Soul Food Sunday: Big E is Back!

Chef Eric Austin, known as Big E, is back slinging soul food for one day.

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If you're feeling soul food, I've got some good news for you. Not only are we witnessing a boom of black-owned restaurants in town, but one of the legends of local soul is coming back for a very special Soul Food Sunday pop-up. Big E is back.

Chef Eric Austin is the man behind the moniker, and ran his own restaurant Big E's Soul Food for about a decade. "You know, I'm not dead," Big E laughed on the phone this morning. 

While seeking new opportunities, Big E showed up at Travail looking to stage, "They were like 'You're Big E!' and I was like, 'Yeah, I know.' And we got to talking about the past and the food and those guys got really excited. I actually think this pop-up is for them, so they can eat my food." I don't doubt that for a second.

Mike Brown of Travail was clearly excited to offer him the space at the Travail Minneapolis Residency spot in Lowry Hill, "His story is crazy, his lineage in cooking, and he's still out there just cooking on lines and being part of the kitchens. There are a lot of people who loved his food for a long time, and we just thought it would be fun to reconnect them."

It's all happening on Sunday, March 24. There are ticketed reservations for $45 with seatings at 3 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 6 p.m. The bar will be à la carte and first come, first served. It's a five course meal featuring Big E's favorites such as fried chicken, smothered Cornish hen, short ribs, mac 'n' cheese, mashed sweet potatoes, Creole black eyed peas and more! "We wanted to do a little sampling of everything people loved about Big E's," Austin said. I think that it's roughly one-third sold, so don't dally on those tickets.

But does this mean that Big E is on the trail for a comeback? It seems like we are having a soul food resurgence, so shouldn't he be in the mix? "You know, I've been going to all these new places and tasting the food, and it's cool, but it's like never getting to play with the bands you like. So yeah, it feels like validation, I think there's enough room at the table for everyone. If this pop-up goes well, and we have the chance to do more and tuck away some pennies ... we'll see."

Both cryptic and promising. We'll take it.