Veal, black-eyed peas, collard greens, rutabaga and corn bread. This was some of the most amazing food that I had ever tried and I could not believe it had taken m e 23 years to try it! I had the privilege of going to Nikki’s West with another member of our class, and extraordinary woman, Judi Cunniff Olsen. I was really excited to get to try some authentic soul food as well as being in some great company. Judi was my cultural broker and she did a great job explaining the restaurant, procedures and food to me.
When I seen the sign for Nikki’s I immediately noticed that it said “steak and seafood” right below the title of Nikki’s. This threw me off a little because for some reason, I expected it to say “authentic soul food” or something! I pulled up and Judi is patiently waiting for me to get there. We walked inside and the first thing that I noticed was that every person standing behind the buffet line ready to serve was African-American. We told them about our project at school and they were very friendly and eager to point out some great food to try. I asked one of the servers what was his favorite food; he told me it was veal. Therefore, that is what I decided to try. I was not sure what veal was but I was looking forward to trying something new. Later on, I asked Judi about it and she told me veal was a baby cow!!!! I was a little disgusted for a minute at the thought of eating a calf! This is an example of how culture can influence of bilological processes. I felt disgusted because of my culturally blessed idea that eating a baby animal was despicable. However, after a moment, my hunger took over and I finished it because it really was delicious! After getting all of our food, they directed us to our table. The restaurant was split into two different rooms. Judi told me most of the time they are both completely packed and the hosts are communicating back and forth with each other to find a place to accommodate all of their guests.
We sat down and began to enjoy our food. I fell completely head over heels in love with soul food!! I could not get enough of it. Rutabaga is my new favorite vegetable! As we ate, I noticed that even though every server was African-American, every waitress was Anglo-American. I thought this was an interesting mixture. There were all different kinds of people eating there also. They ranged from old to young, couples to singles, Hispanics to Whites. This was a very diverse restaurant and it seemed the mutual love of great food was able to knock down cultural barriers. Something else that Judi pointed out that I thought was very interesting is that Nikki’s West is run by a very influential Greek community and family in the area. I was very impressed with the blend of ethnicities.
Throughout our meal, Judi and I had a chance to talk about each other’s lives and what we are planning and hoping for in the future and I truly believe that was one of the highlights of the evening. I took some of my food home to let my family try it and they were as impressed as I was. It is definitely something we are looking forward to eating again!
The best food ever! Veal, black-eyed peas, collard greens, rutabaga and cornbread!
Me and the lovely Mrs. Judi :):) I Love Her!!!
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