Bayou Eats | Nana’s Soulfood

ARTICLE BY STARLA GATSON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KELLY MOORE CLARK

Dorethea Mcneal keeps the tradition of soul food alive, serving family recipes and heartfelt hospitality at Nana’s Soulfood in Ruston.

Sundays are for soul food, and they have been since the days of slavery in America. In an essay titled “Soul Food as Cultural Creation,” William C. Whitt explains why: “Saturday night was usually the time for distributing slave provisions. This made possible the tradition of a larger-than-normal Sunday dinner — a practice that has continued with minor modification in many African American households.”

Whitt’s right. Now, Black families, especially those here in the South, gather around the table on Sundays to enjoy a spread larger than the ones they enjoy on other days of the week, complete with dishes like collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and fried chicken made from recipes handed down from one generation to the next. 

Of course, there are no rules that say soul food can only be eaten on Sundays, that only Black Americans can partake, or that you have to cook the meal yourself. That’s why Nana’s Soulfood, located at 301 Minden Street in Ruston, is consistently busy. All kinds of people flock to the cozy, homey restaurant to break bread — hot water cornbread, specifically — made by Dorethea Mcneal.

Thanks to the longstanding association of soul food with Sundays, the first day of the week is Mcneal’s busiest. Between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., North Louisiana residents head to the restaurant for fried pork chops, fried or baked chicken, smothered hamburger steak, meatloaf, collard greens, purple hull peas, mashed potatoes, cabbage greens, creamed corn, deviled eggs, yams, pound cake, banana pudding, and cheesecake.

Though not as many as on Sundays, plenty of Rustonites and visitors from surrounding parishes walk through the Nana’s Soulfood doors on the other days to enjoy some of the restaurant’s entrees and sides. “On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, I’m open from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and I’m closed Wednesday and Saturday,” Mcneal says — to enjoy some of the restaurant’s other entrees and sides. Each day boasts its own set menu of items like beef tips, fried fish, ribs, rice, and string beans that Mcneal only changes if she wants to “add an extra meat or something.” 

Ultimately, though, it doesn’t particularly matter when you visit Nana’s Soulfood. Whichever day you’re there and whatever is on your plate, the meal is sure to conquer your soul food cravings and leave you satisfied. Mcneal ensures every dish is as it should be by taking a hands-on approach to the cooking — she pauses several times during her conversation with BayouLife to check on the desserts she has in the oven or to direct one of her staff members to their next task — and doing much of the work herself. Whatever Mcneal doesn’t personally make is cooked by her crew using her recipes.

“They’re family recipes passed down,” she says proudly, noting that her mother, grandmother, and aunties taught her much of what she knows about food and cooking. “But if I see [a new dish] I want to challenge myself with, I try to tackle it.” 

The Dubach native and her recipes are trustworthy, as she’s logged plenty of kitchen hours throughout her lifetime. Before she opened Nana’s Soulfood, you could find Mcneal working in elementary and high school cafeterias. As a child, Mcneal joined her family in the kitchen to help prepare meals and says, “I was too small to even see what my mom was doing. I used to get a chair and stand up in it to watch her.”

The love of cooking planted during Mcneal’s childhood continued to bloom as her life went on. She enjoyed making food so much that opening a restaurant became a dream of hers. Eventually, the opportunity to make it a reality presented itself. One day, while driving through Ruston, Mcneal’s youngest daughter passed by a vacant building in town. She saw an opportunity and urged her mother to jump on it — “[My daughter] was the biggest force in it,” Mcneal says of going into the restaurant business. Mcneal did, and in February 2015, Nana’s Soulfood was born. 

For more than a decade, the spot has been one of Ruston’s hidden gems, serving homestyle soul food every week. Nana’s is one of Lincoln Parish’s few authentic soul food spots, and Mcneal doesn’t take that lightly. She’s honored to serve her food to the community, she says, adding, “I love that [customers] love to come here. They depend on me, and I love [cooking] for them.” 

Mcneal has to love it. It’s hard work, the kind you need passion to keep doing. Because she cares so deeply about Nana’s Soulfood and its customers, Mcneal works diligently and consistently each day to make sure everything is just right for her guests. 

“I go to the grocery store just about every morning and get what I need for that day,” Mcneal explains, sharing that she also purchases fresh food from vendors and local farmers. “I get [to the restaurant] around 8:15 a.m., and shortly after that, we get started preparing for that day.” 

Mcneal and the rest of the Nana’s Soulfood team, many of whom are her family members, provide more than just yummy meals. They also give patrons a warm atmosphere to eat and enjoy each other’s company. From the outside, the little white Nana’s Soulfood building looks a lot like a beloved grandmother’s home. The inside isn’t much different. The tables and chairs look like those you’d find in a family dining room. There is vintage decor on the walls, some of which bears references to biblical scriptures and quotes about faith and family. It’s quaint and comfortable, full of charm that no doubt draws Mcneal’s regular customers back in again and again. 

Whatever brings them back, whether the homey environment or the taste of their favorite dish, Mcneal is thankful for those who have visited her restaurant and for the positive feedback they’ve left. The restaurant industry is notoriously difficult to navigate, and Mcneal acknowledges this; she confesses that, at times, she has been tempted to close the Nana’s Soulfood doors for good. But she just can’t. She loves cooking and her customers far too much to stop yet. 

If you find yourself in Ruston and the desire for good home-cooking in a down-to-earth environment hits, consider giving Nana’s Soulfood a try. Thanks to the efforts of Mcneal and her crew, you’ll feel right at home while you’re there. When you leave, you’ll have a full belly, satisfied taste buds, and maybe a new favorite soul food spot. 

Visit Nana’s Soulfood at 301 Minden Street in Ruston on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. No time to sit down, or want to take it to go? You’re in luck; Nana’s Soulfood is available for DoorDash delivery and accepts call-in takeout orders at (318) 224-7028.

Plates and bowls for styling (Vietri’s organic Forma in the neutral Cloud color) were sourced from The Muffin Tin and Trenton House.