Southern Comfort Food to Try at Felix’s BBQ With Soul

The term “comfort food” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 1997, when its origin was credited as going back to a 1977 Washington Post article. The article, focusing on Southern cooking stated, “Along with grits, one of the comfort foods of the South is black-eyed peas.” However, its true origin goes back to a 1966 Palm Beach Post article.

Here at Felix’s BBQ With Soul, we love Southern comfort food because aside from just sustenance, it provides contentment as well. In addition to this, these foods provide a social aspect for people as well. They bring friends and family together and these meals give you time to bond.  

Keep reading to learn more about the Southern comfort food favorites you can find at any of our Felix’s BBQ With Soul locations to enjoy with your friends and family!

Gumbo

A warm and cozy Southern comfort food that’s perfect for fall, gumbo is a classic favorite. This dish is a stew created with a roux base, a strong, robust stock, sausage, shrimp, shellfish, and vegetables like bell peppers, celery, and onions. It’s sometimes confused with jambalaya but there’s a specific difference between the two. The rice in jambalaya is cooked with the rest of the ingredients, while in gumbo, it’s cooked separately.

Pecan Pie

Southern pecan pie is next up on our list the best Southern comfort food. A perfect dessert option, we make this pie with just the right amounts of corn syrup, brown sugar, and bourbon for a pie that can’t be beaten.

Peach Cobbler

Another fantastic dessert and Southern comfort food, peach cobbler is a dessert you can’t miss. If you’ve never had it, now is the time! Consisting of a peach filling poured into a baking dish that is then covered with batter or biscuit before being baked. Cobbler usually resembles a deep-dish, thick-crusted pie with a top and bottom crust. A warm cobbler topped off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is a perfect way to end any meal!

Mac and Cheese

If you’ve only ever enjoyed mac and cheese that came out of a box, you haven’t experienced how great this dish can be. Mac and cheese is Southern comfort food created from a combination of multiple kinds of cheese, such as smoked cheddar, Monterey Jack, Gruyere, or even Velveeta. An authentic mac and cheese recipe also usually features heavy whipping cream, evaporated milk, or both. Once it’s been prepared, the dish is then baked in an oven until the sauce becomes perfectly creamy and the top has just the right amount of crispiness to it. So if you haven’t had Southern mac and cheese, you’ve been missing out and it’s time to do something about it!

Biscuits and Gravy

Biscuits and gravy is probably a Southern comfort food that you’re familiar with, but if you haven’t had it from an authentic Southern restaurant, you haven’t had real biscuits and gravy. A hearty, filling breakfast dish, biscuits and gravy are comprised of soft, flaky biscuits covered with white gravy, usually made from pork sausage drippings, milk, and flour. The gravy in this dish usually also includes bits of breakfast sausage to add flavor and is usually seasoned with black pepper. 

Fried Catfish

Southern-fried catfish is a simple but delicious dish that you can find at just about any authentic Southern restaurant. As we’ve discussed in previous articles, this Southern comfort food is a very important part of the legacy of soul food, which is why we consider it one that you must try.

Fresh catfish is dipped in milk, covered with seasoned cornmeal, and fried until it’s tender and juicy on the inside, golden and crispy on the outside. Of course, if your diet prohibits fried foods, Felix’s BBQ With Soul also serves grilled catfish that is just as delicious. It’s time to try some authentic Southern fried catfish!

Chicken Fried Steak

Chicken fried steak, also known as country fried steak, is made from tenderized cube steak that’s battered similarly to fried chicken, deep or pan-fried, and finished with a topping of white gravy. Although it’s made of cube steak, it’s breaded and fried the same way that fried chicken is, which is where it gets its name of chicken fried steak. In addition to this, the difference in its name comes from how it’s fried. Deep-fried versions are known as chicken-fried, while pan-fried versions are called country-fried steak.

Fried Okra

Fried okra may not be on your list of must-try Southern comfort foods, but it should be! Okra is just one of many foods made better when you fry it. To make this, okra is sliced, dipped in buttermilk, and coated in cornmeal and seasoning before being deep-fried. You may not go to a BBQ and soul food restaurant for veggies, but fried okra is a dish that shouldn’t be missed!

Hushpuppies

Although hushpuppies are just balls of fried cornmeal batter, this dish is incredibly flavorful. Usually served as a side dish for fried fish or shrimp, they’re a simple but satisfying addition to any meal that we recommend trying if you haven’t already.

Get Southern Comfort Food Favorites at Felix’s BBQ With Soul!

It’s Southern comfort food’s ability to bring people together that makes us passionate about serving our customers and community the best BBQ and soul food. It’s also why we make our food to order and put care into everything we cook.

If you’re looking for comfort food to warm up the upcoming fall months, you’ll find it at any of our four locations in San Diego County and Lake Elsinore. Our goal isn’t just to provide our customers with great food, but the experience that we believe should come with enjoying BBQ and soul food as well. When you step into any of our locations, our goal is to make sure you feel just as comfortable as you would at home.

Visit us today! You can even order ahead of time here. We hope we’ll see you soon!