"When Florida Avenue Grill opened in 1944, it was one of the few black-owned restaurants in a segregated city. A former Capitol Hill shoeshine man, Lacey C. Wilson Sr. founded the soul food spot with his wife, Betty, as part of a lifelong dream, financing it “two chickens at a time”—money was so tight that he would cook two chickens to sell, then send Betty out to buy two more. Though they started with just two stools and a basement kitchen, the couple quickly garnered a loyal fan base that included everyone from Howard University students and local jazz musicians to Stokely Carmichael and Martin Luther King Jr. Since those early years, the restaurant has remained standing through riots, economic downturns, and widespread gentrification. Today’s diners come as much for the menu as they do for the original plastic stools, springy booths, pink Formica counters, and pictures of celebrity clientele that still line the walls. Said to be the oldest soul-food restaurant in D.C., Florida Avenue Grill is known for comforting classics like pig’s feet and chitterlings, but also serves fare like barbecue pork spare ribs, smothered fried pork chops, meatloaf, and Cajun-fried catfish. The sides—candied sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, cornbread muffins—are alone worth a visit, but the real move is to come for breakfast and load up on hot cakes topped with cinnamon and sugar, scrapple with grilled half-smokes, and buttermilk biscuits smothered in gravy." - Natalie Beauregard
