Mattie’s Southern Kitchen

They stole the name of my grandmas restaurant from back in the days in ventura

When I lived in the South I was a sort of fish out of water. I guess the best example is being white in Los Angeles and seeing all the Mexican joints. You feel like it’s a different world in terms of food. But sure enough you want to try it.
So I do think that I know a thing or two about authentic Southern food, and while this is a part of the massive Fusion trucks that are all over town, I do declare that this here’s trucks problem is that you can’t fuse authentic Southern food with bland tasteless food and call it a good mixture. No sir.
The fried chicken was pretty run of the mill. I do give them credit for keeping it juicy. All too often fried chicken is just very dry. They made it pretty standard, but for $ 8 bucks? Come on, Roscoe’s is open late, so I can go get myself a chicken and waffle for about the same price. The cost needs to be far cheaper than this to get me to come back.
Then there’s the collard greens… well, you know what. some people judge southern food from their chicken, but really the Colonel is just one aspect of the South. The bigger aspect that I always focus on is can you make collard greens good? Mattie’s Southern Kitchen can not. And for that it lost a lot of points in my book.
They were way too ginger heavy and to be honest, making collard greens is a fine art. Having had my first experience with collard greens in the south and forever tainted as that bar was set so high, I just can’t accept the substitute of collard greens that lack in taste like this.
The mac and cheese was really not good either. Over all it was a lot of bland food with tasty chicken, but not a whole lot else going on. No sir, I don’t believe I’ll have this truck again. Not even the southern hospitality could save this here truck.

I’m a southern girl. I grew up on fried chicken and sweet iced tea. I miss the south. So I’ve heard mixed reviews about this place but I decided to try it anyway. I had the fried chicken plate with mac and cheese, corn, and sweet tea. Ok the tea was awesome! Very close to what we have at home. I have to say most of the tea tastes like piss in LA but this was actually pretty damn good. The fried chicken was ok. It was better than expected but not great either. It was OK! The creamed corn was yummy! i loved the fact they had pepper sprinkled in. It was super flavorful. I also liked the mac and cheese. Very moist and creamy. It was a bit pricey but pretty good. I would probably go back.

Friendly service… I asked if the chicken plate included a chicken breast but they said no so I opted for the chicken sandwich which included a chicken breast (I only eat white meat, hate dark). It wasn’t good I’ve definitely had better. It didn’t have that crunch you hear as you take each bite the batter I feel should have been crispy since it was deep fried but nope. The Chicken Sandwich was $ 6 with NOOOO side so that wasn’t good either. Heard the reviews on the mac and cheese was below average from other people who got it.

Fried chicken in a truck. Yeah lets give it a try! Dang, $ 11 for a plate lunch! One fried chicken and some pulled pork! The fried chicken was ok though but seriously for the price and you get one peice. Pulled pork wasn’t good, not much to no flavor. Why do you need to put hot sauce on the pork… its to give it something to taste. Mac and cheese was good though. The biscuit was real good. Thats about it. Truck does look good and the lady was nice.

The menu is FANTASTIC if you’re from the South. Finally, somewhere that serves halfway decent southern food. I got the shrimp po boy, the bread was soft and delicious, there could have been a bit more shrimp. In addition, I love sauce, so I could’ve used a bit more sauce on my sandwich, but it was overall still pretty good. I’m not certain if I would order it again though. In addition, I got the creamed corn. (My goodness I haven’t had that in SUCH a long time.) It was definitely creamy. I do wish there was more corn in it though, I felt like it was more soup/​cream than corn. I’d still go back and order the creamed corn though. I’d go back to Mattie’s to try other things, like the jumbalaya (hopefully they’ll have a meaty one soon… so far it’s only veggie.)

I wanted to like you, I’ve been looking to try you for the past couple months… but you just didn’t taste good. There were mysterious bits in the chicken that were hard, so hard I had to spit it out. I dont even know what it was, probably just hard fried breading. I hope at least.
I mean, it’s a decent deal, $ 9 for two pieces of chicken, a biscuit, and two sides, but the mac and cheese was meh, and the collard greens tasted funny. The only thing that was decent on the plate was the biscuit, which didn’t come with any butter or condiment. Everything just made me sad.

