John M.

In about four separate visits to Sylva Nae's I've been nothing but pleased with everything* I've tried so far at this clean, family-owned and operated soul food café on the New River Drive side of the old New River Shopping Center near what will always be for me, the old Daughtry's Exxon. This affordable eatery is named for the family matriarch, the late Sylvia, "Sylva Nae", who passed a love of cooking (and her recipes) on to her children and family who run the restaurant and do the cooking. "We love to cook", says son Shann. The love shows. The fried chicken is moist and tender, well seasoned with a satisfying and deliciously tasty crunchy skin. The barbecued chicken and ribs are equally satisfying, moist - not dried out - with a lightly sweet, pleasantly smokey flavor and an aroma that will get your nose open. Sides, among others, include collard greens, cornbread muffins, and a really good mac ' n' cheese that's definitely not out of the box. I'd stop in just for a side of mnc by itself but there are too many other things done so well here that it would be a shame to stop there. Among those items I would include the, expertly cooked, non-bitter collard greens, not overly sweet cornbread muffins, and those wonderful little white cupcakes, a sweet deal at fifty cents each. Note that rib eye steak and Philly cheese steak have recently been added to the menu, and there's a kids' menu as well. The ultimate seal of approval however, comes from my 90 yo mother. In 90 years of ENC southern living my mother had never encountered the combination of chicken & waffles - that's from somewhere farther south, but we like chicken; we like waffles and we like everything we've tried so far at Sylva Nae's (except the barbequed meatballs which I found excessively salty), so we look forward to trying the chicken & waffles too. Mama likes Sylva Nae's and if you like genuine southern soul food cooking, eat in or take out, there's a good chance you will too.