By now you know that I'm from the South and that as much as I love seafood and pasta and spinach pies and Del's lemonade, a hunger for the flavors of my youth still visits now and then. I think I found a place that can help those hunger pangs to rest with food for my soul. I've discovered Miss Fannie's Soul Food Kitchen.

Armed with a buy-one-get-one-free coupon from this year's Entertainment book and with a vague idea of how to get to Broad Street, my fiancee and I finally found our way to Miss Fannie's door. And when the door opened, I knew we had found the right place.

I could smell chicken and greens and potato salad and ribs and cabbage and cornbread and... ... well ... I could smell the South.

The hot food is in a glass-front deli steam table. Okay, here's a little bit of trivia you may not know about the South. Southerners LOVE cafeterias because they can look at what they're getting up front. Little mom-and-pop restaurants, particularly in Mississippi/Alabama/Arkansas frequently have steam tables like this.

Behind the counter was Miss Fannie. Short and round, with a bright spirit despite the long days she puts in, she reminded me of my childhood -- my best friend Carl's mother perhaps, who would welcome us into her home on steamy summer afternoons with popsicles made from frozen Koolaid and who always seemed to be cooking something delicious.

The back of Miss Fannie's menu told her story. I can't do better than to use her own words...

And Miss Fannie had something delicious for us.

My plate featured potato salad, collard greens, and roasted chicken. Linda tried the ribs and cabbage. She had a second side dish, but she ate it so fast I don't notice what it was. We each got a big square of wonderfully moist cornbread.

The flavors were exactly like my childhood memoies insisted they be like. And for a while, my cravings for Southern food were abated. But after looking over her menu and thinking about the other Southern dishes she serves, I hear the new cravings whispering "catfish... catfish..."

We recommend Miss Fannie's for anyone looking for a casual and interesting lunch near Downcity Providence. Miss Fannie's is at 242 Broad Street in Providence. That's about a third of a mile from I-95 and downtown, right on a corner. She's serving food for the soul Wednesdays through Saturdays, starting at 11:30 and well into the evening each day. Call 401/861-3006 for directions or catering.

Sadly, Miss Fanny has closed her restaurant. But happily, she still caters! Give her a call at 401/861-3006.

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