Battle Soul Food: Midwest

     (Chicago, IL & Cincinnati, OH) I recently visited Chicago, IL and Cinncinati, OH over a weekend and decided to see what they both had to offer in terms of Soul Food.  I didn't have time to visit more than one restaurant while I was in Chicago, so I decided to try one the most popular, MacArthur's Restaurant on Madison Ave.  If you've been to Chicago, you probably know what rush hour traffic is like there, so it won't come as a surprise that it took me an hour to go 6 miles down I-94 and 6 miles down Cicero Ave to reach Madison Ave.  I had heard MacArthur's was a Chicago institution that has been visited by the Who's Who of Chicago politicians, professional athletes and rappers including Kanye West, Derrick Rose and Barack Obama, so I had to hope it was worth the miles of gridlock.

MacArthur's Restaurant

     I didn't know much about MacArthur's so I was a little surprised to find it was a cafeteria style restaurant. It was a nice, clean place with plenty of seating for families and groups.  They sell 'dinners', so you basically pick your dinner from Fried Chicken, BBQ Baked Chicken, Pork Spare Ribs, Smothered Pork Chops, Beef Neck Bones with Potatoes, Meatloaf, Baked Catfish Fillet or well...you get the picture.  There are many more dinners on the menu than the several I listed, and they're offerings vary slightly depending on the day of the week.  After picking a dinner, you pick two sides which include dishes like Collard Greens, Potato Salad, Rice, Red Beans and, of course, Macaroni & Cheese. Breads, Salads and Desserts are on the menu as well.  Not a knock, but this not your Shrimp & Grits, Chicken & Waffles kind of place. This is dinner in your mom's kitchen.  I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of the front of the restaurant, but there was a guy out front trying to sell me some D batteries, so I felt like it was time to go.

     So, let's talk about the items I tried.  Whether its Wolf Gang Puck Bistro in Costa Mesa or Glady's and Ron's Chicken and Waffles in Atlanta, I always like to try the fried chicken or the meatloaf at a new restaurant if its offered. It usually gives me a good idea what I kind of flavors I can expect from the rest of the menu. So, after the two gentlemen in line in front of me vigourously settled their differences on who was next in line, I ordered a split dinner with half fried chicken, half meatloaf, green beans and mashed potatoes.  The rest of my party ordered some different items so I got to try a few other things as well.


     Best and the Worst: The macaroni and cheese was the favorite. Not what I'd call traditional. They obviously used other cheese's besides sharp cheddar, but it was still some of the best mac & cheese I've had.  The fried chicken was delicious but I wouldn't put it on the level of another celebrity favorite like Oohhs & Aahhs in D.C.  The green beans and mash potatoes were pretty middle of the road, but all-in-all I really enjoyed everything. I was on the fence about the meatloaf. It seemed to have some type of tomatoe paste instead of ketchup or bbq sauce on it and because it wasn't warm, so it was hard to really judge how much I would have liked it.  However, besides needing some fresh cornbread and the meatloaf being a little cold, I had no complaints and would defintely recommend it and I'll tell you one the biggest reason later.

     Back in Ohio, Mahogany's Cafe and Grille is a popular sit-down Soul Food restaurant in Hamilton, Ohio that I tried for the first time several months ago and really enjoyed. So, when they opened a new location at the new destination area called The Banks, I thought it would be a good place to use for my Battle Soul Food. The Banks is a new development near the Cincinnati riverfront that is envisioned as a marquee, mixed use development that incorporates residential units, office space, dining, leisure and entertainment venues. Mahogany's at the Banks decor and design is a lot more upscale than the original location in Hamilton, but fits well into the atmosphere at The Banks.

     Best and Worst: Well, let's just get it out the way and let me tell you the service was terrible.  That's a strong word but very accurate. Now, I don't mean my server was slow or rude or anything cliche like that.  Actually, the problems started the moment I walked in the door.  I had a 5pm reservation, but was told it would be a 20 to 30 minute wait. Huh?!  I didn't want to wait so they pushed a couple of small, tall bar table tops together for us and that's how my experience started.  I'll just list a few of the other problems instead of going into detail:

• I asked for jerk wings but got BBQ
• It took forever to get my cocktail and was told it was because of 'shift change'. My problem?! 
• My condiments were brought to the table after I was almost finished eating as an after thought.

     Ok, so now let me tell you about the food so you don't think it was a total waste, starting with my least favorite items and working my way up.  I ordered Jerk wings as appetizer because I fell in love with them after visiting Jamaica.  After tasting them, I'm not sure why these wings were even on the menu if they weren't going to make them anywhere near authentic.  These were some of the least inspiring Jerk wings I've ever tasted.  I felt the Black-Eyed peas were dry and really didn't have much flavor.  The Macaroni & Cheese was tasty, but were basically just noodles and cheddar cheese, no real flavors present other than those.  Now, there were also some real highlights.  The fried green tomatoes were good. I'd actually say delicious with or without the sauce. The only knock would be I wouldn't consider them soul-food-like because they were so light even though that's what I liked most about them.  I will give their greens a thumbs-up over MacArthur's for another positive, but I'd say the the fried fish is probably the best thing on the menu.  The fried catfish and the tilapia were on outstanding!  The fish was so good the side order of grits that came with the Catfish was almost in the way.  I was pretty happy with the fresh sweet potatoe muffin, but the buttermilk yeast rolls and cornbread were just average.  I had the Shrimp & Grits at the original location and they keep it simple (but with lots of bacon!) So, I'll just throw that in their as plus for the restaurant.  Overall, I have to say Mahogany's is an interesting experience, but its hard to recommend it until their service improves.

     So, which Midwestern city has the best Soul Food?!  Well, I had to declare Chi-Town as the winner of this round of Battle Soul Food.  MacArthur's just has that Soul Food that fills you up and makes you feel good but without emptying your wallet.  For two meals and a couple of cocktails, we spent $100 at Mahogany's at the Bank including the tip.  For three dinners at MacArthur's, we spent about $27.  Price was not the deciding factor in my choice, but it was hard to ignore with such a huge difference.  Try them both though and let me know what you think, and if you have different favorite Soul Food restaurant, leave it in the Comment section below.

Mahogany's At The Banks

50 E Freedom Way - Cincinnati, OH 45202
http://www.mahoganysatthebanks.com/

MacArthur's Restaurant
5412 West Madison Street - Chicago, IL 60644
http://www.macarthursrestaurant.com/