Esther's Cajun Café & Soul Food

If you’re on the Northside, few spots will give you better soul food than Esther’s Cajun Cafe & Soul Food. The cafeteria-style restaurant has rows of options, but the smothered turkey wings (and more importantly, the gravy on top) could be eaten with just rice. The turkey is so tender that the bone is merely a formality. Esther's also offers a few cakes sold by the slice that feel like the dessert version of a kiss on the cheek—they’re perfectly sweet and automatically make you forget the pile of laundry waiting at home. Sit by the bar and have your meal with a drink meant for grown folks.