A Peace of Soul Vegan Kitchen (CARRYOUT & DELIVERY ONLY) — Restaurant in Columbia

The absolute BEST food in South Carolina is right here! 10/10 across the board: food, customer service, consistency, pricing vs portions, and quality.

I tried as much of the menu as I could within my time in the area, but wish I could've tried even more of their breakfast offerings. I enjoyed everything that I had from them, but I certainly had my favorites.

My obesessions - CHKN SANDWICHES: I tried the bakon ranch chkn (without the ranch) and the Nashville Hot sandwiches. I was immediately impressed with the chicken patty, which was thin and surrounded by a thick, seasoned breading. Personally, I don't like thick fake meats that are chewy and heavy with gluten. Their execution was perfect in every way. I do wish there was a vegan mayo option, especially for the Nashville hot, but their house sauce was an acceptable substitute.

WAFFLE FRIES: Only sold as a side order for @ $7, but the portion is HUGE! Seasoned and fried to perfection, these are a must try!

VEGGIE PLATE: You can order a plate with 4-6 options, which is a great way to try several side orders. I loved the purple cabbage, greens, and white/northern beans. The plate is heavy! They do not skimp on the portions and I love it!

BREAKFAST: Baby... Fluffy, buttery pancakes, buttery grits, hash browns, scrambled Just Egg, and that bakon, bakon, BAKON. Literally OBSESSED with their bakon! It is THAT delicious, and some of the best vegan bacon that I have ever tasted. Another kudos is that when I purchased extra syrup, it came in a legit size; not 0.02 oz of syrup for $5 (as I've experienced at other spots).

DESSERTS: I tried a LOT desserts, y'all. Their cakes give that rare, "Oh My Gosh! This can't be vegan!" reaction. The cakes are moist, soft, and buttery, and the buttercream icing is heavenly sweet. My standout dessert obsessions are

1. CARAMEL CAKE. Best vegan caramel that I have ever had in my 16 years as a vegan. Extremely creamy, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth caramel. Whew! I'm ordering a whole cake next time.
2. KEY LIME PIE. The best key lime pie on earth is right here. That's all I'm gonna say about that there.

FRESH JUICES: I was obsessed with the Pineapple Ginger juice and ordered about a dozen of them over time. The ingredients were very fresh and the ginger was strong, just like I like it.

The menu changes daily. It's carry-out only, but they have a large outdoor patio area if you'd like to eat onsite. (And there is also a restroom inside to wash your hands first.) You can order online (the preferred method) or inside. Be patient if you don't order ahead of time, because good food takes time. They are popular and they are not microwaving food; the food is freshly prepared.

If you're anywhere near the SC (GA, NC, FL, etc), make your way to Peace of Soul Vegan Kitchen, where the SOUL...

"We need to move to SC and within walking distance of this place" were the first words I spoke to my wife after having come down from NJ on a solo trip to see my mom.

I landed at the Columbia airport and hopped in the rental to go check this place out before I made my way to my mom's place about 45 min away. I didnt know this was still a carryout or delivery spot until I got there- they have some patio seating but the chairs inside are all stacked to the side. The gentleman at the counter was super polite and mentioned he would he happy to help if I had any questions. Today's menu included bbq popcorn chkn, so I got the plate with that and 4 sides- collard greens, double mac and kidney beans. I was told there were large orders ahead of me and there would be a 30 min wait. Not an issue if you read below- and now I was extra curious! I sat in the car and was texted barely 20 min later that my order was ready. Here we go...

I made it about 10 min into my drive before I found a place to just pull over and eat because the aroma of the (what felt like) 5 lb plate was taking over the car!

My mouth waters as I write this a day later. This was proper vegan soul food, heck this was proper soul food. Collards were tangy, sweet. salty and melted when you got a forkful. Mac was creamy (i dont care if they were shells, they are just a vessel for flavor), and the kidney beans were spiced just right and the perfect compliment. Chkn was still crispy and tossed just enough in sauce not drowning in it. I got through half the plate (and I have an appetite) before I was plain stuffed. Good thing too because I remembered I was sharing this with my mom when I got home. Euphoria quickly turned into gluttony-remorse but not a bad remorse at all. This food was bangin, slapped, all that, fire, toothsome, bussin' - I would have slapped my momma but I have too much respect (and fear).

On a related note, am I the only one that is classically conditioned to salivate when I hold a warm, heavy styrofoam container without even knowing whats inside? You know, when you first hear that styro-squeak as you open the lid, get that first whiff of deliciousness and your eyes first go to the condensation on the inside of the lid as you slowly pan hollywood style to the food in the plate, complete with theatrical glorious music playing? No? Guess its just me.

Back to it. If there was even room in the container- all it needed was a slice or two of plain white bread, nothing fancy, sunbeam style is perfect.

Summary: RUN here. Don't sweat the prices, portions are huge. Always support local-esp when the product is straight sorcery. Warning: If you are prone to back problems, you may want help lifting the plates.

To the owners if you are reading: Please open up in NJ ...

Was walking through down getting footage for a documentary and for an article I am writing on the top 10 black owned businesses in SC - but then decided to make it all inclusive as I am a lover of all and feel no one should be excluded and I came upon this nice little spot right across from a bakery. I was wondering if it was a bakery as well, and the name caught my eye. The name alone gave me a feeling that it could have been black owned. As I gathered a little bit of information to do more research later, I noticed a car pull up and was actually excited to see a family of african-americans (or blacks, I know some of us refer to ourselves differently!) I wanted to get more information so I went back to see if I could talk to them. The reception that I got was a little discouraging and I was saddened, but then I said to myself, maybe they were running a little late and had to hurry and open the store and I was slowing them down - well my first thought was a little different, lol. Beyonce did recently make a comment about demon time (whatever that is, lol) but sometimes WE still run on that CP time, LOL. So with my review I will say, I love the sign, I believe that it is in a perfect spot, and I would love to come back and try something. I have been thinking of going vegan for a while and I heard that it does wonders for the body. My biggest fear is that I am already a little skinny and I don't want to lose any weight (LOL!). So I am hoping that when I do come back that I can be schooled on the benefits of going vegan and taste some of the food. From the reviews I've read thus far everyone else loves it and it has a 5 out of 5 rating from the Food Network!!! How amazing is that?! So with my review I will give 5 stars as well for starting a business in such a crazy time and making it work! I believe that is such an amazing thing and such a marvelous accomplishment, not even by just being a black owned business but just doing something that a lot of us want to do but don't have the courage or the knowledge to do! Keep up the great work guys! Cant't wait to come back and try...