Soul Prime (Chicago, Illinois) | Influencer Restaurant Review by Keith Lee

Full Transcript: Keith Lee’s Soul Prime Restaurant Review Video

Me and my family were driving around Chicago looking for food to eat when I received this email. You can pause to read if you would like to. I got it. Let’s try it and rate it 1 to 10.

I’mma tell the total of the food at the end because this story took a huge turn that I was not expecting. But for now, let’s do the review.

Question: Why do I have this plate in my hand and not a bag?
Answer: When we tried to call our order in, they said it was too busy to do takeout, even though in the email they said they could use the marketing. But I’mma give them the benefit of the doubt—today just might be a busy day.

So, my sister went and ordered food, and they brought me out plates from the restaurant periodically as the food came out. I’mma show you everything I got one by one. We’re gonna try it and rate it 1 to 10.

We gonna start with the plate in my hand. This is collard green dip. I already took one bite, but it’s really loud in Chicago, so I had to shoot this again. This is a soul food restaurant, and they are very innovative, apparently. This is collard green dip. It’s like spinach casserole, but instead of spinach, it’s collard greens.

I did try it already, but I didn’t get to the middle. So, I’m gonna try to get the middle pieces. It’s cheesy, seasoned collard greens. It’s so much different than any collard greens I’ve ever had before. If you don’t like collard greens, I don’t think you would like this. For me, this is an 8 out of 10.

Next, these are chicken wings. There’s hot sauce and some kind of honey sauce on here. It’s crispy, perfectly cooked. I wish there was a little more seasoning on the chicken itself, but this hot sauce is delicious. The hot sauce has all the seasoning for me, and these pieces are huge.

I bit it already, but this was a chicken wing. I thought it was a chicken thigh, and it came with a cornbread muffin. But as you can see, I’ve been smashing. It’s sweet and salty, and it soaks up that hot sauce. Some just fell into the hot sauce—I’m gonna eat that right now. This whole plate is really high for me.
Rating: 8.7 out of 10.
The cornbread is a 9.3 out of 10. This cornbread is crazy.

Next up, we got catfish nuggets. This is the catfish nugget with homemade tartar sauce. The tartar sauce and the hot sauce, in my opinion, is the star of the show. The catfish by itself doesn’t have much flavor. Most of the flavor comes from the hot sauce and the tartar sauce. The condiments are delicious, but the catfish itself, for me, is a 5 out of 10. With the hot sauce, it’s a 7.9 out of 10.

Next up, their house peach lemonade. Mmm, this lemonade is tart, it’s sweet, and I do taste the peach. It’s beautiful. As far as presentation, this is an 8.3 out of 10 for me.

Last but not least, the short rib taco. Chicago is so loud, and so is the flavor in this. This is remarkable. It’s a little on the salty side, and I wish it had a little more spice. But other than that, this is almost a perfect taco. The rib is seasoned, tender, and dripping. For me, if it were a little less salty and a little spicier, this would be a 10. But as it is, it’s a 9.2 out of 10.

I genuinely feel like all this place needs is time and experience. When I was done, I went inside with the rest of my family to eat, and the chef saw me. She immediately came over, and I gave her my critiques. One of my main critiques was, before they get a huge influx, I would like for them to get more experience because they’ve only been open for four months.

What I’m afraid of is that the influx might make it hard to maintain the quality of the food that they have right now. She was open and receptive, and she told me her backstory. This is where I said the story took a crazy turn. One, I never go in and talk to the owners afterwards; I usually just leave. And two, I’ve never had a one-on-one with a chef like this.

I’mma play a bit of our conversation:
“I had a stroke in 2019. The cosmic closed my restaurant. So when I got better, I was like, I know that I set the stage for a lot of these young girls out here, young guys. Oh, my god, my family. I was literally like, where’s my ring? Fifteen thousand. I literally bet on myself, which I thought I would, but I need them. I need them because I’m in a community, but I haven’t got it. And right now it’s about us. And god says it’s gonna be us for right now. We look good. Melanated, beautiful right here, you know, this winter. So that’s what it is for right now. Then one of my customers tagged you. Tag me on your phone. I’m like, come on, god, let’s do this thing. Tag you. And then everybody else I tag. And then here y’all are. So thank you.”

Thank you. You gave me chills. Wow. Thank you. Wow.

I’mma be 100% honest with you. You are why I do what I do. People like you and your story, and your passion for what you do—you are exactly why I do what I do. I just want to shake your hand and say I appreciate you sharing that story with me.

I always say I’m a vessel for god, and I truly believe I listen to what I’m supposed to be doing when I’m supposed to be doing it.

After she told me that, I asked her what her total sales were for today. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. I really do. Everything that you’ve been worrying about is about to change. I pray in advance. I’m thanking god in advance. Everything that you believe in, god. I personally think all they need is time and experience, and god willing, they’re gonna be out the door now.

I’m just thankful that I’m any part of this. Thank you, Chicago. The love you are showing me is crazy. God bless you. Have an amazing day. Y’all be safe.