South Dallas Cafe

I went on a tour of Dallas and after the tour, she took us to South Dallas Café. Quaint spot, minimal parking-​great customer service. My palate was so excited at the vastness of food options. From meatloaf to fried chicken, porkchops, squash, candied yams, hotwater cornbread and Kool-Aid.Say what, a establishment bringing back childhood nostalgia. Wonderful place to go!
Con: The porkchops were dry, suggest a good smothering!

I like the food it’s good and the service is above average. Sweet potato casserole is a must try

I stumbled upon this «South Dallas Café» by accident on Monday, October 26^th. So I thought I’d check it out. The interior was ok. It looked as if they had ample seating. I wasn’t there to take in the sights though, I was there to see if they really knew wth they were doing. I walked up to where all the food sat behind glass and inventoried what was there. I passed on the fried chicken. It didn’t look appetizing at all. The color was all wrong. It wasn’t fried to a nice golden brown like Harold’s Chicken (Chicago) or even like my moms (hell, the chicken at the grocery store looked better). I thought I would be safe by ordering sides (cabbage, candied yams and mac & cheese). I mean, really; who could mess up those items? SOUTH DALLAS CAFE, that’s who!
First, let me go back and point out the fact that this establishment has the nerve to have a sign that reads something like this: PLEASE READ OUR MENU CAREFULLY, «OUR FOOD IS NOT CHEAP». I quickly found out that they weren’t talking about the ingredients/​quality of the food but that they were referring to their exorbitant pricing. Cabbage, candied yams and mac & cheese ran me a whopping $ 8.11.
I didn’t think it was possible to F***-up cabbage, but apparently it is and South Dallas Café specializes in it. It was obvious that they boiled a pot of plain water and threw cut up cabbage in. WTF happened to sauteing bacon (reg or turkey) in a pot or pan with some onions and adding just enough water to steam the cabbage with a scotch bonnet pepper? Or, if you’re going to boil it, how about boiling some sort of smoked meat first to give the cabbage flavor.
The mac & cheese looked and reminded me of the Kraft mac & cheese I used to eat sometimes as a child. The cheese throughout the dish looked like it was the same powdered cheese used in Kraft. They had the nerve to put it in a pan and sprinkle shredded cheese on top, tossing it in the oven and serving it up to pass as baked mac & cheese. I would have been better off going to the grocery store and purchasing Stouffers Mac & Cheese!
The candied yams were ok, just ok. They could have used a little more sugar and cinnamon. All in all, these people don’t have a clue when it comes to soul food. They should be ashamed to even claim to be a «Soul Food» restaurant.
South Dallas Café: Here’s the new sign for your restaurant — Please read our menu very carefully. Our food is completely without flavor, not really «Soul Food» at all and extremely over-​priced considering. Enjoy the ’85 Ford Taurus of Home Style Cooking.
Edit: I forgot to mention that the cornbread muffins were decent. Seriously Shanna, the food I ordered was straight GARBAGE. I wouldn’t even feed it to my dog. If Monday was an «off-​day» for them, then they need to fire whomever cooked that day. Consistency is a huge part of having a good restaurant. I saw all the desserts but didn’t try them. They might be good but really, I just can’t get over the fact that they f’ed up simple @$$ sides! Shanna honey, if this is where you go for your «soul food» fix, you’re really missing out. Atmosphere is one thing but flavor is what counts. It’s the bottom line.

Dude. SDC has been on my «bookmark to review» list forever, and I guess now I am coming to defend their honor.
SDC has everything a soul food place should have, and more. Yes, the food is amazing, they give you 8 lbs of everything you order, they will treat you like you are their kid/​niece/​grandchild which can be a good thing or bad, depending on your behavior, they will call you honey or child or honeychild, and Mr. Bobby will carry your tray to your table if you are in any way shape or form a lady.
You will find hot sauce for your greens, more homestyle desserts (chess pie, 7 up cake) than you can shake a stick at and yes the tea is so sweet it will start your car.
You will see women dressed to the nines on Sundays, wearing big hats that match their outfits, along with their men wearing «now and later gators» (if you don’t know what that means then you should not be eating at a soul food place to begin with.
I am from Louisiana, eat at places Unilocal don’t even know about cause they don’t have a sign, am a self proclaimed Soul Food Connoisseur and can eat my weight in fried chicken, and I’m NOT afraid to slap my mama. I declare SDC 4 stars, and dare you to say anything different. Now go tell Ms. Eunice we need another round of jalapeño corn bread and some extra napkins.