How Soul Food Got My Groove Back.
That first bite brought back memories. Memories dating back to a time of my life I foolishly mistook struggling with failing and allowed those thoughts to overwrite my happiness.
Thinking back, I really was happy. Happy to not be in the bean, happy to finally be on my own even if it did come with a brief stent of homelessness.
What’s this about? Well “soul food,” of course. How the savory taste of “down home” meatloaf accompanied by candied yams, fried catfish, mac and cheese and mixed veggies gave me my groove back. I would like to take this time out to give a shout out to “Down Home Delivery & Catering.” A Black owned LEGITIMATE soul food spot in Boston. I say “legit” because this is Boston after all so you never know, sometimes. If you know Boston, then you know what I mean by that.
Anyways, it’s been months since I’ve had the pleasure grooving freshly made southern meals from the beloved establishment and even longer since I had southern food in the south.
It’s deeper than my love of soul food, it’s a love of self. When I was living in Charlotte, North Carolina, it was the first time I truly felt like myself. I looked good, I ate good (taste wise) and I felt good despite the hardships I went through while there.
When I got back to Boston, it didn’t take a long time to lose all of that, minus the good eating, your man can cook. I didn’t feel like I looked as good as I once did and I comparatively didn't feel as good about myself when I lived in the south.
Down Home Delivery & Catering’s delicious creations sparked something in me that I had been missing since moving back to the land of assimilation. While eating that meal I remembered the drive I once had for creative expression and success. After that meal, I got itis, but unlike it, the love that I began to have for myself again did not go away when I woke up from my sleep induced food coma.
It’s much deeper than my love of soul food, it’s being inspired to keep making a way out of hell, which is what I should’ve done when I was still in Charlotte.
I don’t know how the chefs and owner of Down Home Delivery & Catering feel about Boston, but I do know how their food made me feel. It’s the best thing about being in Boston yet at the same time it pieced together my soul.
This was meant to be the first blog piece I published since my hiatus, hence the title being what it is, but this being my last blog piece on medium works out just fine. My creative groove is back.
If you’re still interested in reading what I have to say, I now publish blog pieces on two other avenues. https://vocal.media/authors/ernest-c-j-sandefer FREE reads. https://ernestcjsandefer.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=profile_page (Paid subscription reads of unfiltered thoughts and recommended topics of discussion ONLY for substack subscribers). As mentioned in the last post, I’ll keep this blog up, but uh, se you on the winning side.
