If you go
› Where: Kookie’s Kafe, 3004 Dodson Ave.› Phone: 423-760-3193.› Hours: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, noon-6 p.m. Saturday, noon-4 p.m. Sunday.› Price range: $10 lunch platters; $3-$7 for individual sandwiches, breakfast items and desserts.
Describing soul food to someone who's never had the joy of tasting it is a little like trying to describe how it feels after a gray, wet winter to spot a field of golden daffodils and purple crocuses to someone who's never seen flowers. It's easier just to go to Kookie's Kafe and buy a lunch platter of crazy delicious fried chicken or grilled catfish or hickory-grilled ribs expertly made by chef Kookie Barnes.
The pale mustard building is easy to miss if you're zipping down Dodson Avenue. But look for it. Behind the modest exterior is a warm welcome from apprentice Andrieka Staley, friendly customers and delicious dishes.
THE FOOD
The $10 lunch/dinner platters come with a meat and two sides plus beverage, dessert and cornbread. The sides include creamy coleslaw, smoky white beans, french fries, mixed greens and mashed potatoes. Sandwiches range in price from a $3 hot dog to an $8 rib sandwich with coleslaw. There are also salads that start at $4.50 for a house blend of mixed greens, cukes, red onion, tomato and cheese with bacon bits. They top out at a $10 fried chicken salad, which is about the same mix topped with chicken tenders.
Barnes will whip up a breakfast item any time during the day. A sausage biscuit with jelly is $1.50. The house omelet is $6 and contains bacon, ham, tomatoes, cheese, onions and peppers. It's served with toast or a biscuit with jelly.
Be aware that this place is growing in popularity so as the day goes on, some of the most popular menu items may sell out.
THE ORDER
Lovers of old-school, soul-food staples like chitterlings, pigs feet and collard greens with ham hocks won't find those items on the menu. Kookie's focuses on a few entrees, and the list of salad and sandwiches is also brief. But it offers many sides so visitors can make different combos.
As a result, it took the two of us at my table much longer to decide on which sides we wanted than to settle on our main dishes. Ultimately, my lunch buddy and colleague, Yolanda Putman, ordered grilled catfish, and I chose the fried chicken breast and leg. We both ordered a side of green beans, which were OK. The other two sides were great.
Instead of being drowned in cheese, Barnes makes a mac and cheese that allows the diner to enjoy the flavor and chewiness of the pasta. She added that the coleslaw was crunchy and had an extra kick from the chopped onions mixed into it. Yolanda said her catfish was grilled to perfection, light, flaky and buttery. For her beverage, she ordered Kookie's refreshing lemonade and sweet tea mix.
Kookie's Famous Fried Chicken, as it's called on the menu, is a customer favorite for a reason. Juicy and flavorful, it has a very thin fried skin. Too many Deep South cooks try to lock in juicy meat by surrounding it in a 2-inch-thick fried crust that has the consistency of plaster. Barnes gives his scrumptious chicken an almost paper thin yet crunchy skin. He confided his secrets include soaking the chicken a bit in lightly salted water then shocking it with hot water before the cooking begins. Choices include white or dark meat or a mixed platter.
Kookie also makes fried chicken wings with the same light, crispy crust. But these are not those tough little nubs served as tailgating snacks. He plates up four succulent wings so huge, they look as if they were taken from some giant Birdzilla.
There are also grilled pork chops, big hamburgers and grilled cheese sammies.
THE SPACE
The adjacent parking lot has plenty of spaces. Once inside, there is a movie-theater-style popcorn machine at the counter so customers can snack while they wait. A handful of tables with chairs and counter seating allow you to see your meal being made. There is no fancy decor. This feels more like a favorite hangout where customers kick back and chat. Sometimes the homemade cakes and pies are displayed on platters under glass domes. If they are selling fast, they are simply plopped on paper plates and swaddled in plastic wrap.
THE SERVICE
While Barnes cooks behind the counter, Staley serves customers and helps him out. She pays attention to her guests and notices before they ask if they need a refill on sweet or unsweetened tea, lemonade or a mix of both. There's also a fridge with bottled soda pop chilling, and customers help themselves to a drink after placing their orders. On my visit, the small lunch room rapidly filled up with customers, and Staley was unfailingly gracious to each one.
The only glitch is the new credit card machine balked a bit at switching from debit to credit, so it wasn't possible to get a customer receipt that day.
THE VERDICT
Kookie's Kafe is off the beaten track for some downtowners, but it is worth seeking out. Another soul-food restaurant is catty-cornered across the street from Kookie's, so here's hoping both of them thrive. The difference between soul food and Southern cooking is debated by home cooks, scholars and foodies, but that is another story. Literally, I'm doing a story on that topic and welcome readers' calls or emails who want to share their thoughts on the true definition of soul food.
Here is what I know for sure: Like wildflowers after winter, soul food nourishes the spirit with warmth and care. Probably most of what Kookie Barnes makes will be tasty. But the atmosphere he creates will lift your spirit as well.
Contact Lynda Edwards at ledwards@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6391.