West End Grill - NC Folk Life

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West End Grill
Monday 8/29/2011

by David Cecelski

I stopped at an elegant little soul food cafe in a small town in the southeastern part of the state today—the West End Grill in Kenansville. It’s old-fashioned country food. They serve big plates of fried catfish, fried pork chops, chitterlings, chicken (baked, fried, and wings), barbecued ribs, and down home, eastern NC-style barbecue. It’s been one of my favorite country cooking places for a long time.

You can get a lunch plate there with a meat, two vegetables, hushpuppies, and sweet tea for $7.00. The vegetables today included fried okra, cabbage, butterbeans, dark rice, and 5 or 6 others. You can also get homemade pork skins on the side. I got the baked chicken, cabbage, and rice and they were all delicious: spicy and full of flavor.

I find the cafe just a pleasant, restful place, too-- and stylish. There are maybe a dozen, very comfortable booths and a little counter with 3 or 4 chrome stools. The place is full of art posters and oil paintings, too—they feature iconic R&B and hip-hop artists, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, and an African-American farmwoman protecting her chickens with a shotgun.

I had been getting our farmhouse ready for hurricane Irene all morning and I was tired when I got to the West End Grill, but I felt renewed and restored when I left and got back on the road.
The West End Grill is at 156 Mallard Street (US 24/50) in Kenansville, the seat of Duplin County. It’s only about 8 miles off I-40 if you’re traveling between Raleigh and Wilmington. Be sure to call ahead to find out when they’re frying fresh spots. You can reach them at (252) 296-0148.

The North Carolina Folklife Institute is pleased to present this blog, an exploration of the state's traditional cooking and foodways by David Cecelski, one of the state's most accomplished historians.

David's passion for the state's history takes him all over North Carolina. But David is also a closet chowhound--a connoisseur of little country cafes, old recipes, and backyard barbecues. His every trip is a chance to learn more history, and also a chance to find a new local delicacy or a great new restaurant.