It was only the second official day of Ya Ya’s House Southern Cuisine, a soul food and Southern cooking restaurant that opened in early February in Schenectady. But there was a steady stream of customers, mostly picking up food to go.
We planned to eat in, in order to watch the operation.
As we entered the door, a big voice greeted us from the rear of the restaurant. “Welcome to Ya Ya’s!” A welcoming aroma of fried chicken beckoned.
We seated ourselves in the first booth on the left and watched the action. Mama Ya Ya (the name by which her four grandkids know her) was doing most of the cooking, while daughter Angelica interacted warmly with customers. Daquan was responsible for most of the busing of tables.
The trio did not yet have the synchronization of a well-oiled machine, but it was only their second day of operation and they were well on their way.
We detected a warmth derived not from the fryers near the rear of the room, but rather from the large smiles and friendly chatter. A customer could become a regular here in two days.
Twelve dark red and green stools were lined up like a drill team along the tan counter. Some were occupied by people waiting for their orders. Four comfortable booths with the same color scheme lined the opposite wall, which was painted a pastel lime with deep red accents. Several large fans hung from a tin ceiling painted off-white.
The menus hung in large replicas on the wall behind the counter, along with a photo of Ya Ya’s four grandkids. Angelica slipped by with a heavy paper menu, a smile and a promise that she would return.
She did, with two small complimentary sweet potato pies placed on the table without fanfare.
Gail compared them to the pies she made, which were more like pumpkin pies. Ya Ya’s were less homogenous and had a hint of lemon. They were served cold in baby aluminum pie pans. The full flavor of these home-baked little gems might have been more pronounced had they been served warm or even at room temperature.
The menu included fish, ribs, chicken, various sides and desserts, plus oxtails, turkey wings and legs, and macaroni and cheese on designated days. Most items can be ordered as dinners ($12-15) and include potato or macaroni salad, candied yams, collard greens or string beans and a corn muffin, or as sandwiches ($5-6.50). Desserts are $4.
Gail’s fried chicken plate was delivered in a Styrofoam take-out container. Angelica reminded me they were a take-out place. If one chose to dine-in, bringing the left overs home was easy — they were already prepared to go. For this reason, the plastic forks make sense too.
Gail ordered the breast (from choices of wings or legs). The white meat looked a bit dry to me but Gail said it was exactly the way she liked it. A steaming mound of collard greens, delicious macaroni salad, a real-deal corn muffin and candied yams rounded out the chicken dinner. Gail smiled at the thought of two more meals of Ya Ya’s home cooking.
I chose to sample a number of items: three fried chicken wings ($3.50), a rib sandwich with potato salad, a side of candied yams and peach cobbler for dessert.
The wings were crispy and delicious. Two large, lightly sauced ribs were served atop two pieces of white bread right out of the plastic wrap. The bread served the same function as paper towels, to keep the dish tidy.
But I surreptitiously tasted the bread, which had been infused with barbecued rib juice and found it heavenly. The potato salad was blended almost like mashed potatoes, yellow with mustard and sporting a slight nip.
The only disappointment was the peach cobbler. Overly sweet but with a welcome hint of cloves, it had been crammed into a plastic container and become almost a mush. It deserved to be plated with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, understandably impossible in a take-out restaurant.
Ya Ya’s menu is definitely not from Weight Watchers. But this is not food meant merely to sustain. Ya Ya’s food is a celebration of Southern life.