I had heard a lot of positive things about Ms. Tootsie's before arriving. Mostly that it was very delicious southern food. I was not disappointed - taste or portion-wise.
There were 4 of us attending and we all arrived at different times, but the wait for a Friday evening didn't end up being too terrible - about 45 minutes and we were seated around 8ish. The first, most obvious aspect of the restaurant was the DJ, whom we happened to be seated closest too. While I enjoyed the blast from the past (music played at 8th grade dances), it was a bit too loud to hold a decent conversation so that was one aspect I did not particularly enjoy. The inside was very nicely decorated - swanky yet refined (except for the blaring music). All the waitstaff were dressed in crisp white clothes, which added to the upscale feel of the restaurant. It's been awhile since I've been to a restaurant where they give you bread, so I was pleasantly surprised when a basket full of cornbread arrived. The cornbread was delicious - not overly dry and served with strawberry butter, which I'm pretty sure I consumed a good portion of compared to everyone else.
I ordered a red sangria as my beverage for the evening - a good choice. It was not overly sweet and there was a good amount of fresh fruit included. Since there were a good number of us and we were out on the town on a Friday night, we went for two appetizers - catfish fingers with fries and the mac 'n cheese crab balls. The catfish was tasty, but mostly like any fried fish I would expect. The fries, however, were absolutely fried to perfection with the perfect amount of seasoning. Highly addictive. The mac 'n cheese crab balls were too heavy on the crab side and too light on the mac 'n cheese side, so not my favorite. A bit too overwhelming.
For dinner I went with the smothered turkey chops - again, smothered implies gravy to me, which was totally the case. Because all four of us got entrees, we ended up ordering just about every side on the menu. Instead of reviewing them all, I will say that the collard greens were the best, and the candied yams were too saccharine for my liking. The portions were huge - I got two giant cuts of turkey and after appetizers and all that cornbread/strawberry butter I could barely eat my meal. I had a heaping take home container, which I reheated a few days later for leftovers. The gravy held up surprisingly well - it didn't congeal into a muck of fat and flour but stayed rather uniform. And in its prime (i.e. when it was served to me), the gravy was top notch.
Ms. Tootsie's is a staple of Philadelphia, as it is well known for being one of the best spots for soul food in the city. I can't comment on the authenticity (you'll have to ask our guest Mike about that), but the swanky vibe and quality/amount of food was worth it for the slightly elevated prices.
Ms. Tootsie's
1312 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 731-9045
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