John Carter's Place

I have went here since I was a little child. I remember I usually had rice with beef tips and gravy. Best place ever. Sadly it closed down and I was disappointed. Lots of find memories there. Food was great.

I constantly am reminded of how much I love eating food that is pre-made, cooked from frozen, and often pretty plain tasting. To clarify, I love eating these simple meals in restaurants that offer them in a non gaudy environment. When you have 10 humble people in the kitchen/back room hanging around, you know you are in a good place where people treat you like family.I sat down, placed my order, and fresh (probably instant bake) rolls and cornbread was brought promptly to my table. Right after that, our order came, just 10 minutes into the meal.The meatloaf was meaty and moist. The beef stew was meaty with plenty of pre-cut, probably frozen veggies. The black-eyed peas were good, as was the cabbage, and the macaroni was tolerable. The chicken fried steak was the worst of the bunch, but it still satisfied to the best of its ability. The pre-made gravy did justice to the somewhat tough and crisp steak.The grand total for a home-style feast? $20 for 2. That is why you cannot beat these types of meals. Sure, the dishes are probably hours old when you get them, and there may even be plastic wrap in your food (I did find a small piece...), but when gracious people are bringing you your filling fool, the grub tastes much better.

I don't know, its hard to impress me with 'homestyle' cooking so I typically rate these sorta joints harshly. My wife said she'd give it '5 stars'- she was quite impressed. My guess is this place's forte is Southern food. I saw lots of things like Black-eyed peas, yams, grits, gumbo, etc on the menu.Overall I'd say the food was good. The meat came right off the ribs, the catfish was not greasy nasty like most I seem to have, the mashed potatoes were real and yum, the candied yams were delish, and the cornbread was done excellently. Also- they hook you up with more bread if you ask- very nice. So ya, the service is genuine.The only cons I have is that the place is in an older part of town, so its a tad run down- but I never seem to mind that. The environment is more of an 'eat and go' sorta place- not a sit and linger place (for me atleast). But ya- these aren't really cons- just observations. Oh, but the bathroom was not working according to my wife... Overall I'd say this place wasn't bad- but as stated before I don't usually go for homestyle- but if you go, the prices are reasonable and there is good quantity with okay quality for a very reasonable price. That equals satisfaction in my book. If I go again, though unlikely becuase I'm rarely in the mood for this and I don't live nearby, I'd like to try their gumbo and maybe their sweet potato pie. Oh, and they do have wi-fi- a pleasant suprise. Improtant Note: Also I just learned something from their site. It looks like their main entrees change each day. So make sure to check their website on what day of the week you plan on going and check their entrees... its a bit different, but that probably means its fresh that day. That would probably explain why we got our food so fast. I like that.

Great, affordable and just plain old good food. Just like going to grandma's after church!

OMG!!! The (Friday) catfish is just to die for!! Not a bit greasy, just really meaty and great! Yes, you can order french fries as a side (you can even do a double fries for two sides). I'm not a big fan of hushpuppies so I don't miss their not being any on the menu. You get 2 (two) meaty crispy catfish fillets and 3 (three) (yes three!!) sides for $7.00! Just try to get all that some where else as you will pay so much more.

We go to John Carter's two or three Times a month. They make some great southern favorites like chopped beef with natural gravy, ox tail, beef necks, fried chicken, ribs, yams, turnip greens, all the stuff you grew up with. Their menu varies daily so check out their web site before you go. I don't know what we would do with out John Carter's.