At Doris' Cafe

Soul Food

The recipes for many traditional African-American dishes were created by slaves who learned to make the best with limited resources. Ingenuity is the hallmark of this cooking style, in which simple ingredients like okra, peanuts, greens, melons and well-seasoned sauces are skillfully prepared in myriad ways. Garden vegetables transformed into savory meals or sweet desserts and cuts of meats marinated and smoked to perfection are mainstays of the diet. Fried chicken, cornbread, biscuits, scalloped oysters, gumbo, boiled peanuts and hot sauce are just a few of the dishes African Americans have introduced to our national menu. And from barbecue to sweet potato pie, you will find Portland restaurants offering many African American-inspired choices.

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