Say Grace simplifies black cuisine

Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - 03:29

An answer for any city

Where can I find some good food?

SAN FRANCISCO -- Planning for the holidays is simpler and much tastier by counting on thousands of African-American restaurants to make your meal or gathering a real feast. It is also a great way to generate economic development and jobs.

Say Grace and Wipe Yo' Hands: Black Restaurant.NET's Guide to America's Black Restaurants unlocks the emotional connection between African-Americans and their food by providing an easy to use directory to often-little known outposts of African-American culture which can be found in almost any American city -- if one knows where to look.

National Black Business Month co-founder John William Templeton compiled the national guide after seeing the reaction to an exhibition he curated in 2005 on the 60 African-American eateries in San Francisco. Because no one believed there were that many, he had to take then-Supervisor Sophie Maxwell on a four-hour excursion to physically visit them all.

The book is available from ASPIRE SAN FRANCISCO for $34.95.

"There are more than 12,000 African-American restaurants and food businesses and more than 1 million blacks work in food service," said Templeton. "Soul food isn't a laughing matter as the increasing number of chefs going into manufacturing products for groceries indicates."

The book includes a number of features found on BlackRestaurant.NET, which covers more than 75 cities, such as tips on healthy soul choices, the history of crops brought from Africa and the development of food businesses among blacks as early as the 1700s.