Omnivore - Lucy loves soul food?

There was a great story in yesterday’s New York Times about the Soul Food Museum in the Sweet Auburn District. The writer, Shaila Dewan, interviewed the owner, Kenneth Willhoite. She writes:

While much of the collection is made up of products that are currently being made, and that visitors will ultimately be able to purchase, a few items are historic, like figurines of blacks in ingratiating poses that today would be considered derogatory.

“You can’t deny it, it was there,” said Mr. Willhoite, 48. But he worried that some of his objects would be taken out of his encyclopedic context, which is not limited to black-produced items any more than it is limited to say, healthy food.

Of a bag of “Original White Trash,” a snack mix coated in white chocolate, he said, “If you put that in the article, you have to say it was made by a Caucasian.”

Among the collectibles there was a tin of Lucille Ball “Predic-a-mints.” What, a questioner wanted to know, did that famous redhead have to do with soul food?

“Soul is the very essence of who we are. And she had it,” Mr. Willhoite explained. “We all love Lucy. I wouldn’t think of having a soul food museum without Lucy.”

Read the entire story here.