Jess Soul Food — Restaurant in Waco

I had heard about this place, so I thought I would give it a try. I ordered the fried catfish with two sides, which included a mixture of collard greens and cabbage, candied yams, and cornbread. All of this cost over $20. Hmm... not too bad. But when I got my food, I was not impressed. The only item that was hot was the catfish. The collard greens and candied yams were barely lukewarm. The greens were filled with an annoyingly amount of stalks. I had hopes that the greens would be bursting with flavor and the "pot liquor" would be savory and delicious. It was not. The yams were mildly sweet but had no depth in flavor or spices, and they definitely were not "candied." The cornbread was dry and not moist. I'm used to buttered cornbread that's moist and braised in butter and honey. It all tasted flat. For dessert, I chose the peach cobbler, and again, I was not impressed. It was heavily filled with more dough crust than peaches. It lacked spices and the buttery rich syrup I'm accustomed to. So, I wouldn't recommend it. I also sampled a piece of their oxtail because I was curious to know what it tasted like. The piece I got had very little meat on it, and it didn't taste like it was seasoned at all. There was an unpleasant gelatinous ring around the meat and bone, and I didn't want to continue eating it. If I were to grade the food at this restaurant, it would get a...

First time and I'm from out of town. Over all experience was a 5 out if 10 from beginning to end. The bar b que chicken was okay could have used more sauce and seasoning.. the Mac and cheese cabbage and yams were delicious. The corn bread was just a little too dry. The Tea was amazing first sip second sip and so on ..lol. 😍 The interaction with cashier and hostess i believe the other girl was a little dry at first, but the cashier came through in the end. Others that worked there never checked on us or asked how we were. A lady at the end who we didn't see earlier as we were leaving, was nice and talkative and asked us to enjoy our day. I wish we would have seen her throughout the dine in. All in All recommend FOR A FULL BELLY. Just needs to make it more home feeling and feel...

This was my first time eating at this establishment. I ordered the Cajun trio basket which consists of fried shrimp(3), fried catfish(2), a sizable boudin ball, and fries. When I tell you this was the cleanest catfish I've ever eaten. Tasted like the oil was brand new, no after taste, just amazingly delicious catfish. The shrimp were pretty big and were "perfect". I've had boudin a few times and thos had a stronger black pepper taste in my opinion, but that is certainly not a negative. It gave it a spicier taste and I'm all for it. The fries were seasoned with pepper and were cooked just right. I will DEFINITELY be coming back to try multiple things off of the menu. There's something about these "hole-in-the-wall" places that just know what they're doing. Can't wait to come...