From Cajun fare to Creole eats, Louisiana is home to some of the world’s most intact foodways. But those aren’t the only culinary genres to define the way we eat in the Bayou State.
Authentic soul food, preserved by generations of Black cooks, is alive and well both in local restaurants and at the eighth annual Baton Rouge Soul Food Festival, which takes place this month at the Main Library at Goodwood.
Festival founder Henry Turner Jr. says it’s important to call attention to the traditional neighborhood mom-and-pops that still serve heritage dishes like chitterlings, oxtails, red beans and rice, turkey necks and more.
|
|
|
Several exist in Baton Rouge, including Dorothy’s Soul Food Kitchen, run today by Deneta Greely-Driffin, daughter of the late founder Dorothy Lambert. The restaurant is a cozy hole-in-the-wall where patrons queue up to place orders for smothered chicken, pork chops, turkey wings, fried fish, meatloaf and lots of other dishes. Die-hard soul food fans find chitterlings on Sunday’s menu.
“We make everything from scratch,” Greely-Driffin says. “We cut every vegetable, and we make everything homemade, including our delicious bread pudding.”
And then there’s the Baton Rouge Soul Food Festival. Once again, this year’s gathering features two days of food and live music, Turner says. Sample classic country cooking and shop for arts and crafts from numerous vendors. Dance to a North Carolina Tina Turner tribute artist and other bands. Then, witness the annual soul food cooking contest in which regional cottage cooks compete for top honors.
The festival also honors the 2025 Soul Food Pioneer, Owens Grocery Market & Deli, a neighborhood institution on Balis Drive since 1938 that’s known for its blue plate specials and truck driver po-boy, a massive hamburger riff topped with gooey American cheese and grilled peppers and onions.
It’s belt-loosening time.
SAVE THE DATE
Baton Rouge Soul Food Festival
May 17 + 18
Main Library at Goodwood
|
|
|
Find it on Facebook
This article was originally published in the May 2025 issue of 225 Magazine.