I think this may have been the worst lunch I’ve ever had. For 8 dollars, I could have gone to kentucky fried chicken and ordered a meal with a drink and good sides. The chicken was WAY too salty and looked refried. the mac and cheese was too bland. the biscuits seemed like store bought but tasted worse. the vegetable gumbo was the only thing that i thought was decent. I am never going here again and think that this may be one of the few trucks that might actually go out of business. shame.

Refried is for beans, not chicken. I ordered the fried chicken plate (with biscuit, mac&cheese and beans&rice). It was «ready» about a minute after I ordered and was burnt and crusty but still lukewarm in the center. The chicken was super fatty, the mac & cheese was «meh» and the funky beans and rice were an acquired taste that I have yet to acquire.
The biscuit was really good and I guess the only complaint I have about the can of coke was that it wasn’t a can of Pepsi.
There are too many food truck options to bother with these guys.

This review would have been a two star, but I gave them 3 for the fried chicken which was the saving grace of my lunch.
Again, they were in DTLA, so I walked over to their location, there was no line.
I looked over the menu and decided to check out the fried chicken plate. For $ 8.00 I got a piece of fried chicken, two sides and a biscuit.
I chose the collard greens and mac & cheese.
Chicken — Juicy and delish, I really liked the flavor of the crust. I was kind of worried because my food came out really fast, and I realize that it takes some time to fry chicken, so if it was pre-​prepared props to them for keeping it crispy.
Collard Greens — not my cup of tea, I really enjoy collard greens when they are made traditionally, however, Mattie’s had a very intense ginger flavor and it just didn’t sit well. I couldn’t taste the ham hock… =(
Mac&Cheese — not so great, I made sure to grab a salt packet before leaving, however, there were no pepper packets.
I wouldn’t call the food «authentic», however, my co-​worker got the fried chicken salad which looked really good, so if I do go back, I think that is what I am going to order.
My other co-​worker got the pulled pork, and said that he wished he got the friend chicken instead.

Every time I head over to Grand, it feels like an adventure because there seems to be a new roach coach every week. Today, there were 2 that I haven’t seen before. I walked over to Mattie’s, studied the menu for few minutes and decided to give it a try. I order the fried chicken plate for $ 8. The plate came with a biscuit and 2 sides. I chose collar green and veggie gumbo.
I took my lunch to a table near the water, opened it up and found only 1 piece of chicken thigh. I was expecting 2 pieces given that the $ 8 price tag. Oh well, I am on a «diet» so it’s all good. It’s all good until I found my lunch a bit disappointing.
Fried Chicken: There is nothing special about it. I kept trying to convince myself that this fried chicken is better than your average KFC. Both are juicy and both are kind of tasty. However, I can get 2 pieces at KFC for about $ 6 and probably will enjoy it just as much.
Collar Green: It was good but a bit bland.
Veggie Gumbo: This is gumbo? really? There was no flavor at all. It tasted like veggie with some salt and butter cooked in a pot. Maybe Mattie forgot the spices.
Biscuit: This is actually the best part of the meal. It is not exceptional but above average.
Given the quality and quantity, $ 8 is a bit much. It is worth a try though. Who knows, maybe Mattie just had a bad day.

I wanted to love this truck, but sadly I was misled. I guess I don’t know my southern food all that well. Who knew that an order of collard greens comes w/​bacon? or that the Red Beans and Rice came with Sausage? I mean for meat lovers that’s awesome, but as a vegematarian, I was disapointed. The Veggie Gumbo however was pretty great. I just wish they had told me there was meat in the food before I ordered it.

jambalya burrito is no good… methinks not.

