My pal Lucky loves fried chicken, and I love my pal Lucky. So any time either of us comes across a restaurant that serves that devilishly delicious entrée, we have to go there. A few weeks ago, we stumbled across J’s Pots of Soul. Unfortunately we were in the middle of a swarm of midterms, so J’s had to hang on our wall of places to try until just recently.
J’s Pots of Soul is a homely little restaurant: The exterior is wholly unremarkable, except for the obviously homemade sign with the moniker beside a steaming pot over an open flame. The interior is equally unpretentious yet comforting. About 10 tables are spread throughout a room decorated with a variety of posters and pictures. One poster of a dancing Josephine Baker stares across the room at a dancing Mohammed Ali in the boxing ring. Pictures of the owner are hanging beside paintings of figures in colorful African garbs. The table in the middle of the restaurant holds a mix of periodicals including the SF Chronicle and National Geographic. Some of the solo customers pick up a section and read as they eat their meal. It’s the kind of place that feels like a lazy Sunday even if it is a busy Monday after a long holiday. We needed only a minute to look over the menu before our amiable waitress, who also happens to be the owner, took our order. Lucky had fried chicken wings ($9.25) written all over her face and drooling down her chin. I was in a breakfast mood, which fortunately was served ‘all day’ (all day for J’s Pots of Soul is Tuesday through Sunday, 11am to 2:30pm… what enviable hours!). I decided on the Morning Pot #1- two sausage patties, two strips of bacon, homefried potatoes, two pancakes, eggs any way, and a piece of honeydew melon ($9.45).
We sat and chatted as Marvin Gaye serenade us over the sound of chicken frying in the kitchen. We eagerly anticipated our food’s arrival, but the environment was so relaxed that we didn’t mind taking this time to depressurize from the day’s stresses. Long gone were the midterms, notes, and meetings. It was quality time, just Lucky and me enjoying one another’s company.
Our mouths stopped and our eyes widened when our waitress brought out our huge plates. Five golden fried chicken wings sat beside sides of candied yams and vegetables. Lucky ripped the wings apart, exposing moist, piping hot white meat underneath a thin, crunchy batter. Not too greasy and not too salty, the meat was even better with a little Crystal Louisiana hot sauce. The tender meat peeled right off the bone in strips. Sometimes candied yams are too mushy, other times they are too sweet. But these were just right, with a hint of cinnamon in the butter with which the yams were coated. The garlicky broccoli and carrots provided a tasty counterpoint to the sweetness of the yams. Perhaps the only point of contention was the corn bread. Flecked with red peppers, it gave a zesty kick. However, the bread was a bit too dry for our liking.
I was having quite a time with my own plate. I have become accustomed to tough, scrawny bacon and dinky sausages at cafes. But these pieces of thick cut bacon were quite considerable. They we surprisingly lean and crispy without being overly dry. The sausage patties were equally well done. With a hint of maple sweetness and a touch of smoky flavor, the patties were tasty without being too oily or heavy. The homefried potatoes were served with red bell peppers and onions and served as the staple of my meal. I ordered my eggs scrambled, which came out dense, moist and deliciously buttery. There was so much food that the two plate size pancakes, sprinkled with powdered sugar and slices of bananas, had to be served on a separate plate. I may have finished half the pancakes before I had to throw in the towel. The piece of honeydew was more to make me feel as though I had something healthy to balance out the gluttony of cholesterol, fat, and salt equivalent to the average person’s recommended weekly intake. No, this meal is not for the faint of heart.
J’s Pots of Soul serves up food paralleled by the atmosphere- it’s not inventive, different or creative, but it’s simple, classic homecookin’. So why go out when you can get homecookin’ at home? If I could cook like this, I wouldn’t need to go out.
J’s Pots of Soul
203 Octavia
415-861-3230
Note* Cash only
4 stars out of 5
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