Oohs and Aahs (mini-review)

Posted by Edmund in Fast Food, Restaurants, Washington, DC | 2 comments

Oohs and Aahs
Soul Food
$13-$22 for a dinner with one meat, two sides, and bread.

1005 U Street NW
(between N 10th St & N 11th St)
Washington, DC 20001

Oohs and Aahs is one of the most famous Soul Food joints in DC, kind of like what Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles would be to LA. Considering how large the African American population is in DC, I really expected to find some fantastic Soul Food, especially at one of the most historic eateries in town. I was, however, utterly disappointed, in almost every regard. The Soul Food at Oohs and Aahs wasn’t that bad overall, but the sides were mostly bland, except for a couple exceptions, and even the meat, except maybe for the catfish, didn’t stand out in any way. If you do insist on eating here, though, take it to go, because the place itself is somewhat of a dump—just an intensely crammed hut with almost no decoration or color. The staff is great, though, and they really do make the experience a bit better.

Overall, then, Oohs and Aahs is just barely passable as a fast food place, and it may even be pretty good if you know what to order and can avoid some of the abominations that they call sides. The problem is that it stands out in almost no way and in no dish whatsoever. WAY TOO OVERHYPED!

What I’ve had:

1. Potato salad was right on, if not a bit too creamy and rich. It might be cloying and too heavy for some, but it was amazingly good, in my opinion.
2. The yams (mashed) were great, if not too sweet. Tasted kind of like eating sweet potato pie and had a really nice brown sugar/sweet pecan/cinnamon taste to them that was nice.
3. Mac and Cheese was a huge letdown—supposedly best in the city but it was just slop. Tasteless, without any feeling of freshness to it. I could’ve made better Mac and Cheese myself. If you want cheap, phenomenal Mac and Cheese, head over to Ray’s Hell Burger for something that’s 10x better.
4. The fries suck, as expected—they taste like they just came out of a microwave and just got an extra coating of salt to give them some extra flavor. They were really salted excessively, though.
5. Collared greens were okay, but not my thing—they are the very sour, vinegary kind.
6. Rice with gravy was horrible—tasted like the rice was completely undercooked. Don’t give it to an Armenian (me), ever. It was, in fact, only edible with the gravy, which helped to give the rice some flavor and richness to cover up how undercooked it was.
7. Fried catfish was right on—tender, moist, with good flavor. This was the best thing I ate, hands down. A bit small of a portion in comparison to everything else, but it’s the only meat that I felt they really nailed.
8. Fried chicken—same as the catfish, for the most part. Moist, tender, etc. But not quite as good, and you can easily find better in town.
9. Beef short ribs were great in their own right, as they were so tender that they were falling off the bone. But the bbq sauce just didn’t do them justice at all—too sour, a bit too strong, and really just a really odd, tangy taste that detracted from how good the meat was by itself. And the meat really did need the bbq sauce because it wasn’t flavorful enough on its own.

Ambience (for a cheap, “slow fast food”-type joint): 0.5/5.0, but you don’t go here for ambience.
Service: Not Applicable.
Taste: 1.2/5.0.
Value: 2.5/5.0. You get a ton of food but it’s still pricey by Soul Food standards.
Overall Score: 1.5/5.0