Soul food, sunlight and a $9.99 special: Inside Saint’s Paradise Cafeteria
Washington is home to some of the finest dining in the world. In fact, it’s home to 24 Michelin-starred restaurants, where a meal can easily cost hundreds of dollars per person.
But what if you could get a heaping helping of some of the best soul food in the nation’s capital for under 10 bucks?
Saint’s Paradise Cafeteria is located in D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood, in the basement of the United House of Prayer for All People church.
“Our blue-plate special is $9.99,” manager Alicia Guy said. “You get chicken. You get fish, and you get a drink.”
Along with the protein, you also get two sides like baked macaroni and cheese, seasoned collard greens or potato salad and bread.
The menu also includes fried, baked and smothered chicken, pork chops, spareribs and short ribs, along with cabbage, candied yams, mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas and rice.
Is your mouth watering yet?
“Today, our special is meatloaf and short ribs,” Guy said. “Yesterday, our special was spaghetti and pig feet.”
A longtime DC institution
Saint’s Paradise has been feeding members of the United House of Prayer and the surrounding community for more than four decades.
Guy’s connection to Saint’s Paradise goes back to 1983, when she first worked at the cafeteria before leaving for a 35-year career with Marriott. After retiring, she came back to run the place she still calls her church home.
“The love, the peace,” Guy said when asked why she returned.
Customers like Linda Walker have been coming almost as long.
“The old ladies in the kitchen cooking, and the food is fantastic,” Walker said. “I recommend it to everybody.”
One of those ladies is 83-year-old Ora Roberts, who has worked at Saint’s Paradise for about 30 years. Roberts specializes in eggs and pancakes and loves every minute of it.
“Who wants to sit home and lay around and get old? Not me,” Roberts said. “That’s my purpose.”
Breakfast, too
Saint’s Paradise is open every day from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., and accepts cash only. Its breakfast menu includes bacon, sausage, scrapple, eggs, grits, fried potatoes and fish.
Though the restaurant is below street level, large skylights fill the dining room with sunlight.
Peter Boersma, who lives in D.C., heard about the cafeteria from friends and stopped in while on paternity leave.
He ordered fish, potatoes and grits, then went back for banana pudding.
“Love it. Definitely would come back,” Boersma said. “Want to come back and try all the lunch stuff too.”
Save room for cake
Alberta Savage-El, a lifelong member of the church, is one of the cafeteria’s bakers and makes a variety of cakes for the cafeteria.
“I do key lime cakes. Then I do a strawberry key lime,” Savage-El said. “I do a pineapple coconut. I do a chocolate chip, chocolate on chocolate.”
And at Saint’s Paradise, Guy said three ingredients tie it all together.
“Love, peace, joy,” she said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
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