Papa’s Soul Food Kitchen – Eugene, OR

We were in town for a big roller derby tournament and I had done some food research – I usually do. I found a place that had some highly ranked BBQ. Papa’s was always at the top of the lists I was finding.

There’s always a big line (yeah, it’s one of those places), so we ordered at the counter to eat it back at the venue. I ordered a two bone lunch snack with collard greens and mac and cheese for sides, and then also ordered a cornbread.

While we were waiting, we saw a menu with fun drinks on them, so we decided to get a couple for ourselves. The Kool-Aid Fizzie was exactly what we needed to pass the time waiting for our food. It’s vodka, muddled lemon, sprite and either red or purple Kool-Aid. These things were fantastic.

Also, since these folks know their way around Kool-Aid, the bartender had made some Kool-Aid pickles. Basically take out half the brine from a giant jar of pickles, then replace with Kool-Aid and let sit for a few days. These cheery Kool-Aid pickles were amazingly sweet, but still had a great crunch. I’ll be doing this at home, just you wait.

We took the food back to he venue and everyone dug in. I was lucky I remembered to take a photo since everyone wolfed down their food in silence. I am positive everyone was thrilled with everything they had. The ribs were really tender, without being completely fall-apart-style. The collard greens were fantastic (actually some of the best I can remember), and the mac and cheese was really good (rue based, not just Velveeta).

The cornbread was also fantastic, and they were sure to give me enough butter to make sure there was a massive coating on the cornbread before eating it. I’d recommend this place pretty highly if you’re in the Eugene area. Just be prepared to wait (but get some Kool-Aid Fizzies while you’re waiting. You’ll be glad you did.

No top 5 for this place, since I cranked through the review pretty quickly.

www.papassoulfoodkitchen.com