Henry's Soul Cafe, Three Area Locations

[Sthitch]

Sometime after the sidewalks were cleared from the last big dump, I found myself walking along K St a block east of Taylor’s Mount Vernon Triangle location I noticed a freshly painted building with a bright new sign proclaiming “Henry’s Soul Café.” I took note of it and since it was still under construction I noted the name, and decided to look it up later, which turned out to be today.

It turns out that Henry’s is a small local chain of soul food joints that tout the greatness of their sweet potato pie. Thankfully, the menu is not very extensive, sticking to typical soul food staples like fried whiting, fried (or baked) chicken, fried or smothered pork chops, BBQ pork ribs, smoked turkey, and a typical selection of sides.

I was in the mood for some decent fried chicken, lately I have found Flavors to be waning or maybe it was never as good as I wanted it to be, and they offer half a chicken with two sides and bread for less than $9. The chicken is cooked to order, as I suspect all of the fried items are. The coating stayed wonderfully crisp on the long walk back to my office, and provided a well seasoned flavor to otherwise bland chicken meat (as I would have guessed the dark meat was much better than the breast).

My two sides were a mixed bag, the corn bread stuffing and gravy were most likely made in house, and while the bread was a little too sweet, it was still a nice change from what I would usually have at lunch. The fries were large wedges that had to have come out of a freezer bag, not bad just not worth getting again. I was supposed to get a side of cornbread, but somehow that never made it into my bag – I was plenty full without it.

I am going to have to go back and try some more of the menu, I am especially looking forward to trying the banana pudding I saw another customer eating as I was walking out.

[ktmoomau]

My brother and I used to get takeout from the U st. location. Don't get the ribs- I made a rookie mistake on that one long ago. The meatloaf is a huge portion and I think they do greens well. But best stick to the chicken and sides. I love the whole in the wall feel of the U st. location. I never tried their sweet potato pie, I guess I missed out.

[Sthitch]

Don't get the ribs- I made a rookie mistake on that one long ago.

As a general rule I do not care for ribs at soul food joints, it has been my experience that they tend to be boiled and soaked in overly sweet sauce.