Jeremy Tejeda 

For my Harlem Review project, I went to Jacob’s Soul Food, a buffet restaurant in the heart of Harlem near 125^th street. Jacob’s is a staple in Harlem, with 3 locations feeding hundreds of people from all age ranges, serving the African American cornerstone, soul food. Soul Food, or food for the soul, is a term to describe a group of foods popular among and in African American culture. I’ve been hearing about it for years, so as a person who’s never tried soul food before, with a hunger to find out, it only made sense I stop by to try. 

Upon entering the restaurant, you’re greeted with the Hot Bar where you can see the price per pound of food, grab plates, and the food itself.

The bar contained dishes from multiple different cultures. Personally, I’ve never liked mac and cheese growing up and it had been years since I last tried it. I waited because I wanted to try a top tier mac and cheese, so that was one of the first things on my plate. Other than that I went for barbeque chicken wings, mash potatoes, white rice, plantains, and oxtail, which came out to around 12 dollars. Making my way over to the seating area, the interior of the establishment had a very authentic look to it, not very flashy, not a lot of decor, but it looked like it served its purpose. It was there for people to eat. You had a couple of flower pots here and there and a couple plants to lighten up the atmosphere, but it didn’t make a difference. One thing I noticed is that there was customers from all age ranges, I saw older people, middle aged people, young people, it was a very diverse crowd and for good reason, as this leads me into the main event, the food.

My favorite part of the plate was the mash potatoes, it was seasoned to a T, and was the perfect consistency of mash. No lumps, all smooth. I honestly with I took more on my plate. The rice was very bland, it was quite misleading because it had garnish on it, so it looked like it was seasoned but I was mistaken. The chicken and the oxtail were very good. The oxtail was soft and tender, while the wings had a consistent tangy flavor to it. However, the plantains were average at best. I do regret not picking up more, and taking some things that i’ve never had before, but there is always a next time and definitely a next time at Jacob’s. And if you haven’t had a first time, you should definitely have one. All in all, Jacob’s provided a very homey experience, its humble, and authentic. it’s a place i would recommend to anyone looking for solid food. Just remember to bring cash, because they don’t take card.

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