Nothing warms the belly like a heaping stack of barbecued ribs, cornbread and home-squeezed lemonade.
Hidden away in Rochester are two soul food places that stand out — where saucy love and lively conversation come with the meal, and a few dollars gets you full. There's nothing like hearing: “Here ya go, sweetie,” when served a piping hot plate.
Today soul food means African-American cuisine. Its roots sprouted in the South, where it was developed by slaves and sharecroppers. The least-desirable cuts of meat and vegetables were all that was available to black families, according to gutsygourmet.net. And a savory and hearty cuisine emerged from simple ingredients.
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Barbecued ribs are a staple, along with collard greens, rice, candied yams, black-eyed peas and lima beans, according to an interview given by Van Woods (son of Sylvia Woods of the famous Harlem soul food spot, Sylvia's) on CuisineNet.com. But you don't need to head to Harlem to get authentic Southern-style cookin'.
There's real soul food right here in your own back yard. Unkl Moe (whose real name is Moses Smith) opened his place at the corner of West Main Street and West Avenue just over three years ago with his wife, Bernice.
Moe says he makes a healthier version of traditional soul food.
“We use no salt, very little sugar and no fatty oils,” Moe says. “Instead we cook using vegetable and olive oils.”
While priding himself on dishing up the standard soul food repertoire, Moe's specialty is barbecued turkey. He burns fruitwood in three grills to cook the turkey.
Even in chilly weather, Moe grills.
“Yesterday, I grilled five cases of ribs and 30 chickens,” Moe says. “It took about five hours.”
Moe's is casual and friendly — a real family affair. Bernice helps with the books and chats behind the counter. Jerri Peterson, Moe's sister, bakes at the restaurant, while his other sisters, Sandra Smith and Bezy Franklin, wait tables. Even nieces, Shyla Dixon, Lense Smith and Patricia Laster lend a hand behind the counter.
For first-timers, Moe recommends barbecued turkey, collard greens and fried okra, finished off with “sweet fry” — a popular dish made with deep-fried sweet potatoes.
Moe's customers are loyal.
“I'm a rib junkie,” says Moe's regular Phillip Clark of Rochester. “I know where every rib joint in town is, and I always come here.”
Another soul food option is at 211 Genesee St., about five minutes away. Look for a wooden sign with peeling white paint next to the road. The letters srawled in red paint, are hard to read, but spell out: “Genesee Family Restaurant.”
Owner Al Anderson is a native of Mississippi who serves his ribs with a secret family recipe and steaming cornbread. The house specialty is chitterlings — small intestines of hogs that are deep-fried.
“Chitterlings is a slave dish,” Al says. “When all the other parts of the pig were eaten, that's all that was left, so that's what people ate.”
The restaurant's counter has the feeling of an old, familiar kitchen, complete with glass candy jars and a mustard-colored fridge marked from years of use.
A sign captures the values of this no-frills place: “We give thanks to the Lord and wish all who enter peace, love and joy.”
Anderson recommends his personal favorite: the oxtails.
“I grew up on oxtails,” he says with a wide grin. He likes them because that's what his mother Ethel, 94, raised him on.
Black-eyed peas and candied yams are other tempting possibilities. So, when you're looking for warm grub that's close to the heart, seek out something down-home.
“Soul food,” Unkl Moe says, “is all about love.”
