James Calemine’s ‘Never Ending Soul Food Tour’ includes documented visits to barbecue joints, catfish dens, chicken shacks and any establishment serving memorable vittles.
Sista’s Kitchen
128 Old Jesup Road
Brunswick, Georgia 31520
912-554-3800
Thursday. April 14. I woke up starving. Elizabeth Josephine couldn’t get away from work so I called my old compadre Griffin Bufkin. Griffin, co-owner of Southern Soul Barbecue and Frosty’s Griddle & Shake on St. Simons Island, proves a good companion on these various soul food visits we’ve made before. So, I called him.
“Hey, I need some calories. Let’s hit Sista’s.”
“I’m down. I gotta get an MRI on my knee. I’ll meet you there at 1PM.”
I’ve eaten at Sista’s Kitchen many times. I decided to add it to the legion of my ‘Never Ending Soul Food’ Dispatches. The sisters, Rachel Eason & Santia Reid, opened their buffet-style soul food joint in 2015. Their motto is “Cooking with love provides food for the soul.” Indeed…
Each day they serve different items. Today’s selection included baked chicken, fried chicken, pig’s feet, pork chops, green beans, okra with tomatoes, mashed potatoes, brown country gravy, black eyed peas, beef spaghetti, mac-n-cheese, cornbread, rolls, rice, lima beans and peach cobbler. Holy moly!
It’s a big place. An R & B radio station plays in the background. On my first round, I started with fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, mac-n-cheese, okra and black eyed peas. I also ate the baked chicken, which counts as some of the best I’ve eaten. I drank lemonade. Griffin ate a pork chop, lima beans and some vegetables while sipping unsweetened iced tea.
Griffin told me he and John T. Edge will be coming back here (as well as Frosty’s) in two weeks to film an episode for True South. Griffin reminded me that Santia was the first recipient of Southern Soul’s Firebox charity years ago when her house burned down.
I returned to the buffet twice. The place was doing steady business with all types of people–from workmen to secretaries to families–showing up for lunch. The Sister’s were, as usual, very friendly. By the cash register sits an open Bible as a reminder of their faith. And to finish off this stellar lunch, I ran into my old friend that I’ve known since the first grade, Julius Williams. He’s still cool as ice.
Sista’s will not disappoint. This counts as a high-ranking soul food joint. It cures what ails you…