Road Eats: Soul Food at 2 Sisters N Da' East, New Orleans.

We stopped in at 2 Sisters N Da East -- also known as 2 Sisters Out East or just 2 Sisters -- thanks to my curiosity.  A couple of years ago, we were in New Orleans the first week of November, and we'd driven all over the area close to Six Flags New Orleans, looking at abandoned lots and roadways.  Having already had lunch, we weren't really searching out a restaurant for dining, but there was a place along US Highway 90, also known as Chef Menteur, that looked promising.  I bookmarked it in my mind for later.

A Craving for Alcenia's Finally Satisfied.

January 2008.  I was wrapping up my first out-of-state travel assignment in my brand new career as a travel writer.  Sure, it was just Memphis, but the three nights I'd already stayed in Memphis in that tiny little room at the Sleep Inn, checking out the city's downtown on-foot on the first of several no-car travelogues had already shown me I had a whole lot of learning to do about my new craft.

I had spent a good deal of time walking.  I had ridden the trolley.  I had tried not to freak out too much walking Beale Street by myself.  I found museums and fledgling little sushi places where cute guys tried to hit on me despite the wedding ring.  I gulped down my fear of traveling solo.

And then I found Alcenia's.

Long before the Today Show or Guy Fieri or Roadfood found Alcenia's, I was on the doorstep of a little shop just north of Interstate 40 on Main Street.  I was tired and hungry, and BJ took me in.

You can read about that experience here... yes, these were the early days of Tie Dye Travels, just a week after receiving my new fangled Nikon P50 camera, a massive improvement over my old Fuji Finepix, and I was enthralled and delighted with this little soul food cafe.  Indeed, it was better than any Memphis barbecue joint I'd visited, and it just blew me away.

Seven years have passed.  I've had a child, a travel writing career, a state job, a divorce, three books, a couple of epiphanies and a new chance at writing for a living again.  I have passed through Memphis time and time again.  And either I haven't had time to stop, or I've come on a Sunday or a Monday.  I haven't had time to return to Alcenia's.

I have bragged on it.  I have shared tales.  I have coerced others to try the place.  I have regaled Grav with story after story of the marvelous fried chicken, the candied yams, the ghetto-sweet KoolAid.  And finally, on a brisk April day, in the shadow of the then-soon-to-open Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid, we parked out front and entered the cast iron gate.

This time, the restaurant was occupied.  There were diners at several tables.  Moreover, there were new articles on the wall, in what free spaces were allowed, and photos of famous folks smiling out by the register.  It was very clear that Alcenia's has moved up in the world.

And I got there first.  I beamed, hoping that the little blog entry I'd penned seven years earlier had helped others discover the eatery.

BJ was chatting away with customers.  She just kept going, greeting us each as we came in, waving her hand towards where to sit

after getting a hug from everyone.  She let us know that she had everything and chuckled when I asked if it'd be heresy to choose unsweet tea ("no, honey, you're not the only one") and made us feel like we'd been family forever.

We were just going to get lunch, but the scent of green tomatoes frying in the back were too much to handle, so Grav walked back and asked if an order could be added.

They came to table first, six flour and pepper battered rounds served with a white buttermilk sauce Grav swore contained mustard.

They. Were. Phenomenal.

Unlike so many places we've been, these weren't huge slabs of tomato and they sure weren't overbattered and consumed by their own crust.  They were piquant and substantially flavored,

tartness with a crispy, salty pan-fried crust, and with a drizzle of that sauce they were irrefutably good.  As in, we could not refuse a crumb.  I found myself going after the remaining crumbs in the basket with my fingers as soon as they'd disappeared.

BJ started to bring us plate and bowl after plate and bowl, each brightly colored vessel filled with yet another treasure.  She told me to hang on for my rice and gravy side, saying she wanted to make sure it was good and hot.

Not that we had anything to wait for, other than our photos.  She asked us to post some of what we were taking to her Facebook page, which we did... but so much to post!

Grav had been craving fried chicken since I mentioned how much I liked it at this restaurant, so he had a thigh and a breast of darkly turned pan-fried chicken.  And

these were good, of course.  I could have told you that.  The breast was even moist and held some of that salty flavor within.

He chose for his sides macaroni and cheese and fried cabbage -- the later of which was a bit sweet as well as buttery.  The mac and cheese was not a

runny custard but instead an ample pile of noodles baked with white cheese.

