Is Soul Food Going Away?

African American food has always been a big part of the American table. it has influenced the way Americans cook and eat for four hundred years. There is a problem  though. Restaurants celebrating it may be going away.

New contributor and Washington DC journalist Alexander Nazaryan wrote about this in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food sections. Washington  D C was a hotbed for all sorts of soul food restaurants. One very famous one, Georgia brown attracted everyone from former president Bill Clinton to such celebs as Denzel Washington and  Wesley Snipes.It's many dishes also attracted newsman Ted Koppel and the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson. Not anymore. It had to close because the traffic was not coming anymore to this thirty year institution that was a second home to Marion Barry , DC;'s four time mayor and Vernon E. Jordan a civil rights leader and top aide to President Clinton.It's closing exemplifies how Black restaurants are receding from the Capitol's once vibrant restaurant scene. Other famous restaurants such as Horace and Dickie's known for its' fried fish closed way back in 2020. Other eateries like The Dsitrict Soul Food and The Bussdown DC, also have shuttered their doors.  Cultural scholar W, Ralph Eubanks believes it has to do with the fact Washington's tastes are changing.

The demographics are changing and a new generation is coming up. Menus are in flux, even at one of the city's oldest restaurants the Florida Avenue Grill, first opened up in 1944. It claims to be the world's oldest seafood restaurant. The new owner Jay Hawkins is going to offer more vegan dishes and cocktails in order to draw in a younger, crowd. It offers all day breakfasts and lunch  which are offered at good prices. Two large eggs and bacon are ten dollars with no extras offered Toast is an extra cost along with home fries . These may be too expensive for both locals and tourists who  watching their  budgets, Also, such classics as chitlins are off the menu. Ms. Hawkins gets numerous calls from older regulars who want them back on the menu.Florida Avenue Grill most likely will survive because it is also a museum to the civil Rights movement. Many leaders are there while in Washington. There are still options for soul food fans. There is still sweet potato pie at Hnery's Soul Cafe.The United House of Prayer for All People houses the saints paradise Cafeteria  while Ethiopian chef Elias Taddesse runs Doro Soul Food.

Is Washington DC a bell weather for the demise of soul food? Maybe not. A new generation has to discover its; classic flavors and goodness. They need good restaurants  to do this.