Taste of Soul by Dips
2500 Nazareth RoadI am pretty shocked at how many restaurants are opening during the pandemic. You hear a lot about the ones that are closing but there have been several restaurants that could quickly adapt to the take out model that have opened and thrived during the last year.
I don’t remember when I first saw the Chicken Coop on Nazareth had closed down but I know it wasn’t long after I saw the closed signs that I started seeing Facebook posts for a soul food place moving in. They opened up just before Thanksgiving and every time I drive by, I see several cars in the drive thru.
Taste of Soul by Dips is on Nazareth near the intersection with Gull Road. It’s in the building that was a long time Chicken Coop restaurant behind the Speedway. When I pulled in to the parking lot, there was a line in the drive thru so I parked and started to go in but the doors were locked. A quick glance inside looks like they have done some work to the place just to clean it up a little but have kept the same basic layout of order counter on the upper level and most of the seating on the garden level sun room.
I got in line behind four or five cars in the drive thru and eventually pulled up to the menu board behind the building. The car in front of me sat there for quite a while then moved up. I pulled up and sat there for more than five minutes and started wondering if the speaker didn’t work so I moved up behind the line of cars. Almost as soon as I did, I heard a voice come through the speaker so I pulled out of line and went back around the building to get to the speaker to put in my order.
The menu is small but there’s a good variety to choose from. There was a lot I wanted to try but I settled on the Double Dip Burger with fries but I also added on an order of wing dings. The meal set me back about $15. Taste of Soul is quick to point out that they make everything fresh so it’s gonna take a little while. After I pulled through and paid, I was directed to a parking spot in the front of the building to wait for my meal to be brought out to me.
It took about ten minutes or so to get my food. The whole process took pretty close to a half hour but like I mentioned earlier, there were several cars in the drive thru ahead of me.
The first thing I opened up when I got back to work was the wing dings. The breaded chicken wing pieces were nice and crispy even after a drive in the Styrofoam container. There was a little bit of spiciness in the breading which was laid on thick and came out to a delicious golden, crispy crunch. There were six pieces in the box which would never be enough for a full meal for me but worked great as an add on.
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I went for the burger next and it was a hefty burger. The simple white bun holds two large burger patties with cheese between each layer, lettuce, pickles, tomato, ketchup, mustard, and mayo. This is a burger that is more than a meal for most people and was really too much for me with the extra wing dings. The sandwich is pretty simple. There’s nothing that really makes it stand out, but it’s one of those burgers that are a good value on top of being a tasty, solid burger.
The fries were really the only thing I could even slightly complain about with this meal. They are simple, frozen restaurant fries but they were a little under cooked. The steam from being in the Styrofoam didn’t do them any favors either but they were slightly raw in the middle. Didn’t stop me from eating all of them though….
Taste of Soul by Dips has been getting a lot of attention on the east side of town and it brings something new to that area. They have a bunch of comfort food at affordable prices. The drive thru is definitely working to their advantage right now in getting their name out there. I’m sure a lot of people are like me and tired of the same two or three take out meals so Taste of Soul is adding some variety to take out dining.
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