They came, as mine did, with those hot water rounds of sweet white cornbread.

BJ asked us if we wanted chow-chow (which she pronounces as "cha-cha") and of course we agreed, and its sweet and tangy textured magnificence only added to the cornbread experience.  It

made me want some fresh corn or lima beans to mix it into, frankly.  You can buy yourself a jar now and take it home with you, by the way.

Me?  Though the fried chicken tempted me heartily, I decided to try the meatloaf.  I have been in a meatloaf mood of late.  The meatloaf at Alcenia's is nothing like what you expect from a restaurant.  Instead of a slightly dry slab, it's almost liquified in places, scooped out of a plan and

served on a plate.  The barbecue-like sauce glaze, the low-filler all-beef meatloaf, the hints of black pepper and suggestions of onion, make it all a very hearty (and very filling) entree.  This is the dish you want when it's cold out.

I could not resist the chance to enjoy those candied yams again and I did... each one glowing golden with its high butter and sugar content but I did not care at all.  Calories this good are worth savoring, even if they go right to the waistline.  Really.

A few minutes later BJ came to the table with the bowl of rice and gravy, one of the other side items.  She was right - it was hot, and it made it all the better, a rich deep standing peppered roux over rice, just like my folks made it when I was a kid.  It was stout and the rice was soft, and Grav about wrestd the bowl from me and proclaimed later that it was the only thing that could have elevated his fried chicken experience.

Strangely enough, I have no clue if Alcenia's has dessert.  No idea at all.  It's not listed on the menu, and any meal there will pretty much quell any appetite you bring through the door.  I would suspect anything that came out of BJ's kitchen would be just

absolutely ridiculous and tasty, but that's just a theory, of course.

What I do know is that eventually, I will have to come for Saturday brunch and try the salmon croquette.  I hear such ardently favorable reviews of the pink seared rounds that I have to schedule a special day just so I can go back.  But my free Saturdays are rarer than hen's teeth, so I'll have to wait.

You don't have to wait on me, though.  Get yourself across the river and to this little place on Main Street, a straight shot from the Pyramid.  This is soul food that really does what it's supposed to do, sooth your soul and make you long for returning many years after you've dined at one of those mismatched tables.

Alcenia's
317 N. Main Street
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 523-0200
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One more note for Guy Fieri... with all the tips I've sent your way, don't you think it's time you took me out to dinner?

Soul Shine: David Family Kitchen in Little Rock.

A family run operation serves up soul food on the south side of downtown Little Rock. Kat and Grav check out David Family Kitchen.

Little Rock has recently undergone a restaurant renaissance – with the introduction of the local foods movement and a bevy of new eateries making their mark across the Heights, Hillcrest, the River Market and the South Main District. But there’s a longstanding family operation that’s worth checking out – especially if you like good home cooking and soul food.

David Family Kitchen looks a little odd from the outside. Housed in an old white building on south Broadway decked with the line “with God, all things are possible,” it doesn’t look like much. There’s a tag on the door admonishing certain diners to not let their pants sag.

Still, the scents that welcome you even before the door is opened will convince you that this is where you’re eating today, no matter how hungry you might or might not be.

Forget curtains or tablecloths – here it’s a cafeteria-style bar to the right, old tables to the left and… well, what does the rest of it matter, because there’s a mature lady manning the stove and vittles galore under the heat lamps. Oh golly, it’s lunchtime.

David Family Kitchen was opened in 1998 by Stoy and Pearl David, who saw a need for more good eats in a neighborhood vacated by most chains. The place is open every weekday for breakfast and lunch, and every Sunday for brunch. Don’t come between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. – it’s reset time, when the eggs and biscuits are put away and the oxtails and pork chops are put out.

I picked up my first recommendation on the case about five years ago, specifically on the need to go get some greens. What I did find when I got there stunned me – the fattest, largest chicken legs I had encountered at a commercial operation in Little Rock, tender and juicy and clad in a fine light and crispy crust. They were paired with yams almost impossibly sweet and syrupy and big fat fluffy rolls for sopping. Those legs have to be the best soul food chicken in Little Rock, in my humble opinion.


