Ah, to walk into the soul food legend’s new home in Deep Ellum and know that only the location has changed. It even brings a smile to a cranky ex-newspaperman.
The food was, as always, top-notch — short ribs, smothered corn, cabbage and pound cake. My old Times Herald pal, Jim Frisinger, plate loaded with chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and cabbage, was positively beaming. Nothing, he said, had gone uptown in the least — the paper towel rolls were still on the table, the margarine remained pourable, and all of the pictures that had been on the walls on Main Street were still there, from Martin Luther King to the various calendars.
Parking, surprisingly, was not a problem. There was plenty of space on the street at lunch time on Friday, and none of the lots around Vern’s were close to full. The restaurant was not its usual packed, waiting in line self, but it has only been in the new spot for a couple of weeks. No doubt business will pick up as more people realize it has moved.
