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There are scads of country cooking restaurants around—casual eateries that feature gumbo, simple salads and changing meat-and-three daily specials. But soul food haunts, where you’re likely to bump into smothered meats and collard greens, are harder to come by.

Celeste’s is such a place. Located around the corner from Bon Carré in a long-ignored, residential neighborhood, the mid-town eatery doesn’t look like much; but it’s hard to resist a place that renames the calendar Meatloaf Mondays and Turkey Wing Tuesdays.

I first visited Celeste’s (not the same Celeste, by the way, as that of Main Street Market’s Taylor Made Gourmet) on Round Steak Wednesday. The restaurant is simple and even dated, but the interior is well-lit and spic-and-span. Despite three TVs, which show the news and sometimes current and classic black cinema, the vibe here is quiet and subdued. Tables and booths hold lunch breakers, couples and friends all hunched over cafeteria plastic plates piled high with good-looking food.

“Round steak,” a seated young woman reported into her cell phone. She took another bite. “It’s smothered, like a gravy steak.” Gravy steak, a lowly cut of meat rich in bones and fat, is perfect for stewing down into a succulent, gravy-topped dish. Round steak seemed more of a challenge. The other special that day was okra and shrimp with sausage.

At one end of the restaurant, patrons gathered around a large window waiting for carry-out orders. The take-away business here seems more popular than the sit-down.

Our waitress, the only one assigned to the busy dining room, made her way over to take our order after a lengthy wait. Nevertheless, she returned after a short while, tray in hand.

The okra and shrimp with sausage over rice was hearty and satisfying. The hefty plateful featured a tomato-based stew of well-textured shrimp, nicely-cooked okra (no slime) and spicy smoked pork sausage. It turned out to be a better choice than the round steak. While one small slice was tender and flavorful, most of it was tough and full of gristle. >>

Its gravy was solid, though, subtly seasoned, not overly salty or greasy.

The sides on Wednesday were pinto beans, firm and simple; canned corn; and candied yams, which sat decadently in cinnamon-spiked sweet syrup. The cornbread was simple and dense, not sweet or doughy.

Each daily special with two sides is a mere $5. But the Taste of Celeste combination platter features a sampling of every special that day. This may be one of the best deals in town. I ordered it on a Meatloaf Monday when there were three entrées and six sides. There I was, in front of a $7 Thanksgiving dinner.

The meat loaf with gravy was fabulous—moist, simple and studded with dried herbs. There was also smothered chicken (on the tough side) and flavorful pot roast.

It wasn’t posted that day, but lucky for me, among the sides were fabulous fresh mustard and turnip greens that were tender, leafy and not cooked to oblivion. The red beans, different from Celeste’s kidney beans, were soft and smoky, the macaroni and cheese filled the mouth with buttery creaminess, and my favorite, a moist, savory cornbread dressing with red pepper and bits of chopped giblets, had that ancient appeal of holiday stuffing. And in the spirit of total indulgence, my plate ran over with the signature candied yams and a big pile of mellow rice and gravy. Despite the bounty, the portions weren’t obnoxious, and the overall flavor wasn’t dripping in salt or fat.

The platter comes with cornbread and a choice of one of Celeste’s homemade desserts: banana pudding, bread pudding, peach cobbler, sweet potato cobbler, tea cakes or pecan candy. Pass on the sweet potato cobbler—it lacked crust, the whole reason, of course, for eating cobbler—and opt for a tea cake instead. Not too sweet, a few bites of the oversized sugar cookie look-alike provided a palate-cleansing finish to the belly-warming fare.

There’s a standing short list of other items at Celeste’s, including the popular hamburger or cheeseburger with fries, loads of which pass through the pick-up window ($2.99 or $3.25). And there’s barbecue: Buffalo wings, barbecued chicken and Chicago-style rib tips, although the ribs were unavailable on two occasions ($4.50).

Rounding out the week’s selections are fried chicken and spaghetti on Thursdays and plenty of seafood choices for the pious on Fridays, including fried catfish, stewed fish with red gravy and shrimp fettuccine.

Celeste’s often features specials and desserts not included on the Web site or menu, so ask or keep your eyes peeled. And if there’s a fresh-baked cake perched on the counter, it may be a good idea to order it—the place specializes in wedding and birthday cakes.

Off the beaten path? Sure. But how often do you get to order neck bones?

Celeste’s Restaurant and Carry Out

6537 Harry Dr., Baton Rouge

Open Monday through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Cash and major credit cards

(225) 932-2300

CelestesRestaaurant.com

Neighborhood soul food restaurants thrive all over town, offering hearty, comforting meals to people in the know. Here’s a quick sampling of some great soul food from around town.