Oh, but there are other things. The fall-apart marrow-filled oxtails are to die for. Meatloaf is just like your mother’s if she’s a good home cook. Smothered pork chops are big and sloppy and I have seen people suck the bone. And chicken and dumplings would be a sin if they weren’t so holy.

So head south of I-630 on Broadway and look for that white building on the left. Consider breakfast – croquettes sit alongside chicken and waffles and all sorts of breakfast classics there – and be sure to wipe your mouth. Good stuff.

You'll find David Family Kitchen at 2301 Broadway in Little Rock. For more information, call (501) 371-0141. The restaurant is open 6:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday.

Lassis Inn: Fish and More Fish.

One of Central Arkansas's oldest restaurants offers a delicacy found in few other eateries anywhere. Find out about the Lassis Inn and the fish they call buffalo, and our experiences with it.

Egg Custard Pie and Pan Fried Chicken.

Big families aren’t the norm any more.  Used to be a family of ten or more would be common -- since families needed to be big to run big homesteads and the like.  Not these days.  As a mom in a single child family, I’m kinda the standard there.

How about a couple that had seven kids just over a year after they got married -- and then went on to have 14 more?  No, it’s not some sensational crazy multiples story.  It’s the story of the Jefferys out of tiny Casscoe, AR.  George and Girstine Jeffery started off shortly after their marriage as surrogate parents to seven children.  They then went on to build their own family, having ten girls and four boys along the way.  Girstine was known as “Dew-Baby,” and it’s after her this little restaurant in Stuttgart is named.

I went on a Friday to seek out something fantastical -- an egg custard pie of some renown.  I was very happy to see it on the menu.  Egg custard is one of those great cultural pies that doesn’t seem to ever have caught on with the frou-frou set.  It’s very pedestrian, very rural… and very comforting.  A good egg custard pie is filling, too.

We pulled up to the well-used building on Michigan Street (next door to, of all things, a gyro shack) and went on in.  Dew-Baby’s is two separate dining rooms… the one you walk into with the counter and the buffet bar, and the one on the side where the restrooms are.  It was 11 o’clock dead on and we were apparently the first customers of the day.

I talked with the ladies a bit before ordering that pie.  They’re all daughters (and one daughter-in-law) of Dew-Baby, and they work together lovingly.

Thing is, even though I was planning to dine somewhere else (I had a busy day planned) I couldn’t resist the scent that struck me when I walked through the door.  Fried chicken.  Pan fried chicken at that, the sort that comes from a cast iron skillet.  Oh, I was having lunch.

I asked for dark meat chicken with my meat-and-three ($7.25) -- and the two sisters working the counter that day mentioned they always preferred the breast meat, I suspect since they make theirs nice and juicy -- but I got my dark meat chicken and three sides.  I chose French fries, baked beans and a pre-made lettuce-based salad that had a number of items in it.  My other choices were corn on the cob and hush puppies, and fried catfish for the main course.

And of course I ordered up that egg custard pie.  I was going to have me some of that.  Desserts are $2.50 each, well worth it.  The other choices that day was sweet potato pie, Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Chocolate Cake and Cream Cheese Cake.

My photographer and I had a seat while we waited for the plate to be made up.  We sipped briefly on iced tea before one of the sisters brought the plate to the table.  It smelled heavenly.

The fried chicken… okay, we’re going to have to put some debate to this.  I have eaten what I thought was the best fried chicken in the state -- which has been either at AQ Chicken House in Springdale or at the Monte Ne Inn Chicken Restaurant.  This chicken… wait for the blasphemy here… was BETTER.  It had the tenderness and flavor of being buttermilk-soaked, a very light bit of spicing that I felt had to have included some lemon pepper, it was juicy, it was flavorful, it was tender and it was golden.  And yet still it was nothing in comparison to the pie I was about to receive.

The side dishes were odd but good.  The baked beans were of the same sort you normally find in Pork N’ Beans but were flavored instead with brown sugar and ground beef, almost identical to the Settler’s Beans my mom makes each Thanksgiving.  The fries were about average.  The prepared salad was interesting -- bacon (which I avoided), shredded Cheddar cheese, iceberg lettuce, cucumber, slices of hard boiled egg and English peas in what tasted like a version of Miracle Whip.

