Eddie’s Restaurant in Shreveport Featured in Southern Living for ‘Best Soul Food’

You don't have to travel far to get the best soul food.

According to the Shreveport Times, in a recent issue of Southern Living, there was a feature on "The South's Best Soul Food." Included in the list was Eddie's Southern Restaurant on Hollywood Avenue in Shreveport. The best part is that Mavice Hughes Thigpen had no idea.

A little over a year ago, Mavice served a gentleman and his guest who ordered just about everything on the menu. She didn't think anything about it, but treated them as she would anyone else... With warmth and southern hospitality.

As it turns out, the man was Adrian Miller, the winner of the 2014 James Beard Foundation Book Award for Reference and Scholarship. He was awarded for his book, "Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time." He was in the area to speak on an event and stopped in for a bite.

Adrian zeroed in on the restaurant's stuffed shrimp, a dish long-time Shreveporters know and love. The dish was created by Thigpen's father, Eddie Hughes, when he worked at Freeman & Harris Cafe. Hughes was just 14 at the time.

Eddie's Restaurant opened in 1978. Thigpen says the recognition in Southern Living is validation for all of her father' hard work. Hughes passed away in 1999.