Soul Cuisine with Aloha & Spice

After reading the MANY reviews on Yelp, I just knew that I had to try this place!!! And because the Husby is both smart AND listens, he made sure that one of the places he bought gift cards for my birthday included Soul Cuisine.

So we made the trek to Kaimuki and while we were lucky to find a spot in their very small and full parking lot... it was purely by chance.  We were ready to give up... but then a spot opened up!!!  Yay!  It was a rainy friday night, and it was also First Friday - so that might've accounted for the restaurant being so empty.

We were seated quickly and told that if we wanted water it was self-serve and that when we were ready to order, we should come to the "window" to order.   We took our time, reading their menu and discussing what we were going to share.  We decided to have their "Chicken, Sweet Potato, Kukui Spicy Portuguese Sausage Gumbo", and their "Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Chili".

Chicken, Sweet Potato, Kukui Spicy Portuguese Sausage Gumbo

I had read that the gumbo was spicy (some wrote that it was even too spicy for some palates)... so I had warned the Husby (who is more sensitive to spices than I am) and we found that while it did have notes of spiciness, it wasn't so much that we weren't able to eat it.  The gumbo was what I had originally ordered as MY dish, but by the end of the meal... it became the Husby's.  I found that the gumbo had too many flavors going on at once... and for some reason the only word that comes to mind is karai (which means... "spicy" in Japanese).  It was good tho... full of flavor with just a kick of spiciness.

  Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Chili 

The Husby's dinner choice was the Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Chili which came with an assortment of sides - buttermilk cilantro coleslaw, cornbread and Ma'o Farms collard greens.  There were 2 thigh pieces that were fried to perfection... the meat just fell off the bone!!  And even though it was fried... it didn't have an oily taste to it... in fact, the skin actually had a sweetness to it.  It was yummy!!  I saved the rest of my skin for the end of the meal so that I could savor it correctly.  I <3 fried chicken skin!

The Vegetarian Chili was full of spices and just the right compliment to the fried chicken... again, YUM!  Being a local... when you order fried chicken or chili - you expect rice, right?  Well this dish did not come with it... but it wasn't missed at all, maybe cause when you think about it... it wouldn't have matched anyway.  

I'm not a fan of cilantro so I didn't care for the coleslaw... but the Husby (who also doesn't normally care for cilantro) ate it by the forkful!  I was more impressed with the collard greens.  They were awesome... I'm not an aficionado on soul food, but this really spoke to me.  I had only tried collard greens once before in Alabama while on a visit to my brother and his family and Soul Cuisine's collard greens just took me back there.  It was bitter and flavorful and I loved it... I couldn't get enough of it.  If I could have licked the plate (without fear that it would end up on youtube or FB), I might have.  

Now the only thing I haven't described is the cornbread.  Both the Husby and I found that the cornbread best complimented the gumbo.  It was moist, buttery and sweet... and just the right texture to help sop up the last remnants of the gumbo left on our plate.  

Now here are a few facts about Soul Cuisine...

• Sean Priester, the Master Chef and owner of Soul Cuisine and Soul Patrol (a lunch truck) used to be the Executive Chef at Top of Waikiki from 2004 - 2009
• Mr Priester is on twitter
• Website: http://pacificsoulhawaii.com/
• Hours of Operation: Tues - Thurs 11am -9pm; Fri - 11am -10pm; Sat - 9am -10pm and Sundays -10:30am to 8pm
• Located at: 3040 Waialae Ave, Honolulu, HI 96818; Phone Number: 808-735-SOUL (7685)
• If you have an iPhone and the app "foursquare" - they have a special that can be unlocked if you check in 3 times.  

Happy Eating!!! :D