Review: Immaculate soul food restaurant serves homemade comfort food, generous portions
Tradition in St. Lucie County is my new favorite place to shop and dine on the Treasure Coast. During one of my jaunts to the home superstore there, I drove into the newly constructed plaza on Meeting Street to see what had opened. A sign for Nana Morrison’s Soul Food caught my eye, and thoughts of hearty, home-cooked fare filled my head. I was suddenly hungry.
I have eaten soul food before, but I can say with certainty, it was nothing like the selections at Nana’s. A menu near the counter outlines the choices of meats and side dishes. A small meal has one meat and two sides. A large meal gets you two meats and two sides. You can also order just sides. All meals are served with either cornbread or a roll.
As we considered the menu, and changed our minds multiple times, a smiling server offered to help us choose and started lifting the covers of the various hot and ready-to-serve dishes on the steam table. We were even more undecided as we gaped at the baked, BBQ, fried and smothered chicken. And we considered the fried fish and smothered pork chops. Daily specials are also offered.
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A line behind us was forming, so we made our decision, and each chose a small ($14.99) meal; one with fried pork chop and the other with curry chicken. Phew! The next beaming server reminded us we should choose two sides. My friend and I stared at each other as we faced this next hurdle, but Hank lifted the tops off the side dishes to reveal an amazing display of black-eyed peas, lima and green beans, macaroni salad, cole slaw, mashed potatoes and rice.
My friend’s juicy fried pork chop went well with a sweet and tangy cucumber and tomato salad, and a robust serving of stuffing doused with gravy to complete the meal. I ordered the curry chicken, which can be dark or white meat. The flavors were amazing, although the sauce would have been best on rice or potatoes. But comfort food was the theme of the day, so the cheesy, creamy mac & cheese and earthy, smoky collard greens were the flawless choice. The cornbread muffin was sweet and moist. Everything was delicious and fresh.
Our dessert server recommended the banana pudding ($6.99.) I intended to have just a taste, especially after I ate every last morsel of my lunch. But the pudding was so rich and creamy that I couldn’t resist.
Nana Morrison’s Soul Food is family-owned and operated and is the first Florida location to follow two others in North Carolina. The restaurant is immaculate with wood and stone details on the floor and walls, gleaming glass and sparkly quartz counters. The staff is enthusiastic and delightful.
But the shining star is the food. Everything from smothered chicken to sweet potato pie is made in-house with love and attention. The servings are mouthwatering, generous and comfort for your hunger and your soul.
Nana Morrison’s Soul Food
Cuisine: Soul food
Address: 10234 S.W. Meeting St., Port St. Lucie
Phone: 772-303-2626
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
Alcohol: None
Online: nanamorrisonssoulfood.com
Lucie Regensdorf dines anonymously at the expense of TCPalm for #WhatToDoIn772. Contact her at Lucie@theloveofcooking.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Restaurant review: Nana Morrison’s Soul Food in Port St. Lucie
