So Much Soul!

Image Credit: Gumbo Yaya

I Know right? Soul food in Paris you can't be real right now! But let me tell you it's real, and as wrong as it may seem, Gumbo Yaya is doing it so freaking right!

How We Found It

Well one night in our group message me and my friends were talking and decided that we wanted to get dinner and Gumbo Yaya came up (mostly due to Carina's intense craving for Mac & Cheese). But we looked on Yelp, like any self respecting Millennial would, and saw that it had some pretty bomb reviews, so we decided to try it.

Now let me preface this by saying that going anywhere (besides the pizza place that's underneath my apartment) is a chore. Because first of all, my apartment is far from EVERYTHING, so this leads to me having about  a 20 - 30 minute metro no matter where I go. Second, I'm a weird mix between a person who loves to go out and a person who just wants to stay in her pajamas and watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix, but I got my butt out of bed and made my way to Gumbo Yaya's because fried chicken and waffles is my ish.

Image Credit: Ariana Coleman

And We Are Waiting...

So we get to Gumbo Yaya's which opens at 7:30, but we learned pretty hella quick that if you want to be able to get in and get a seat right when it opens, you need to get there at 7:00 and stand in line. This place was very popular and we waited for about an hour (maybe more?) for this food. So yea we were hangry (hungry and angry at the same time). Eventually we were seated and the wait was so worth it.

Chicken & Waffles & 90s R&B

We walk into Gumbo Yaya's which is tiny (typical Parisian restaurant honestly, not many places are huge like they are in the U.S.) but the vibes were pretty awesome. We are seated at a wooden picnic style table with bench seating, and 90s R&B and Hip Hop plays in the background. On the side of the table, there was an array of syrups and sauces to accompany our meal. 

We order our food: Me and Elizabeth the chicken and waffles and mac & cheese, Carina the Waffle-burger and mac and cheese. We also share fries and an order of cornbread. Yeah it was a lot of food, but we were like "yo we are starving and this food is probs gonna be amazing." And the food was SO GOOD! It definitely filled my need for good soul food in my life.  The waffles were fluffy, the chicken crispy and perfectly seasoned, and the mac & cheese was great. I ate everything, which is saying a lot because there was a ton of food on the plate.

Image Credit: Ariana Coleman

We left completely satisfied (and a little too full, we may have overdid it on everything, but it was worth it). So if you ever find yourself in Paris and craving some good "soul food," go to Gumbo Yaya's.

Classic Tip: Make sure you get there early and get a spot in line otherwise you may be waiting for a very very long time. Also for more info on Gumbo Yaya, check out there Facebook page!