again and again to find a restaurant in my community, but all the while I am searching, I know that I won’t! It has been so frustrating! I reminisce back years ago when I lived in Durham, North Carolina when I would love to go to this one famous restaurant and indulge. It was called Pan Pans. But even before I left Durham, that restaurant had closed down. I remember when it was located nearest Highway 85 nearest a hub of hotels and how it was always jam packed with people, but nevertheless, I was always able to be seated rather quickly and the food was always fresh and good. But the owner soled his restaurant and opened up a smaller place in the nearby shopping mall, which even though, I think he was pressured to do, I know it was a good decision. That older restaurant seem to become in need of repair and the restrooms were too small imo. However, the restaurant in the Northgate Mall seemed to be even smaller! But worse, was that the owner later soled this restaurant to Orientals and eventually, the food was terrible. I stopped going because the last time I went, I ended up getting sick and had to go to the emergency room! And, although it may not have been the food from the restaurant that made me sick, the food looked bad imo. And the ratings became terrible. I finally heard too, that restaurant closed permanently! So then at times, I would drive for two hours to Virginia to another restaurant in a small town and this one never let me down! It was called Carolina Barbecue and oh Man!—it was so good! But guess what!? The building recently burned down! So then, I have decided to do some research and see if there are other Soul Food restaurants around these days. After reading comments from a recent thread here, I decided to list some restaurants that I would like to visit one day. I was surprised not to find any nearby places in Maryland! Where I was at the time, I searched and searched and had to resort to trying to cook some soul food myself! For the first time, I made me some Pigs’ Feet!—And it cane out really good, so good that my eyeballs almost rolled back in my head. LOL! I’m the only one in my family that loves this kind of soul food. LOL—and yeah, I’m from the north! I don’t know what is wrong with these people around me! I know there are some soul food restaurants that serve Fried Chicken and maybe Collard greens and ‘call it a day’ but, I believe that a good Soul Food restaurant should also serve foods like Chitterlings, sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas and etc. And, in my experience, Black Americans are by far, not the only people that love Soul Food. I remember one year, I decided to go to Golden Corral for Thanksgiving Dinner for the first time because I did not feel like cooking, and well, the Collard Greens tasted awful and, they ran out quickly. Thankfully, standing in front of me was a White woman, and she went **** off! LOL! She started fussing out loud! She ranted that there was not fatback in the Collard Greens and they had the nerve to run out! LOL! I was so happy she told the cooks a thing-or-two! And then at one time, I too, had to tell the cook how I felt at another store. I used to love to go to the Whole Foods Store near Duke University and buy from the buffet because at times, they would prepare some wonderful Soul Food, but this one time, they served Collard Greens and I had to throw them away—and they were expensive. They were labeled, ‘Southern styled Collard Greens’ however, they were seasoned with, well, I don’t know, but it was horrible. So, after a few visits, I just could not take it anymore, so I knocked on the back door and asked to speak to the chef. Well, a very nice Hispanic man came out and he said that he was ‘the head chef’ and, I thought, “Uh Oh, I don’t know how this is going to turn out”, but anyway, I laid into him! I pointed at the label and told him that “this is NOT Southern styled Collard Greens!” I had my hands on my hips, and I looked at him like--- Well, I said, “Come on now…” He dropped his head and started laughing. And then he said, “Look, come back Thursday, I promise you, I will get it right. I promise you will like it.” LOL, I started laughing too. And I said, “Alright now. You got me?” He said, “Yes, I got you.” And, he was right. He got it right! By the time I got there, two days later on Thursday, I almost missed the pan—it was almost sold out! WHEW! So anyway, I thought it would be good to list some Soul Food Restaurants across America that seem to have a good rating and/or a good history or at least at one time or another. I not visited any Soul Food Restaurants in Sanford, Florida but I see a really good listing for one! And then too, I see a lot of places that have closed down. So sad. But because of the history, I think it may be good to list them too. There is an upcoming Soul Food Festival in Central Florida! _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This Soul Food Restaurant is in SAnford Florida and it has good ratings. CAROLINA BARBECUE!!! --Sadly the building burned down! Emporia, Virgina Pan Pans--at Northgate Mall, Durham, NC-- CLOSED DOWN Pan Pans in Northgate Mall