The Most Authentic Restaurants: Southern

If you're looking for something on the lighter side, keep right on walking past this Dorchester institution. But if it's stick-to-the-ribs braised or fried foods you crave, Chef Lee's II Soul Food is where it's at. The food is served with a generous hand and a warm smile, from smothered chicken livers to fried pork chops, from pig's feet to oxtails. The sides are what you'd expect for classic Southern fare - collards, black-eyed peas, beans and rice, candied yams, and more. Expect a long line at lunch, when the regulars patiently wait their turn at this cafeteria-style joint. (But while you're waiting, check out the impressive photo gallery of African-American luminaries like Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and Martin Luther King Jr.) Then grab a seat at one of the tables by the window, or get your grub to go. Either way, be prepared to have little room left for dessert but plenty of cash left in your wallet. It's good eats - and cheap.