Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen

Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen
1714 W Century Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90047
323-418-8527

I went to Dulan's back on  May 7, 2017. I finally found the pictures, so here is the review.  I went to the Dulan's on Manchester, and didn't think too much of the food.  But, I read that Adloph Dulan passed away in May 1, 2017, and decided to try the Dulan's on Century Blvd.  Mr. Dulan first opened an Orange Julius, an old school orange juice store, that were in malls all over.  Then he opened Hamburger City and then expanded to a few locations, including Marina Del Rey.  At the Hamburger City in Marina Del Rey, he turned it into Aunty Kizzy's, and his soul food empire took off. There is a Dulan's on Crenshaw, that is owned by his son, and these two Dulan's. 

The first Dulan's on Century used to be just went of Crenshaw.  But, they moved within the past year or so, to a location a few blocks east on Century, at the location of the former, Berth's, a very good soul food restaurant.

This Dulan's is a small restaurant with the steam table as you enter and some tables at the far end of the restaurant.  There are some tables outside.  But, this is mostly a take out operation.

On Sundays Dulan's serves their Sunday Dinner the entire day.  You can pick an entree, with 3 sides, a dessert and a drink.  Baked fish, dressing, mac & cheese, orka and corn, $19.45.  The dressing is underneath the fish.

This fish is swai, which is close to catfish.  This was very well seasoned and flavorful. The fish is mild in flavor and has a nice flakey texture.

Mac n cheese was very good.  Nice creamy cheese and perfectly cooked macaroni.  I only ate the corn and it was very good.  Okra and I just don't get along.  The dressing, some may call it stuffing, is very good.  Full of flavor, you'll notice pepper and celery, and filling.

Service was very good.  There was a huge line on the Sunday I went, it went out the door.  But, the line moved very quickly.  When you got inside the door, a very nice lady took your order, wrote it on the container and then she dropped it off to the workers behind the steam table.  It's a very well run process, and it moved quickly.

The Dulan's on Century was much better than the Dulan's on Manchester!  I would go back!

Beola’s Southern Cuisine

Beola’s Southern Cuisine
1845 E Holt Blvd
Ontario, CA 91761
909-390-3663

Beola’s Southern Cuisine opened about six weeks ago near Ontario Airport.  It's a large spacious space, and on the Sunday I went they have live entertainment-a woman, who had a wonderful voice, singing songs.  The volume was more background music, than having to SHOUT at your dining companion!

The owners of Beola’s Southern Cuisine used to be partners in the Maple House restaurant that replaced Sal's & Sons Pizza & Pasta.  Beola's is the name of owner's grandmother.

Eight medium shrimp with two sides-mac and cheese and red beans and rice, $16.  The shrimp were jumbo shrimp, not medium sized shrimp.  They were deep fried in cornmeal.  A good dish, maybe a bit pricey, but made up somewhat by the size of the shrimp.  Mac and cheese-a bit greasy but good flavor.  I didn't eat the red beans and rice because there was sausage in the dish.  Most red beans and rice do not come with sausage.

Service was great!  I walked in and while nobody was at the host stand, within a couple minutes I was greeted by one of the servers.  She took my order and I waited for my food. All food is cooked to order and takes time!  I sat in the lobby and every time somebody new came to the front, I was asked if I had already been helped!  There have been restaurants that I reviewed where I wasn't greeted, not even a Hi, when I was right in front of the host!  But at Beola's I was greeted EVERY TIME!!! A couple minor complaints- they should tell people that the red beans and rice contains meat, and when taking to go orders-that they do cook items as ordered so it takes time, up to 20 minutes if ordering fried chicken!

I really enjoyed my experience at Beola's and I will be back. 

Soul Burgers-Closed

Soul Burgers
1035 S Prairie Ave
Inglewood, CA 90301
(310) 419-7685

Soul Burgers is known for their soul food in a bun concept!! They have been on TV from Food Network to local tv shows and have quite the following. The other thing to know about Soul Burgers is that ground turkey is used for their burgers. They also have a pork chop, fish, and chicken burger. While they do offer beef, get the turkey burgers.


James Brown Soul Burger, $8.50.-Filet Fried Chicken Breast, turkey bacon, topped with greens and yams, egg, cheese, special spicy sauce. My favorite soul food dish is fried chicken, with mac and cheese. While Soul Burgers didn't have mac and cheese on this James Brown Soul Burger, I ordered it anyways.

