Whip My Soul — Restaurant in Austin

I love supporting small businesses, but when you eat away from a restaurant and you’re left feeling unsatisfied wishing you could take the food back and get a refund because the food is overwhelmingly sub par… but u can’t because you live further away, there isn’t much support you can give. I’ll just review what I had. (Quick summary of what your about to read, the oxtail was over cooked and dry, yeah it fell off the bone, but it wasn’t tender, and it tasted like it was boiled.)

I ordered the oxtail dinner. The oxtail was severely over cooked with no flavor, it is smothered but it really tasted like when beef is boiled. I’ve had great southern oxtail and Jamaican oxtail, that I’m willing to pay money for, but at 29.50 with no flavor and dry, massively over-done meat, it’s not worth it, like I said, haven’t tried anything else on the menu, and I surely won’t be returning, but if you go there, get something other than the oxtail… and with the watered down taste of whatever it’s “smothered” in, I wouldn’t get anything else that’s smothered on the menu, if I were you. The collard greens were on my plate even though I didn’t order it, and I can honestly say it was the best thing in my plate, it had the most flavor, but it was still subpar. Mac and cheese… if you love Mac and cheese, you WILL NOT love this. Finally, red beans and rice… mid, it is was ok. And that’s all I had. I submitted a photo of my plate and the meat being off the bone is exactly how I got my plate from the kitchen (that’s supposed to be 1lb of oxtail, which is laughable). I wondered if I contracted covid after eating this, and I’ve eaten elsewhere and at home after having this meal, and sure enough my tastebuds still work.

Maybe their chicken is good and maybe their fish is good, I don’t really care to find out, I personally thought most of the menu was a little overpriced and price is never an issue if the food is good, but just don’t get the oxtail.

If you love soul food, this isn’t the place for you, it’s bland, watered down. If you’ve never had soul food, definitely give this place a try and whatever you rate it, just know theirs better out there. San Antonio has great soul food spots that never disappoint.

I won’t mention the customer service, though I gave a 2 star. I won’t mention because everyone has a personalized experience with customer service and maybe they just didn’t really care, because I wasn’t sitting and eating. But the man who seemed like the owner seemed nice and welcoming.

That oxtail is still sitting in my refrigerator right now, and I’m just honestly going to throw it away, thinking about having it as a left over is making me sick. Just don’t buy the oxtail if you choose to go there.

You might be thinking, maybe it’s because you waited to get home and eat, no, I sat in a parking lot and ate the food whilst it was still hot. Just very subpar, very...

When you think of great food in Austin, visions of smoked brisket or a plate of street tacos may come to mind. While these staples of central Texas help to satisfy many people's state of being "hangry,"  I wondered if the ATX food scene had any soul.

The answer is a resounding, yes!

In both its name and its varied offerings, Whip My Soul provides its customers with the staples of soul food that you might find in many houses for a Sunday family dinner.

I'll preface this review, by letting you know I'm a White guy, originally from Pittsburgh, but my foster parents were Black, and ingrained in me an appreciation, no a requirement, to properly season your food.  I also understand why certain relatives are not allowed to prepare food for big meals because (whispering) their versions aren't very good.

Whip My Soul's recipes ARE that good.  Now let's get to the food.

I wanted to try a number of different items, so I went with the 4 Shrimp and 2 Chicken Tender Platter ($18.99).  You get two sides, and I chose the Cheezy Mac and Mean Greens. I added a side of Sweet Glazed Yams. Sides are $5 regular and $9.50 large. They also have a side menu to add protein to your Dinner Plate or platter, and I wanted to try the fish.  It was $3.50.

All in, the shrimp and chicken platter with the fish add on was $22.49. I was immediately impressed with the amount of food you get for that amount of money.  The shrimp were large, breaded, and seasoned with a special proprietary seasoning "dust" with the right amount of bite.  The chicken tenders were each 3-4 ounces, breaded, and had a similar spice profile. The meat was moist and definitely lived up to its tender name.  The fish was one 4 oz piece, breaded, and again used the house "dust."

The sides were...amazing!  Seriously, it has been a minute since I've had store bought mac-n-cheese that tasted so good.

The Mean Greens turned out to be a friendly reminder of how good food can taste when it's properly made.  Likewise, the yams were soft and soaking in a glaze .  While I love my wife, I am glad I came alone. She would have eaten that whole order, and I would have been outta luck.

Their sweet tea is also done right, no pre-mix fake tea.  The also have a Kool Aid bar with six colors: blue, green, purple, yellow, orange and red. I grabbed a half dozen red velvet chocolate chip cookies ($7.50) for the road (for my wife).

Consider supporting this family-owned business.  If you haven't had soul food, Whip My Soul is the perfect place to get a taste or two, or three of this cusine.

If you grew up eating it, you know that the day will end right with a platter from here...

Ordered: 3 wings and a waffle Great crisp, on breaded wings. The coating was not thick. The chicken is also seasoned and not spicy. The wings were not greasy. These are full wings and not the flats and drums bs count. Not abnormally large. Not tiny. The waffle was not super fluffy or dense. It was a really good in the middle. Great taste. It paired well with the chicken. I did not need to use syrup, though it was provided. If you are craving chicken and waffles, this is great. Highly recommend.👌

Ordered: 4 shrimp and 2 fish with 2 sides. The shrimp was fresh and a decent size. We'll seasoned and breaded. The fish was REAL catfish! Not swai or "white fish". It was fresh and also fried well. The crisp and seasoning were delightful on both the shrimp and fish.

Sides: The fried okra was not as seasoned as I would have liked it, but it was seasoned. Although any more may be salty to some. The breading was perfect, and it was fried well.

None of the fried items were greasy.

We ordered the yams: if you are diabetic. Don't. These were fantastic! Straight candy. I like a more solid structure. They were soft but not at all mushy. Straight candy. I don't know how else to say it. When you bite into it, your teeth will puncture the meat of the yams and then sink into a smooth interior.

Ordered: cheesy mac and shrimp egg rolls. You have to order this. Best egg roll ever. I said it. The cheesy mac was cheezing, and the egg roll was crispin. The shrimp provided great texture, and its gentle seasoning blended well with the cheese and egg roll wrap.

Beware: Certain fried sides are not available on the weekends (Fri-Sun). Okra, fries, onion rings, pickles, etc.

Drink: 2 cups of water. The water had an odd taste.

The watermelon cucumber water was also delightful. It is dispensed from a soda machine. Not too sweet. It was refreshing.

They have about 6 Kool aid type beverages and other sodas also available. The Kool aid type drinks have individual dispensers for each flavor.

The lady at the register was friendly, welcoming, informative, enthusiastically spoke about the menu options when asked.

We visited around 5:30 pm on a Thursday afternoon. It was busy but tolerable. The food is definitely worth it. The kitchen moves at a good speed, especially when you consider how well everything was seasoned and cooked.

You pick up your food at the counter when your name is called, and you clear your own table when done.

Highly recommend. We will be back this weekend.

Picture: I started tearing into it and forgot to take better pictures. My bad.

Spent around...