JA's Soul Food

Update 10/31/10: JA's is closed (thanks for the update, Lila).

In a word: No Doug's, but worthy on its own.

The specs: #0519  
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; review at Isthmus, listing at Eat Drink Madison.

JM, John, Nichole and Rose ate the chicken, ribs, and catfish with black eyed peas, fries, mashed potatoes, spaghetti, collard greens, and mac and cheese, with red velvet cake, chocolate cake, coconut cake and sweet potato pie for dessert.
The bill was $32, or $8/person, plus tip.
JM and Nichole gave JA's Soul Food a B; John and Rose gave JA's Soul Food a C+ (see our grading rubric).

Latest JA's Soul Food news and reviews

JA's Soul Food took over where Jada's left off. The place has a more rec-center feel now, with a counter of snacks and toys for the after-school crowd and a pool table for the late-nighters. Dinner is mix-and match soul food entrees and sides. We tried to run the gamut and bought three takeout dinners for four eaters, which was plenty.

If we had to assemble our favorite meal, we'd pick the catfish (big and meaty); black eyed peas (a solid OK+ for those of us who eat beans); and macaroni and cheese. The ribs were a runner up, with a good smoky sauce. Unfortunately some of the food was a lot colder than we had hoped, which was obviously our own fault for the distance we schlepped it. In general the potato offerings do not hold up in transit, so nota bene. The corn muffins are quite good.

Eating with a small crowd lets us try more indulgences, hence the quartet of cakes. The star here was the coconut cake, light as a cloud.

Variable hours mean you might want to call before you come. But if you have a chance to pop over out the blue, do.

Comments

[renaissance costume]

I also tasted the catfish meal once and it's really delicious.. Thanks for this post. Make me want to buy that again.. :)

[Lila]

JA's closed a few days ago! Great catfish. Really too bad.