When my Unilocaly friends and I discovered that Mattie’s, the «Southern Kitchen» truck, was going to be near the office for lunch, it was a unanimous decision. Mattie’s for lunch, no doubt!
Unfortunately for us, Mattie’s did not seem as excited to see us as we were to see them (at least, on the surface). Sure the gal who took our order was friendly enough… at first, anyway. By the time we head back to the ordering window for the 4^th time, asking where our sides were, I think she was (a) stressed out, (b) not pleasant/​happy at that point, and © not convinced that Mattie’s could have possibly screwed up our order. The icing on the cake of this experience was that Mattie’s thought they were service authentic southern, homestyle cooking. The closest to «southern» they got was Southern California.
Here’s the rundown of our order (see? it wasn’t really THAT much, they shouldn’t have screwed it up… right?)
— Jambalaya (average; had decent seasoning, but just lacked that certain «je né se quoi» — not sure what, but something was missing)
— Mac & Cheese (aiiight; strange consistency, perhaps too much cornstarch as a thickener?)
— Pulled Pork Sandwich (maybe I’m biased, but my idea of a pulled pork sandwich involves a bun with layers of tender, melt-​in-​your-​mouth, juicy, pork… not lumps of it)
— Creamed Corn (I actually think this was the best thing they served. But how hard is it to actually screw up creamed corn?)
All in all, the food was just «eh», which would normally earn an establishment about 2.5−3 stars in my book. Mattie’s lost another star due to the poor customer service and the unwillingness to work with a paying customer.
Step it up, and maybe I’ll give it another go.

mac and cheese.. …. .. . …
fine. since some people didnt like my three word review… i’m going to go a bit more about it.
driving along wilshire trying to find the truck that will have the pulled pork sandwich of my dreams. it was tangy and sweet. i loved it.
the mac and cheese was perfect. i mean if it had anymore cheese i would have died. but it was just right…
i am going to go back and try the collard greens and red bean and rice… and everything else onthe menu. go check it out.

I’ve been on a pulled pork kick lately so my eyes zeroed in on the pulled pork sandwich on the menu ($ 5), completely forsaking my former love, fried chicken. I also ordered mac n cheese ($ 4), which I will order anywhere, any time, for any reason.
The mac n cheese was good, no complaints, nicely seasoned. The pulled pork had a nice flavor with a vinegar bite, but isn’t like BBQ pulled pork, if you are expecting that. It could have been a little more tender. I wasn’t a fan of the boring sesame seed bun it was served on (with cole slaw) so, if I do order it again, I will just get the pulled pork plate, which comes with two sides for $ 8.
I was sad reading through the other reviews because I completely forgot they have sweet tea! Next time, I will try the fried chicken and the sweet tea for sure. I hope they will have the creamed corn again, so that I can try that, too. It wasn’t on the menu today.
I hope Mattie’s comes to the Watergarden area on a regular schedule.

Mattie, you continue to amaze me! I am pretty sure I have eaten my way through your menu and I am a better man for it. I sent a letter to my grandmother apologizing for cheating on her fried chicken, but I have found a new love!
Keep the grease hot and the tea cold and sweet and you have a customer for life — albeit a short life if I keep eating mac and cheese and fired chicken every day.

