TACOMA, Wash — Tacoma’s Southern Kitchen is celebrating 40 years of cooking great food for a great city. Owner Gloria Martin and her son-in-law are running the show here, and the star of the show is the Southern Fried Chicken.
They use free-range chickens from Mount Vernon's Draper Valley Farms that have been allowed to run outside in the sunshine and scratch for seeds and insects.
The food is so good Southern Kitchen has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Kevin Hart shot part of a comedy special in the restaurant.
Martin says she learned to cook from her father who was raised in North Carolina.
“He was a chef in the US Navy,” she says, pointing to a framed photograph of her father. “He taught me everything I knew and all the basics, which means that you don't throw away anything. Don't waste. Always use leftovers in making a dish.”
"Evening" co-hosts Saint Bryan and Angela Poe Russell had a feast, sharing dishes of fried chicken, Cajun catfish strips and BBQ beef brisket. They also enjoyed the sides which included corncake, mac and cheese, hush puppies, collard greens, fried okra and candied yams. As appetizers they were treated to fried green tomatoes.
To drink they each had the signature sweet tea in a mason jar, but they also featured a special lemonade that doesn't appear on the menu. It's made with strawberries and mango.
Martin says the food is only part of Southern Kitchen’s draw.
“The restaurant isn’t very large, but it’s the perfect size for our community to come in and talk to each other,” she says. “The customers are so happy to be here”.
Southern Kitchen is located at 1716 6th Ave. in Tacoma. It's open every day from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m..
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