Five Sisters' Blues Café Celebrates Black History Month

Five Sisters' Blues Café Celebrates Black History Month

Join us for the month of February as we celebrate Black History Month. Each week we will feature a Black culinary innovator who, through their contributions to the food industry, changed the landscape of the culinary world. All features will be available at both lunch and dinner service.

Monday, February 2 – Sunday, February 8

Innovator: Thomas Downing: Oyster King of New York

Featured Dish: Oyster Pan Roast

Thomas Downing began his career as an oysterman, selling oysters on the streets of New York. Over the years he elevated the status of the oyster and dominated the industry. In 1825 he opened Thomas Downing Oyster House, which would go on to become legendary. His menu raised the bar for oysters in fine dining setting the path for their placement on menus across the world in fine dining establishments.

Monday, February 9 – Sunday, February 15

Innovator: Leah Chase: Queen of Creole Cuisine

Featured Dish: Crawfish Étouffée

Leah Chase was the Executive Chef and owner of Dooky Chase’s restaurant in New Orleans, one of the most historic restaurants in America. Chase was an accomplished cookbook writer and appeared on numerous cooking shows throughout her career. She was inducted into the James Beard Hall of Fame and honored with a Lifetime Achievement award in 2000 by Southern Foodways Alliance.

Monday, February 16 – Sunday, February 22

Innovator: Edna Lewis: Grande Dame of Southern Cooking

Featured Dish: Hoppin’ John

Edna Lewis spent more than 75 years in the culinary world, where she was hailed as an esteemed chef of Southern cooking. During her career, she published three acclaimed cookbooks and won multiple James Beard awards. Her most famous cookbook, “In Pursuit of Flavor” is featured at the Smithsonian Museum of African American History.

The Entire Month of February

Innovator: John Young: Buffalo's Wing King

Featured Dish: Breaded Buffalo Wings

John Young, Buffalo’s original chicken wing pioneer, opened Wings N’ Things in Buffalo, New York in 1961. Over the years, he launched several soul food restaurants across Buffalo and beyond. However, his legacy is forever tied to his breaded wings with his version of a mumbo sauce, a signature creation that made him unforgettable and is still available to purchase today.

Innovator: Nathan “Nearest” Green: The Original Jack Daniels

Featured Drinks: Nearest’s Old Fashioned and Uncle’s Kentucky Mule

Jack Daniel’s, the most famous whiskey, was originally created by Nathan “Nearest” Green. Green, a former slave, taught Jack Daniel the techniques for distilling in the 1800s. Green was then hired as the first master distiller for Jack Daniels and became known to all as Uncle Nearest. In 2017 Uncle Nearest Inc. created by Green’s descendants, created a whiskey to honor Green’s legacy.

Five Sisters' Blues Cafe, located at 421 West Belmont on the corner of Belmont and DeVilliers, is a restaurant built on some of Pensacola’s deepest history right in the heart of historic downtown Pensacola. The reconstruction of the old Gussie’s Record Shop heralds the reawakening of the old Belmont-DeVilliers neighborhood. Featuring Southern cuisine, Five Sisters offers daily blackboard and house specialties and live blues music Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Monday – Thursday, 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Friday – Saturday, 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m., and 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, please call 850-912-4856 or visit our website, www.fivesistersbluescafe.com.