Chicago Eats: Soulé (The Best Creole-infused Soul Food in Chicago)
Let’s be very clear. I’ve not tried very many soul food restaurants in Chicago, but I don’t imagine the others being better than Soulé. Chat with me about my experience.
First things first, I always love a restaurant where I can make an online reservation. Any restaurant I have to jump through hoops to get to is not the restaurant for me. A click of a few buttons on OpenTable, and I was in there, no problem.
Chicago traffic is particularly awful at rush hour, so although I called an Uber with enough time to get to Soulé, I was going to end up being dropped off after my reservation time. Even though there’s a fifteen minute grace period, I gave the restaurant a call to let them know I would be a few minutes late, and the response I received from the hostess gave me the intuitive feeling that I would love this place.
When I arrived at this lovely boutique restaurant, the vibe was cozy and felt like the kind of place an author would describe in the romance novels I read. On a Wednesday, there were groups of girlfriends comparing midweek work stories and singing along to Usher, families gathered with small children, and couples whispering across the table to one another in relationship bliss.
Then there was me by myself. Interestingly enough, in a room of all black folks, I could be myself and never feel alone. The wait staff did an impeccable job of making me feel seen and reminding me that if I needed anything, to just give them a shout. This is the kind of service I love to experience at a restaurant.
Now for the food. For starters, the food came incredibly fast, which can be a really good sign or a really bad sign at a restaurant. In this case, it was a great sign. Still very much full on ice cream from the Museum of Ice Cream Chicago, I didn’t have room for appetizers, so I just ordered an entree.
Here’s the thing. I would have absolutely eaten everything on the menu, so how does one choose just one entree on a menu stacked with creole-inspired favorites? At a soul food restaurant, you can never go wrong with holy grail items like fried fish, mac n’ cheese and greens. I have almost never regretted that trio, so that’s what I went with.
To drink I had the Soulé punch, which you can order with or without alcohol; it’s an elevated take on koolaid, the kind of drink I loved as a kid, but usually avoid as an adult for the sugar intake. On this night, momentous for no other reason than the fact that I was trying this restaurant, I went for it and was not the least bit disappointed by this refreshing glass of tropical punch.
When I tell you the fish was seasoned and fried to perfection, the greens were out of this world with layers of flavor that made me want to beg Chef Bridgette Flagg for the recipe, and the mac n’ cheese was the cheesiest and most flavorful I’ve ever had.
As someone who has also lost my mother and left one career path behind for one more fulfilling, I just know that “Grandma Bea” and “Momma” are smiling down on Cheff Flagg for putting the soul in food just the same way they did.