The fried chicken filet was white meat, tender, flavorful and juicy. I loved it. But, the first thing you notice about this burger, is the yams. Now, I'm not a yams fan at all; just too sweet for my tastes. Everything else worked. I was a bit hesitant about the egg on top, I hate runny egg yolk, but I was told the eggs are more like a crepe. The greens were nice and tender and flavorful. The turkey bacon was a thick piece of bacon, perfectly cooked and full of flavor. I didn't taste any of the spicy sauce because the yams just overwhelmed the burger. There is a good amount of yams on this burger. I will order this with no yams, the next time I go to Soul Burgers.

Since this was my first time at Soul Burgers, I figured I should try the three mini soul burgers, $8.50, to get a variety.

Down-Home Turkey and Dressing-Turkey patty layered with turkey bacon, homemade dressing, egg, thin layer of greens and cranberry sauce, cheese, special spicy sauce. This is like a Thanksgiving dinner in a bun. The turkey patty was well cooked and seasoned, flavorful and juicy. The toppings worked well, and this comes from somebody who doesn't like cranberry sauce. A good burger to order.

Southern SMO-Turkey patty with smothered gravy and grilled onions, special spicy sauce and cheese. This was my favorite burger. Again the turkey was well seasoned and cooked. But the toppings just made this burger awesome!! The gravy was fantastic with a hearty flavor. The onions were grilled perfectly and added a nice sweetness to the burger.

Tasty Turkey Combo-Seasoned juicy turkey patty layered with turkey bacon, egg, greens, yams, special spicy sauce, cheese. The problem with this burger is the overwhelming amount of yams, which makes the burger too sweet. If I order this, it will have no yams. This can be a good burger without the yams.

Service is good. The owner is very friendly and helpful. She takes pride in her business and makes the customer feel at home.

I was very impressed with Soul Burgers and can't wait to go back there again!!

Larkin's-Closed

Larkin's
1496 Colorado Blvd
Los Angeles
323-254-0934

Larkin's has long been on my list of places to try. But they are closed Monday and Tuesday, which happen to be two days I'm near Eagle Rock. But, luckily I was near Eagle Rock on Sunday and dropped in.

Larkin's is known for their upscale soul food offerings. It's a small restaurant, so expect a wait when they are busy, but gives such a nice homey feeling. Parking is a bit tough, mostly street parking on Colrado Blvd or in the neighborhood behind Larkin's.

I didn't realize until I called, that Larkin's closes fairly early, 8pm on Sunday's with last orders going in at 7:30pm. So I got my order to go.


I really wanted the fried chicken, $15, but when I placed my order I was told it's dark meat only. So I passed and got the BBQ baby back ribs, $19 with two sides-red beans and rice and garlic mashed potatoes.

I got four baby back ribs that had no smoke flavor at all. I'm pretty sure the ribs were boiled before, then cooked in an oven. They were then drowned in BBQ sauce that had way too much vinegar. The ribs were meaty, but come on, don't pass off these ribs as BBQ, when they are nothing but oven cooked ribs with BBQ sauce.

But, $19 for 4 bones?? Give me a break. This didn't come close to being worth the price.


I picked red beans and rice as one of my two sides. The beans were undercooked, they needed to be cooked for another 10-15 minutes, they were hard and just bland and flavorless. The rice was ordinary.


Garlic mashed potatoes were my second side. I didn't get much garlic flavor and they were a bit too big and chunky for my liking. They needed to be cut up a bit more, to be mashed potatoes.


Mac and cheese, $5. The mac and cheese was the most bland mac and cheese I've ever had. They needed to add salt, because the entire dish was void of salt. The cheese and macaroni were blended well and the macaroni was cooked perfectly. But, it was just too bland to enjoy.

Service was both good and bad.

I was greeted by a lady at the cash register and she wasn't that friendly or welcoming. She was just a matter of fact, going through the motions. I told her I had a to go order and she said "I didn't take your order, but the other person will be right with you." Hmm is it so hard to figure out where my order maybe? Why couldn't she get my order and allow me to pay?

Anyways, the woman who took my order came back from waiting on tables and she was friendly and helpful, just as she was on the phone.

One other thing, if you noticed, there is no sign in front of Larkin's.

I was very disappointed in Larkin's. The food was below average, the prices way too high, and the portions small for the price. I really wanted to like Larkin's but I'm not going back.