Sylvia Woods was more than a chef—she was soul-food royalty. From 1962 to 2006, she served down-home cooking from her Harlem kitchen, stepping down only when she reached age 80. Although she passed away just six years later, her spirit—and her fried chicken—lives on through her Lenox Avenue restaurant and her special line of sauces, spices, and cornbread mixes. That original location serves more than Harlem locals, too: Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Jesse Jackson, and Barack Obama have all stopped in for some old-fashioned Southern-style cooking.

The tradition continues in St. Petersburg, as well, where Sylvia's second location serves the same piping hot barbecue ribs, Carolina-style catfish, and gravy-smothered pork chops that put the Harlem restaurant on the map. These all come paired with sides that should be familiar to anyone south of the Mason-Dixon: collard greens, okra-and- tomato gumbo, and black-eyed peas. And for dessert, nothing goes down sweeter than a bowl of Southern banana pudding or red-velvet cake.