My father is a peace loving, Buddhist on most days, but on the days he gets mad, all hell breaks lose.
I spent one afternoon happily drawing whales with permanent markers. I showed my dad this new piece of art. Little did 4 year-​old me know that my father would not appreciate a picture of Willy on the wall of his newly painted hallway. My father runs and brings his wooden spoon, waves it around, puts on my the palm of my hand, and slowly raises his arm as I close my eyes, imaging him striking my hand. But he never did. Instead he always walked away.
— — — — — — — — — — -
On Friday, my lunch crew decided to try Mattie’s Southern Kitchen.
12:20 PM: The lunch crew queues up to order.
12:25 PM: DSD and I ordered the following:
Jambalaya: Well seasoned. No Kicked. Lacking flavors. Shrimp was naked.
Pull Pork Sandwich: Not Southern. More CA food. Lightly flavored. Should melt in my mouth from the hours of slow cooking, but it didn’t.
Mac and Cheese: Tasted good, but weird consistency. Not creamy enough.
Creamed Corn: Creamy. Good quality corn.
12:27 PM: The Jambalaya and Pull Pork Sandwich were ready
12:33 PM: I checked on our order. I said we were missing
1. Cream Corn
1. Mac and Cheese
12:34 PM: I was handed 2 cream corns. Although, cream corn is yellow like the mac and cheese, but if macaroni looks like corn to you, you need glasses, or your macaroni has an identity crisis! So, I handed the cream corn back.
12:35 PM: I waved bye to the rest of my lunch crew as they walk back to the office for a 1 pm meeting. DSD and I waited, as the rest of my food in topless containers got cold and sprinkled with dust from the wind and cars driving by.
12:37: 2 other people who ordered after us walked away with trays of Mac and Cheese. I didn’t know if I wanted to jump the lady taking orders or the dude walking away with the Mac and Cheese.
12:38: I grow angry and took a breath in and breath out as I forgave the innocent bystander who happily takes a bit of the Mac and Cheese as he walks away.
12:40: Checked with the lady at the front again, but now she thinks that I’m a liar, and had apparently hid my Mac and Cheese in my Kooba bag. She asks to see the physical receipt to check the order.
12:45: With no apologies, we were handed a tray of Mac and Cheese. We head back to the office with our cold food.
In the end, the food did have some redeeming qualities. It was good tasting, but please don’t pretend it’s southern. It’s Southern Cal maybe.
As a calm Yogi, it takes a lot to make me made, but when it does, like with my father –hell will break lose. So, here I am, passively aggressively taking out my wooden spoon and aiming it at you — Mattie’s Southern Kitchen — by giving you 2 stars for bad customer service and mediocre food.

I’m surprised to find that some people think this truck serves authentic southern food. I don’t know what the «southern» in the title refers to, but this food ain’t from the South I know and lived in. The first thing I said when I saw the truck was, «Where the hell are the black people in the truck?» Or at least a Paula Dean type up in there! If you walk into a sushi restaurant and there ain’t any Japanese people cooking, you wonder if your fish is gonna kill you. I was skeptical, but gave it a shot anyway. My instincts were right.
The jambalaya I had was bland. I thought about what I could add to it to make it better, but you know what, I shouldn’t have to cook my own food, especially after I paid $ 7 for it. The mac ‘n’ cheese was incredibly disappointing. The consistency was odd, perhaps too much flour? I don’t know. Either way, yuck, I’m not trying to make yeast rise in my mouth. The portions are also small. There’s a reason why you find quite a number of butterball-​esque people in the South — they like to eat, eat a lot and the portions are served jumbo. You don’t skimp on plates. Pile up the food! Maybe this was some of that «healthy southern food», the type made for recovering heart patients who can’t eat anything that tastes good.
They also need to get their shit together with service. My food got cold as I waited for 15 minutes with my friends when their order was screwed up. It took at least 3 attempts to get it right. And with no takeaway containers, I had to cover my food with a napkin to prevent tree crap from falling in.
I was so excited when I heard there was a Southern Food truck. The BarbieQ truck does it much better! Unfortunately, this truck was just as disappointing as when I first watched Star Wars and found out ewoks don’t exist in real life.

So i usually try to eat at a place more than once before i review, to take into account the numerous variables that come along with eating, but one trip to Mattie’s was all i needed.
After browsing
i noticed Matties, a spot i had never seen on the list before. They were boasting about their Shrimp and Cheesy grits, which sounded delicious, so i was on my.
Very unassuming truck, not a big drink selection and the menu was a chalkboard on the sidewalk.
But the food… oh man the food. The grits were very cheesy and very creamy, and topped with lots of bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes and green onions. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they did not skimp on the shrimp either. The portion wasn’t huge, but i could definitely taste where my $ 7 went. The ingredients were fresh, the shrimp was cooked perfectly, and anything with bacon and cheese has to be good right?