Honeysuckle Provisions

If you’re anything like us, you’re eating at a counter-service spot daily. Maybe it’s because we “forgot” to get to the grocery store, again. Maybe it’s because our neighborhood is packed with so many takeout-eries and corner stores that it feels impossible not to pop in. Or maybe it’s because when we’re craving a BEC for breakfast, a hoagie or cheesesteak for lunch, or a quick jerk-chicken dinner, they’re just so dang convenient. West Philly’s Honeysuckle Provisions offers all of those things in one place–and they do it incredibly well.

photo credit: Nicole Guglielmo

Surrounded by several corner groceries and mini-marts (a staple of the neighborhood), this Afro-centric cafe and grocery stands out because everything sold or used in the dishes here comes from Black producers. Out front, a chalkboard displays the daily specials. Inside, there are earth-toned “F.A.M” t-shirts for sale, pictures from the owners' farm lining the wall, and soul food books inspiring locals to grab a sack of black-eyed peas off the rack and make something out of them for dinner. The sacks of greens and sweet potatoes remind us of our childhood fantasy of living in the country, but the thought of getting dirt on our favorite Prince tee has us sticking to the take-out dinner for two.     

photo credit: Nicole Guglielmo

Honeysuckle is not for the indecisive. There’s a glass case of moist pastries like plantain snack cakes, loaves of “yamz” bread, and benne-cocoa shortbread. Even when we narrow our choices down to the maple sage sausage sandwich or the turkey “dolla hoagie,” the buttery smell of heirloom grits always leads us to find a bit more stomach real estate. All of this is to say that everything here is excellent—our order is about as long as a nine-year-old’s wishlist for Santa.

Whether it’s the spicy West Indian patty or Haitian-inspired tasso ham and pulled griyo sandwich, the constant here is fresh ingredients and a complex mix of flavors that somehow always works. The feeling of comfort we get from these dishes is something we can’t put a price on, but they have—the sandwiches here run around $9-$18. There’s a full cafe menu, with options like cowpea coffee, Kenyan chai lattes, and Kreyol limeade (our favorite). 

photo credit: Nicole Guglielmo

It may check all the boxes of your neighborhood spot, but this is no typical corner store. Drop by the easygoing place for Creole spices and greens, and while you wait for your meal sift through “A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations.” Like Whitney Houston’s discography, it’ll always be something you covet.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Nicole Guglielmo

Plantain Snack Cake

The entire top layer of this cake is sliced plantains. This means each bite of the moist cake gets a kick of the tender, sweet fruit. It’s always a good time to eat it–in the morning paired with your coffee, as a snack between meetings, or inside the cafe while ordering 10 more.

photo credit: Nicole Guglielmo

Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich

There’s a holiday theory that sweet potatoes can pretty much mix with anything on the plate. We’re not sure if Honeysuckle is testing the range of sweet potatoes as well, but they put a mound of it between maple sage sausage (or black-eyed peas scrapple), cooper sharp, and eggs–and it really, really works.

photo credit: Honeysuckle Provisions

Hot Pocket

There are lots of delicious things wrapped in or sandwiched between dough here and this pouch of spicy, smoked collard greens and eggs in a flaky crust is right up there with the best of them. It’s the easiest grab-and-go option for breakfast outside of the pastries.

photo credit: Nicole Guglielmo

“Dolla” Hoagie

This hoagie is taking us back to a time when the corner store was the end-all-be-all for hoagies and cheesesteaks, and they only cost a dollar (now it’s $12). It layers an African benne seed hoagie roll with turkey or smoked turnip, cooper sharp, benne seed mayo, and a herb and pepper hoagie dressing that makes each bite juicier than the last.

photo credit: Nicole Guglielmo

Kreyol Limeade

Better than any lemonade or citrusy beverage we’ve ever had, we’d deeply consider subscribing to monthly jug deliveries if Honeysuckle had the option. It has a subtle hint of vanilla and it’s not overly tart or sweet. It’s perfect.