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Chicago's Soul Kitchen's name made us think of soul food, the real thing. And if you're in New York and wondering about soul food, there's only one place to turn: Sylvia's, "Queen of Soul Food." Started by Sylvia Woods, Sylvia's has been a Harlem landmark for over 30 years, a "home away from home" for neighborhood regulars, celebrities, politicians, and international tourists. Taking time out from all of his activities, Van Woods, Sylvia's son and chairman of Sylvia Woods Enterprise, spoke to us about soul food, his mother, and their new restaurant in Atlanta.

Are there dishes that no matter what, people must have?
Barbeque ribs is one of our main staples, it's the dish that really set us on the map (Gael Greene of New York Magazine said they were the best in the City). Also collard greens, rice, and candied yams... there are beans ­ black-eyed peas and lima beans. And then, there're smothered dishes ­ chicken, smothered pork chops, these things make up soul food. They're the staples, the fundamentals.

Soul food seems to be growing in popularity daily, why do think that is?
I think it's just matter of the time coming for soul food. Even before Sylvia's got really popular, everyone came and enjoyed the food. Americans ­ black and white ­ have been enjoying it for years. I think, though, that blacks became kind of ashamed of it at some point, we didn't want to recognize it. But, you know, Americans are always looking for something new to satisfy their palates. They love ethnic food, and they're always looking for the next one. Now, here's a rich tradition of cooking ­ ham, yams ­ and, it's popularity has grown to the point where everyone is ready for it to be the next big thing. And, I think Sylvia's has been a part of that growth. Sylvia's has helped to bring soul food to a wide range of people, to bring it to a high level of general acceptance and recognition.

How do you understand the relationship between Sylvia's and the immediate community surrounding it?
People love my mother. There has always been a connection between Sylvia and the community ­ the people continue to say, "Right on to you Sylvia." They support her. And, they give Sylvia credit for at least 3 things. One, she's a hard worker, she's not pretentious. The black community respects someone who made it and worked hard for it, ground it out, and didn't have it given to them. Two, she wouldn't let people go hungry. If people didn't have money, she would give them food. And, three, she gave people jobs. She took them in. People remember that and talk about it.

Sylvia's has become something of a cultural center in Harlem, will you try to cultivate that kind of relationship with the communities surrounding the new restaurants you're opening, like the one in Atlanta (opening January 31st)?
American universe and we can do that because we're in one of the few arenas that people can get right in touch with. Our style of food is what people like, and there's nothing more intimate than sitting down and eating with someone. And we have music (Sylvia's has live jazz brunches on Sundays) ­ which is a big part of our heritage. We're going to accent these elements of African-American culture as we go into Atlanta ­ even our investors appreciate that. Sylvia's is, and has always been, a celebration of African American culture on the one hand, but it's also a celebration of American culture on the other. And, it's become an international celebration, people from all over the world come here. Even though Sylvia's is fundamentally African American, we want to draw in all nationalities to enjoy. And, we want to bring that celebration to Atlanta.

Why Atlanta?
You know, through the 80s and 90s we were asked to open up Sylvia's all over. And we looked all over ­ Philadelphia, New Jersey. But for me, the seed for Atlanta was planted 30 years ago ­ in the 60s. I had to go to jail to integrate a Holiday Inn (in South Carolina), to be able to spend the night there. But in '67, I spent the night at Paschal Brothers, a black owned hotel and restaurant in Atlanta. Paschal Brother's is an important part of the history of the civil rights movement ­ Dr. King stayed there ­ people say that Paschal Brother's fed the civil rights movement in the South, and we fed it in the North. And, when I spent the night there, I was so proud that this was something that black folks owned ­ I thought, here is a black man who owns a hotel that's just as beautiful as the Holiday Inn ­ and it planted the seed for me, made me want to be in Atlanta. Life takes a lot of turns, but 30 years later, here we are.