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Review Archive/March 2010
Updated February 24, 2010
DJ's Soul Food Restaurant/Rock Hill, SC
Good Enough for Former Rapper Kurtis Blow
 By Jay Whipple/Trend Magazine
DJ’s Soul Food is a new eatery that I passed several times while taking the back way into Rock Hill, SC, from Charlotte, NC, off Highway 21 and Cherry Road. It sits in a sometimes busy and somewhat country strip mall that also includes a bingo hall. It has a red neon sign in the front window so you can not miss it at night when it gets dark along that stretch of highway. It is also just across the street from what used to be one of the largest plants in Rock Hill – Hearst Celanese. The plant was so influential to the community that they named a cross street and major exit off I-77 South after the former industrial icon.
In March of last year – 2009 – I finally decided to stop by and check out their soul food cuisine. There were not that many people in there at the time but I found the owner – DJ – in good spirits. In fact, he was somewhat of a comedian that kept cracking jokes while I awaited my order; some of them were even funny. Just kidding!
I ordered a take out as usual this time for myself and my associate whom I dragged into this eatery to assist me with my review. We both ordered the Croaker fish plate with side orders of collard greens and potato salad. There is nothing like the initial scent of a freshly fried croaker on a Friday night after a long week of slaving on the job. It just doesn’t get better than that in the South! Both orders came up within 10 minutes and after springing for both meals, the total came to $17.42 for two large croaker fish plates. I mean so large that part of the fish tails were hanging out the side of the take out box – that large!
My associate dropped me off and she went home to complete her assignment to assist me in my review of DJ’s soul food. It turns out that she gave raved reviews of the croaker, greens, and potato salad, but admitted that she does not eat much soul food. She is Puerto Rican. I on the other hand consider myself a connoisseur of soul food and have the following to report…
The croaker was indeed good but a little too hard fried for my taste. The greens were also good but not exactly what I would consider homemade by grandma. The same goes for the potato salad, good but not quite grandma good. The only part of the meal that disappointed me, however, was the tarter sauce for the fish. I know, I know, some of you prefer hot sauce on your fried fish but I was in a tauter sauce mood this time. It tasted like the kind of tarter sauce that you can pick up on aisle 9 at the chain grocery store down the street.
All in all, DJ’s is off to a good start since opening in late 2008, and they even have a second location, near the hospital in Rock Hill, SC, that doubles as a night club that features live jazz a few times a week. I have been back to the Cherry Road location several times since and the soul food is becoming more like grandmas. In fact, on my last stop there, I learned that former rapper Kurtis Blow frequents the place. For you new school rapper types, his hits include “These are the Breaks,” “We’re Playing Basketball,” and a Christmas rap
DJ's Soul Food Restaurant is located at 3027 Cherry Road, Suite A, Rock Hill, SC, 29730, near I-77 South and Celanese Road.
Their web address is https://www.djsoulfood.com/, and phone number is 803-329-8400. Tell them that Trend Magazine referred you!
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