Soul food restaurants have a reputation of good food and plenty of it for a reasonable price. Of course the in my opinion the top soul food restaurants still live in the south. But as the competition gets hotter more upstarts are making a name for themselves in many northern, eastern and western locations.

These new upstarts bring a new twist and a fresh angle to traditional southern cuisine never seen before. This has caused many questions in people minds who watch changes slowly take place in the industry.  I often get questions on the new trend of soul food eating establishments spreading across the country, I'll share them here with you.

Yes and no. If you're talking about the eatery that refuses to change in the way of ingredients they use such as lard or other animal fats. Or subject their customers to bad service and less than desirable cleaning practices, yes. That establishment is working on borrowed time. But the business that continues to look for healthier ways to cook their dishes while preserving the down-home taste of it's recipes as much as possible is here to stay.

This has been the edge that carried the tasty southern cuisine back. Long saddled with the reputation of being unhealthy because of the large amount of animal fat, salt and butter, soul has turned healthier leaf on life. Restaurants continue to turn to healthier ingredients, cooking methods and  seasoning techniques to offer a healthier end product to the customer.

You can go by many ways. For example, time in business,  convenient location,  price. But the best way that has stood the test of time is word-of-mouth. A good place to eat will always leave clues. If it's real good people will talk ... If it's real bad people will talk.