And then there was the egg custard pie.  It was pretty.  It had sliced clean, indicative of a balanced hand in its construction.  It was substantial… I mean, well, it’s like eating an omelet as far as the cholesterol and calories go, frankly.  But I tell you -- I was won over by three facts.  The pie was created with a homemade, folded over flour pastry that was slightly salty.   The custard was homogenous and perfect -- very firm and very smooth.  And the top had been browned to an almost crème brulee perfection.  I have yet to find a better pie.

We talked with one of the sisters, who came over to talk with us about The Lord and how He takes care of us, no matter our troubles.  It was a bit of good conversation to have while enjoying a good meal, and we saw it repeated with the only other first-time visitor who came in the door.  Regulars they all greeted by name, asking about families and how work was going and all sorts of things like that.

We had to finish up and get on the road, but I made a note I need to return, probably on a Tuesday when all the vegetables like the PurpleHull Peas and such are out.  I was thrilled to finally find a really great restaurant in town, and I’m looking forward to going back and hearing more about this neat family.

Turns out there’s a book on the matter called “Ten Sisters” by Rose Stovall, one of the sisters, a collection of stories from each of the sisters about their mom and dad and growing up in Casscoe.  I’m going to seek this book out and read it.  I think it might give me more insight into life in the Delta.

You’ll find Dew-Baby’s at 813 E. Michigan in Stuttgart.  It’s open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday.  (870) 672-7333 or check out the Facebook page.

Downhome and deep-fried: David Family Kitchen.

• KAT ROBINSON
• FILLING: Fried chicken and vegetables at David Family Kitchen

There’s a time and a place for fancy foods, for upscale dining, steak, seafood, sushi and sauerbraten. There are business lunches, anniversary dinners, celebratory suppers and the occasional working breakfast. David Family Restaurant does none of these.

It doesn’t have to. It’s comfort food central south of downtown, a downhome friendly place where there’s too much sugar in the peas and tea and too much grease in the chicken. And that’s all right.

It’s soul food, cheap and tasty.

• KAT ROBINSON

There are plenty of breakfast items for those who care to venture out at 6 a.m. or later — pancakes and omelettes and lots of bacon and ham. For lunch, the menu changes daily. The day I went, the lunch entrée choices were fried chicken (dark $6.25, white $6.49 or two breasts $7.49), fried pork chops ($7.49 for two, $6.45 for one), beef oxtails for $11.50 (which I was sore tempted to get), meatloaf with red sauce ($6.99) and smothered pork chops ($6.49). Each entrée comes with two sides and your choice of cornbread or roll. I got the sweet peas and yams; other choices were cabbage, mac and cheese, black eyed peas and mashed potatoes.

• KAT ROBINSON

You order up front with a tray (or ask for a to-go box) and pay. A gentleman will serve up your beverage at the far end of the counter and you find yourself a seat.

I noticed right away this strangeness — each table with a black gold-printed label. I actually asked my Facebook fans about this and was told it’s an old wait service thing, something to identify tables. Neat.

• KAT ROBINSON

• KAT ROBINSON

I went for the dark meat fried chicken — what can I say? I love some chicken thighs. The meat was thoroughly

• KAT ROBINSON

juicy in both leg and thigh, with a crispy salt-and-pepper buttermilk-type batter on the outside. The chicken portions were larger than I expected — a big manly chicken leg like that is a pretty decent amount of meat. The meat hadn’t picked up much seasoning but the battering compensated.

I had expected the yams to be sweet and they were — almost candy-like in their orange blush of goodness. What I hadn’t expected were the sweetness of the sweet peas.

• KAT ROBINSON

Sweet peas are by definition sweet. These had obviously been doctored up with more sugar and some butter — I’m not complaining, it was just rather unexpected.

What I really liked, though, was the big fluffy house roll. I’d asked when I went through the line whether I should choose a roll or cornbread and the lady on the other side told me she never ate the cornbread no-how.

• KAT ROBINSON

The roll was flaky and tall and soaked up a bit more of that chicken grease that if I had been wise and more health conscious I woulda left on the plate. Then again, if I had been health-conscious would I have been eating fried chicken with sweet-sweet peas?

• KAT ROBINSON

It was more food than I could finish. It was filling and full of care, and I waddled out of there without finishing my yams. Cost me $10 with the tip I left on the table. Not bad.

David Family Kitchen is open for breakfast and lunch every day except Saturday. You’ll find it at 2301 Broadway, a couple of blocks north of Roosevelt. (501) 371-0141.