Delicious Southern Cuisine (DSC) will be returning for the fifth time at the 12th annual Taste of Soul (TOS). The TOS alums will be returning with the soul food the community has come to love on Crenshaw Blvd. DSC is looking forward to meeting old and new customers at the festival this year.
The family trio of Vidal Cortes, Adelita Tecuanhuehue and Adriana Cortes brings traditional soul food: mac and cheese, greens, yams, po’boys, fried chicken, and catfish with a Mexican twist. Vidal is the main chef who has been cooking soul food for decades.
“Twenty-eight years ago, my father started working at Boulevard Café,” said Adriana, co-owner of DSC. “Locals will recognize the name.
“He started as a dish washer really, it was just a job but little-by-little, he started filling in, helping out. He was basically taken under the wing of the chef there and learned everything there was—he fell in love with the cuisine.”
Vidal would later work at the Flying Fox restaurant where his experience in cooking soul food would grow and where Adriana states his famous gumbo started. He started DSC a few years ago cooking all the favorites of soul food lovers everywhere.
“A lot of people know my father from working a lot of places,” said Adriana. “One, I think a lot of people recognize him from is the Townhouse, he worked there for five years or plus.”
When most people think about soul food, they automatically think about African Americans, Black cooks and chefs bringing down-home food like fried chicken, collard greens and cornbread to the community. But who says Latinos can’t cook soul food.
“We’ve had a slight push back on that but to be honest, we don’t have to do much,” said Adriana. “Our customers are the ones who stand up for us—the food will speak for itself.”
They have incorporated some Latino cuisine in addition to the traditional soul food like faijitas, which come with chicken, beef or brisquit. When it comes to the centerpiece of DSC, Adriana states that it is a tie between the mac and cheese and the peach cobbler.
“I say those are my two ties,” remarked Adriana.
On their first TOS, Adriana remembered, “We were at the very end of [the festival], which at first we were like, ‘oh, it’s good because we’re going to be able to carry our items if we need anything last minute’—but we were also at the end meaning, less people show up there,” she laughed.
“It was actually not bad, I think we did good.” The next day is when the after-taste-effect happened as customers showed up at DSC.
“I remember just how busy it was the following day [at Delicious Southern Cuisine],” said Adriana. “We gained great exposure at Taste of Soul.”
“It’s the best place to advertise for business and to go into the community,” said Vidal. “That way, we can show that we always have fresh food—the most delicious food in town.”
If you want to try some po’ boys, mac and cheese, yams and greens, be sure to stop by Delicious Southern Cuisine located at 4371 Crenshaw Blvd in Los Angeles, CA 90008. Make sure to stop by their booth at Taste of Soul on Saturday, Oct. 21.
For more information on catering upcoming weddings, birthday parties or corporate events call the restaurant at (323) 298-0445 or visit www.DeliciousSouthernCuisine.com.
