By dNext muhfucka who asks me if I decided to open my own soul food restaurant is gonna get to know my dull blade called Sammy Three Cuts.
For serious, go ahead and do a Google search for Dee’s Place. Experiencing internet browsing malaise? Let me get that for you. Other than the industry stalwarts, Metromix, Centerstage, and Time Out Chicago, you aint gonna find shit about this new soul food, live blues/jazz spot. One can tell that a restaurant is in it’s infancy when Yelp only has 5 reviews posted up. On top of all that, Dee’s Place doesn’t have a website. And that’s because they just don’t give a fuck. 10 years in the making, Dee’s plan is to let mouths spread the good word.
Wicker Park natives deserved a soul food joint such as this. The reality is that although soul food dishes are relatively familiar kitchen fare for most, a majority still fail miserably when attempting to replicate these items at home. Think about it. When was the last time you successfully cooked collard greens & ham hock, stewed black eyed peas & country ham, candied yams, deep fried catfish, slow cooked pork ribs, baked decent cornbread or fried hush puppies? The answer is very likely never. I am excluding those who’ve hijacked grandma’s tub of lard that was stored under the kitchen sink.
What is it about soul food that makes it so gotdamn good and why are the recipes so coveted?
Well, during the antebellum period, it was illegal in many states for African slaves to read or write, so food recipes were passed on orally. On top of that, many recipes were prepared with spontaneity; the use of a measuring cup was considered a cardinal sin. Finally, the ingredients for soul food feature discarded selections of meat that were kicked down by the slave master: pigs feet, chitterlings, and ham hock are alien items to most, but the flavors that are created by these exotic cuts are at the essence of what we call the deliciousness.
At Dee’s Place there is no exception to this rule. I might as well been Mike Tyson asking to eat Dee’s infant child when I made the mistake of requesting clarification from Rayland on the type of BBQ sauce used on the rib plate. In this business, recipes are more important than the cook preparing them. And that’s real talk, people.
I’m not even going to make an attempt at explaining the menu. Remembering what apps, meat, and sides are available and then choosing the combination that will get you the most mileage was more intricate than Asian nail art. Since you cant find the menu anywhere online, Chicago Gluttons got you sussed:
We started with Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale and the catfish nuggets appetizer. The seasoned breading surrounding the white fish (which I have to assume is perch, because they wouldn’t say nathen) is the kinda shit that will bring Kaczynski back. Add a bit a Trappy’s hot sauce and let the goodness ride out, homie.
Fuck the wet-naps. I used a hunk of cornbread to wipe up.
The collards were slow cooked to alleviate bitterness and kept the greens firm. Noodles in the mac-and-cheese congealed with the cheddar and jack cheeses like Cagney & Lacey.
And then there was the bread pudding. Instantly sprung. I don’t recall being this aroused since I saw the Halley Berry sex scene in Monsters Ball. “Bread Pudding…YOU MAKE ME FEEL GOOD!” Tech geeks, get the fuck out of the iPad line and spend your money on something that actually makes sense.
Vanilla pudding, bread, and like 6 sticks of butter. This is what God wanted for us. Dee’s got her bread pudding trained to swallow those who talk shit whole, so for real, just don’t do it.
Went there last night…best meal I’ve had in months…raved about it all night…and will continue to rave all weekend!
I went to Dees tonight for the first time to try their Jerk chicken and listen to their music. we waited for a table for about 30 mins. The table we were seated at was in the back, next to the frig, the serving window were the food is picked up from and the bar with two stools, but they do not server liquor. We ordered our food by yelling at the server over the very load music and persued to wait for our food for about an hour. Mean while one mal server is walking passed and carring plates over my head and bumping the table and my arm numerous times just to pass making our water move and making it so I also would have to move towards the middle of the table and the parson with me would have to move almost the corner of the table. By the time my food arrived my coke was some what watered down. the jerk chicken and the catfish was delicious. potatoes good but the yams where just ok, the jambalaya not great, the red beans and rice was good, but the corn bread was not fully cooked, dried out and really heavy. Then the food came my order was good but thr other order was wrong so we both eat off of my plate so he would not have to watch me eat. we then had to ask for silverware and had to wait for some silverware to become washed and avaliable. conversation was not possable over the load music. The place was ok. They really need to rethink the seating arrangement and table sizes so their are not 2 people sitting at a table for 4 people. People go out to relax and talk but it is not relaxing when u u are unable to talk or if u do your shouting and music is blasting so loud that u can’t even hear yourself talk.