First Bite: Larry's Southern Kitchen
This is one I never posted. We ate there attempted to eat there a while back.
Credit: Sarah via Urbanspoon
Finding redemption in Larry's Southern Kitchen is like trying to find real chicken in can of condensed chicken noodle soup...you may be lucky to get a few bits here and there, but expect to be largely disappointed. We arrived at the nondescript brick building on a late weekday afternoon. Given the neglected exterior, vacant nearby stores and questionable neighborhood, I had my reservations. There were several cars in the rutted parking lot, though, so that was encouraging. After a brief discussion, we decided to set aside any misgivings we might have and try to experience lunch--touted as 'real soul food'--with a completely open mind and very empty bellies.
Unfortunately for us, this blind optimism was short-lived. The dining room, where we were seated, is fundamentally sad looking. Heavily soiled carpet is tracked thin in some spots while dusty vintage knick-knacks perch on odd shelves. A cash register is tucked into a niche near the entrance and patrons shuffle slowly along a single buffet line at the front of the main room, making their selections. A larger group bellowed from the secondary dining area. I was pretty sure that I was within reach of a half dozen code violations.
Normally, the words 'soul food' bring to mind warm sensory memories for me--mashed potatoes enjoyed with craters of brown gravy, skillet-fried chicken and smothered pork chops, slow simmered greens and vegetables, stewed okra, golden squares of corn bread slathered in honey, lofty layer cakes and fruit-spattered cobblers. Everything with soul food it seems is deliciously unrepentant when it comes to the liberal use of butter and fat. Nutritional virtue step aside, because soul food is in town. And boy, is it worth it. As it happens, the best we could hope for at Larry's seemed to be sweet iced tea, flaccid green beans and congealed macaroni and cheese.
Eat at your own risk. You have been warned.
330 Tryon Rd
Raleigh, NC 27603
(919) 772-2900
Credit: Sarah via Urbanspoon
Finding redemption in Larry's Southern Kitchen is like trying to find real chicken in can of condensed chicken noodle soup...you may be lucky to get a few bits here and there, but expect to be largely disappointed. We arrived at the nondescript brick building on a late weekday afternoon. Given the neglected exterior, vacant nearby stores and questionable neighborhood, I had my reservations. There were several cars in the rutted parking lot, though, so that was encouraging. After a brief discussion, we decided to set aside any misgivings we might have and try to experience lunch--touted as 'real soul food'--with a completely open mind and very empty bellies.
Unfortunately for us, this blind optimism was short-lived. The dining room, where we were seated, is fundamentally sad looking. Heavily soiled carpet is tracked thin in some spots while dusty vintage knick-knacks perch on odd shelves. A cash register is tucked into a niche near the entrance and patrons shuffle slowly along a single buffet line at the front of the main room, making their selections. A larger group bellowed from the secondary dining area. I was pretty sure that I was within reach of a half dozen code violations.
Normally, the words 'soul food' bring to mind warm sensory memories for me--mashed potatoes enjoyed with craters of brown gravy, skillet-fried chicken and smothered pork chops, slow simmered greens and vegetables, stewed okra, golden squares of corn bread slathered in honey, lofty layer cakes and fruit-spattered cobblers. Everything with soul food it seems is deliciously unrepentant when it comes to the liberal use of butter and fat. Nutritional virtue step aside, because soul food is in town. And boy, is it worth it. As it happens, the best we could hope for at Larry's seemed to be sweet iced tea, flaccid green beans and congealed macaroni and cheese.
Eat at your own risk. You have been warned.
330 Tryon Rd
Raleigh, NC 27603
(919) 772-2900