Amy Stocklein
It’s a soul-satisfying meal: fried chicken, mac and cheese, collard greens and cornbread.
The number of soul food restaurants in Madison — it’s easy to add them up on the fingers of one hand — never seems to change. One opens; another closes. Right now, the Madison area may have as many as it has ever had. Happily, the opening of Marie’s Soul Food on Monroe Street in July has brought one more into the mix.
Marie’s is a three-generation affair. Owner Marissa Holmes along with her mother and daughter (and occasionally a cousin) work the counter and the kitchen. Housed in the space that held Maurie’s Fine Chocolates for many years (the purple sign with the calligraphed “M” still remains), Marie’s is basic, with a beverage cooler, counter area and one small shelf holding knick-knacks. Marie’s is strictly carry-out, so ambience doesn’t matter so much. More importantly, this is the place for real down-home cooking.
The menu is modest: four meats (ham, fried chicken, baked chicken and ribs) and five sides (baked macaroni and cheese, dressing, collard greens, yams and corn on the cob). The small menu gives Marie’s the opportunity to shine and perfect its dishes.
Ordering a meal means receiving a sizable portion of meat, two sides, a corn muffin and a beverage. At $11.50, this is a good find.
The meat on the baby back ribs, four to a serving, is so tender it falls right off the bone. Sweet barbecue sauce (made in-house) adds extra zing. Marie’s uses thighs for its baked chicken, for added flavor. They are juicy and a little greasy, but not unpleasantly so (but ask them to double-bag this meal before you go).
The fried chicken, however, is number one on my list. Fried chicken means a 15-minute wait, which is not that long, and the kitchen was punctual every time. But the drive home with the smell of fried chicken filling the car can feel like an eternity. Even after driving all the way back to my home in Middleton, the seasoned, breaded and fried crust on the chicken was still crunchy; the interior tender and juicy.
Sadly, I was never able to try the ham. It usually sells out first. And other items sell out occasionally. There have been instances where Marie’s has closed early when out of stock for the night. Call ahead to confirm availability, or get there early.
Sides are strong across the board. The dressing is dense and packed with herbs, a perfect partner to that juicy baked chicken. The baked macaroni and cheese is creamy yet light enough so it doesn’t overpower as a side. The collards are stewed in a hearty broth seasoned with turkey tails (be careful of tiny bones here) and have a slight heat that builds.
Corn muffins baked in-house come with every meal and are little gems perfect for sopping up any barbecue sauce or meat juices.
The yams are something extraordinary. A heavy addition of butter and brown sugar makes this side partly dessert, but you can still feel good about eating your vegetables, right?
Kipp’s Down Home Cooking, once located near Camp Randall, is still much missed in the neighborhood. It’s somehow appropriate that Marie’s is once again making very good homey food available to the near west side. The service is friendly, the meals are affordable, and the quality of the food is dependable. Those should be more than enough reasons to add Marie’s to the regular take-out rotation.
Marie’s Soul Food
1637 Monroe St.; 608-405-5729; maries-soul-food.business.site
5 pm-9 pm Thurs.-Fri., 4 pm-9 pm Sat., 4 pm-8 pm Sun.
(check website for early closings); $3-$12
