THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Phil the Fire

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Phil the Fire Restaurant Review:

They call it soul food, or, actually, food for the soul, but it’s really upscale soul food. Just off the fancy shopping district of Shaker Square, this restaurant is a small, two-story place that’s comfortable and simply decorated. Phil the Fire has kindled, or maybe rekindled, a chicken-and-waffles craze here. That’s the star of the menu---delicious fried chicken served on top of delicious cinnamon-flavored waffles with maple syrup, a dish that was popular in the earlier 1900s. While the menu consists mainly of fried chicken, fried fish and waffles, there are seemingly endless variations on these themes: different versions of chicken, fish (catfish, white fish and salmon) or waffles alone, or in combinations with grits or waffles. Then there are lots of sides, including sweet potato fries, cheddar cheese grits, candied yams, red beans and rice, and collard greens with smoked turkey; and a bunch of desserts, including Mom’s famous double butter peach cobbler and dessert waffles. The very popular Sunday brunch features all that plus items like omelets, hash browns and turkey sausage. The place is almost always packed, in part because it’s small, but mostly because it’s so good.