Comfort Food for the Soul

Eating at Mable’s Place Southern Cooking brought back the Appalachian in me... I left saying “ya’ll” and “bless your heart” as frequently as when I lived in southwestern Virginia because the food and the atmosphere at Mable’s was so genuine. This authenticity makes sense because at Mable’s Place you’ll nd three generations worth of Southern soul food recipes!

You don’t just eat at Mable’s Place, you experience. You either order a basket meal or build your own meal by choosing which meat, rice, bread, and 2 sides you would like on your plate. Mable’s Place offers chicken, pork chops, turkey wings, neck bones, and sh every day, and has daily meat specials.

Abby and I both built our own meals. The special meat of the day was brown stew steak, so Abby ordered that along with gravy, yellow rice, cornbread, collard greens, and lima beans ($14.95). I went with the fried chicken, gravy, white rice, corn bread, macaroni & cheese, and green beans ($13.95).

Abby’s brown stew steak fell off the bone because it was so tender! She said, “this is amazing. You can tell that it was made with heart and soul.”

My fried chicken was incredible! I tore off a piece from the breast and juice literally ran down my hand. How did they make something fried into something so succulent? Also, I don’t know about you, but I don’t like my fried chicken with thick breading because it takes away from the avor of the meat. Well, no worries about that issue at Mable’s Place… the breading on the fried chicken was just enough to add an extra layer of spice without stealing the show from the superstar chicken!

Is it possible for a vegetable to taste like...something better than a vegetable? Because Abby’s collard greens and lima beans, as well as my green beans, tasted so good that we actually ate every last bite of them. My green beans not only tasted like green beans, but also had lovely notes of sweetness and saltiness. And, Abby’s collard greens were balanced with the perfect amount of vinegar and spice. Mable’s Place even cooks vegetables with gusto!

Then, there was the macaroni & cheese. Frankly, I cannot put into print what I would like to say because some might nd it a bit off-color, so suf ce it to say that I died and went to heaven when I ate Mable’s Place’s mac & cheese. I’m formally requesting that the restaurant start selling it in a large to-go vat so that I can eat it whenever I please (i.e. every day).

I could talk about Mable’s Place until the cows come home (e.g. I’m begging you to try the cornbread… it’s divine), but there’s only so much room on these pages. So, I’ll just say this-- ya’ll should be xin’ to eat at Mable’s Place Southern Cooking as soon as possible. I promise you’ll nd incredible comfort food that will feed your stomach and your soul!