Real Cooks’ Kitchen

I moved to the Minneapolis area in April 2012 and had been on the prowl for good cooking ever since. I’m not sure where the first reviewer was headed with her review, but New Orleans, or any other part of Louisiana is not known for southern cooking… it’s known for cajun and creole cooking. There is a huge difference. Anyway, I am from Mississippi and know good cooking. I am a FOODIE and am not afraid to give bad reviews… having said that. THESE ARE SOME REAL COOKS!!!
A few weeks ago at a TwinWest Chamber event (at TGIF) on Wayzata, I polled the people present for some good cooking. Just about everyone there was clueless EXCEPT this one lady who took a few days to get back to me. Anyway… a few days after the event, the nice lady emailed me with RCK as a suggestion and a copy of its menu.
Today I left work early and headed to RCK. I got there about 5:50pm. While it was not easy to find (hidden in a flatlined strip mall) I kept circling until I did find the place. The menu looked absolutely delicious so I ordered two entrees… simply so I can taste a little bit of everything and eat for 2 days. I must admit though… from my previous experience of eating out in the Twin Cities… I was still a bit skeptical…
I ordered the fried chicken, collard greens, cabbage greens, mac and cheese, yams, roll, and cornbread. I actually had 2 servings of collard greens. The lady in charge made sure I knew everything was cooked to order… so I Was like… okay then! lol
Anyway… the food was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS… it was prepared right… smelled good… tasted great… and I can tell it was made with love. Those greens and cabbage were a little SALTY but I took them down… even the pot liquor. The fried chicken tasted just like my mama’s. Everything was hot and well worth the 15 minute wait… remember… cooked to order. Even though I only got one pork chop the other portions were LARGE AND IN CHARGE!!! This is real SOUL FOOD.
Now… so I won’t be put on blood pressure meds, I won’t be going but twice a month… but I’m definiely going back… this is the Twin Cities’ best hidden treasure. I am a dean for a college and I will be asking them to cater one of our functions.
Now… if they end up doing me like the pregnant lady. I will post a bad review… service is huge with me. They did a great job today and I expect that every single time I walk in there.

Real good home cooking. Generous servings reasonably priced. Homey atmosphere and gospel music soundtrack. Friendly, courteous staff.

If you are in the neighborhood, this place is worth a try but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here again. We had fried pork chops, ribs, mac & cheese, greens, rice & gravy and sweet potatoes. The pork chop and the ribs were just ok, but the mac & cheese was de-​lish. Very yummy. The prices were a little high for what we got ($ 12 for one thin pork chop, and two small sides), especially because the food was about as good as what I can make at home, but the service was good and the place was clean.

First and foremost the 1 star was being generous. If they had an option for half a star, that is all this place deserves. I had high hopes of getting some great soul food at a decent price, none of which happened. My boyfriend is from the south (New Orleans) and was excited about eating some good food like what he grew up with. We ordered the one meat two sides dinner for $ 12.50 and the oxtail stew over white rice for $ 8.50. The chicken wing dinner was so-​so. It came with 5 chicken wings which were the smallest wings I have ever seen, greens which actually were amazing and mac and cheese which was decent (both of the sides were very small portions). The oxtail stew was the poorest excuse for home cooking I have ever ate. It tasted like they opened a can of beef stew and poured it over poorly cooked white rice. The flavor was bland and I could not find any oxtail in my stew. I felt like they ran out of what ever they had for the oxtail stew special and ran to the store to buy a filler.
The worst part about the whole experience is that it took over an hour for us to get our food to go. There were only two other tables in the restaurant and the staff appeared as if they were confused and in no hurry to get the food out. As we were leaving the restaurant, there was a pregnant woman who drove from South Minneapolis who was clearly craving soul food. As she arrived at the door at 7:30 pm the hostess explained they were closing early. The woman was upset stating their business card says «Open Late!» I checked the business card which states «Friday night open until midnight.» The last time I checked 7:30 pm is not midnight. The staff had no excuse as to why they were closing early. All and all this was one of the worst dinning experiences I have ever had. Just a blatant disappointment. I really wish I could have my $ 25.00 and my hour back. I can make better soul food at home and for ½ of the price, twice the quantity and in ¹⁄₃ of the time.