Soul sista
Momma Cherri's by GG Madden
 Momma Cherri's Soul Food Shack is a
welcome antidote to the calculated, corporate dining experience
that has become so yawningly prevalent of late. The larger than
life depiction of Momma Cherri hanging off the front of the
building gave a clue, but didn't really prepare for her arrival at
the table - in the flesh and cooking up a storm. This woman is
gonna fill you up and soothe your soul with her very personal
style of African-American fare. An unpretentious and functional
interior is presided over by Diana Ross, Martin Luther King and
Queen Latifah in the men's and the menu combines family cookbook
and photo album.
But the soundtrack was the clincher
for me. As Aretha ordered Respect and Marvin was Getting it On,
vague vegetarianism and dietary resolve dissipated. Starters of
potato skins stuffed with cheese, chilli and salsa (£3.50) and a
serving of corn bread (£1.50) straight from the oven, both good
and speedily consumed.
Aunt Delia's Special Jambalaya, a
New Orleans style stir fry of prawns, chicken, spicy sausage, rice
and vegetables £9.50 went down well but the Reverend Daisy's
Southern Fried Chicken could bankrupt KFC. The Reverend is
Cherri's own Momma, and she really IS a Reverend. This was
seriously good and accompanied by full plate of potato salad,
vegetables and candied sweet potato, an easily acquired taste of
marshmallowed spud. It seemed rude not to give the puddings a go.
Momma Cherri was visibly shaken by our request for a plain
chocolate brownie to share, and on viewing the 'proper' desserts
it was clear why.
At £4.50 each, the traditional
pies, cakes and pancakes were all a meal in themselves, with
lashings of ice cream, cream, syrup and fruit. She couldn't resist
a little chocolate sauce on our bare brownies and opinion was
divided over whether they were merely life changers, or actually
better than sex. Soul food is historical Year Bong for comfort
food - Nigella can kiss Momma's grits.
Essential Information
Drinks: House wine - £2.50 glass, £7.99 a bottle; bottled beers
@£2.50; spirits @ £2
Atmosphere: Informal and friendly; smoking by genuine consensus;
great music
Kids: High chair; under threes eat free per paying adult; kids
menu; games and goodie bags; smoking area kicks in on arrival.
Special deals: 10 per cent off all food between 5 and 7pm, 20 per
cent off to all students during term time between 3 and 6pm,
Monday to Friday.
Momma Cherri's
11 Little East Street
01273 774545
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 12 to 11 pm
(midnight on Fridays and Saturdays)
Not so dumb
Dumb Waiter by Lander Hawes
 Located in Sydney Street, in the
midst of Brighton's colourful centre, is the Dumb Waiter, a cafe
with a stream of regular customers.
Offering a vegetarian based menu,
the food is beautifully homemade. Vegan food is a speciality.
Vegan pastry, vegan bread and vegan soups are all made expertly on
the premises, as is the houmus and falafel. Vegetarian burgers,
like the Spicy Bean burger, and the Star Trek sounding Quorn
burger are other favourites.
If vegan food is not to your
liking, there are plenty of meat options on the menu. Many English
cafe favourites can be eaten here.
The Dumb Waiter is a family run
business, which keeps it in a certain tradition. Originally a
regular style bacon and eggs cafe, it has kept pace with the
changing nature of Brighton's clientele.
The ground floor is spacious and
airy, with tall windows facing the street. The interior decoration
reminds me of a Thai backpacking resort. The chairs are painted
blue, the walls are orange and purple while the outside wall has a
mural design. The menu is drawn on coloured chalk covering
blackboards around the serving counter. There is seating in the
street at the front and in the garden at the back.
Signs of the cafe's involvement in
the wider community are everywhere. There is a shelf weighed down
with fliers, while posters advertising local events and funky
nightclub gigs adorn the walls. Work by local artists, including a
striking graphic of Michael Caine, are also mounted there. Minor
details include a Chinese fortune mirror by the stairs and a
noticeboard features a blizzard of flatshares, job opportunites
and alternative remedy classes.
I ate the vegetarian breakfast,
which was made up of soya based sausages, brown toast, baked beans
and tomatoes. Piping hot tea was served with that. I was tempted
to stay and sample some of the pitta bread dishes, which looked
great.
The Dumb Waiter. A new age exterior
with a down to earth core. And for all you diehards out there,
you'll be glad to hear that there was a copy of The Sun left
behind on my table. I almost asked the manager to cover it in
brown sauce and put it in the microwave.
The Dumb Waiter
Sydney Street, Brighton
01273 602526
Monday-Saturday 9.00-6.00
Sunday 10.30-3.30
Wok works
Lander Hawes samples a civilised meal
 Wok Wok gives the outward
impression of a fashionable eaterie and inside lives up to it.
Catering for Brighton's cosmopolitanos Wok Wok serves affordable
food in a lively fashion. It's an innovative modern style
restaurant, a cross cultural alternative to the usual traditional
British eaterie.
The interior decor is muted primary
tones, enhanced with poised spotlights, and a polished pine floor.
The ground floor is on two levels, with a basement seating area as
well. This avoids the sense of exposure found in some of
restaurants for you can be truly intimate at Wok Wok.
It might just be me, but the
customers seemed to have been specially chosen as part of the
ambience. Young professionals, and fashion victims make up most of
its clientele. And good for them. A civilised contrast to some of
the brouhaha in the surrounding streets.
The menu is made up of Far Eastern
dishes: curries, noodle-based main courses and so on, all briskly
delivered. I sat at a table by the kitchen entrance, and watched
plates of steaming rice, with their flavoury sauces go by. The
drinks menu is also very imaginative, with diverse juices and soda
section.
I ordered the Crispy Duck Salad at
£6.50 which came with a variety of eastern salad ingredients, and
slices of duck. To finish I had a cappucino. Both were very tasty
and well presented. The staff are young, polite, and pleasing to
the eye.
Being relatively new to journalism,
the temptation was of course to starve myself the entire day, go
there in the evening and order hibernation levels of cracking food
for free. But I was the model of mature restraint. And frankly I'm
glad because I wouldn't have been able to go there again.
Wok Wok. Fine food and snappy
service. A stamping ground for those of superior complexion, in a
non judgemental Swedish kind of way.
Wok Wok
Duke Street, Brighton.
Monday to Thursday and Sunday: 10am-11pm, Friday and Saturday :
10am-12pm
01273 735712.
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