Juneteenth is an official holiday! Our house wasn’t that aware of the holiday until Blackish made a fantastic episode about this celebration of the end of slavery. We were very inspired and I am thrilled to see it recognized nationally. We decided the best way we could celebrate would be traditional red drinks (symbolizing perseverance and the blood of the African Americans who suffered) and food from black owned businesses. These are the two we landed on!
A few years ago, a co-worker mentioned Cathy’s Kitchen in Ferguson as a great place to get soul food and mentioned how friendly and awesome the owner was. Based on her recommendation, I decided to give it a try for our celebration. Cathy’s menu is categorized by her travel’s including food inspired by St. Louis, New Orleans, Florida, Chicago, New Mexico, Memphis, and Texas. Although I have heard great things about her seafood mac n cheese, we decided to go with St. Louis Voodoo Shrimp, Grilled Salmon Tacos, a Fried Catfish Po boy, and Jumbo Fried Chicken Wings. My favorite was the Voodoo Shrimp and not just because it’s the St. Louis inspiration. The sweet spicy sauce was delicious and I had to fight the family to make sure they didn’t eat them all!
The Catfish on the Po boy was also perfectly seasoned with bread that held up to the toppings. My girls inhaled the wings with Sweet and Spicy sauce along with the fries that came with them. I decided to switch it up and try the Cajun fries, whose seasoning made them feel more special.
The Grilled Salmon Tacos were nice and light after the heavy fried food. The sauce on top was particularly flavorful.
If you want to try Cathy’s food, make sure to put it in your GPS. I’ve passed by the restaurant quite a few times and never realized this gem was there!
What would a celebration be without cake? When I was researching black-owned businesses I discovered a cupcake shop that, just like Cathy’s Kitchen, I’ve driven by many times and completely missed. Cupcake Fetish is a small shop in the Maryland Heights area with cupcakes on display and for order, as well as food offerings including a Sunday Brunch. While we only got cupcakes this visit, I plan on going back to check out their latte selection that caught my eye! The cupcakes were beautifully decorated with lots of fresh fruit and candies. My youngest and I were immediately tempted by the Strawberry lemonade, while my oldest went for the Chocolate Toffee, and we brought home a more traditional Juneteenth Red Velvet for my husband. The cupcakes are exceptionally light and mine was surprisingly filled with strawberries. This was a dangerous discovery for me, as I now know awesome cupcakes are a very short drive away…
Juneteenth thoughts
I am thrilled we as a country have finally included a celebration of the end of slavery. Today I discovered some black-owned businesses that I will frequent again and talked about the history of Juneteenth with my girls. Next year I plan on attending Juneteenth celebrations in Ferguson gathering with others and having a sense of community. How did and will you celebrate Juneteenth?
This Mom's St. Louis 