These Three Restaurants Are Modernizing Soul Food, West Coast-Style
This past year has seen the opening of new restaurants expanding the definition of modern soul food. Here are the innovative chefs behind the movement
Courtesy of Alta Adams
Edouardo Jordan
Junebaby, Lucinda Grain Bar, Salare; Seattle
The James Beard Award–winning chef behind Junebaby and Salare continues his success with the recently opened Lucinda Grain Bar. The tiny spot showcases legumes, cereals, and pseudocereals (like quinoa and buckwheat) in both food and distilled spirits. Think chicken liver mousse on buckwheat-cashew crackers and an old-fashioned made with cardamom and barley syrup.
Keith Corbin
Alta Adams, Adams Coffee Shop; Los Angeles
After working at the dearly departed Locol, Corbin is running the kitchen at Alta (pictured above) and its sister cafe in the West Adams neighborhood. Here he’s cooking comfort food—like this pork chop with chowchow—but using California produce and a few well-executed fine-dining techniques.
Tanya Holland
Brown Sugar Kitchen; Oakland, San Francisco
Brown Sugar Kitchen was a soul-food icon in West Oakland, drawing long lines for chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, and other Southern classics. Now Holland has upgraded to a larger, stylish restaurant in Uptown Oakland, giving her fans a sophisticated new brunch destination.
