Mert’s Heart & Soul

Mert’s can single-handedly lift your mood during your lunch break, even on the worst, dumpster-fire of a Monday. It’s been serving excellent Lowcountry and Gullah-inspired dishes since 1998, with standouts like fried catfish, salmon cakes, mac and cheese, individual-sized loaves of cornbread, and the best thing in the building: the Soul Rolls. These fried egg roll wrappers come stuffed with black-eyed peas, seasoned rice, collards, and diced chicken breast, served with a side of spicy honey mustard (the way they pack in an absurd amount of flavor in a small package is on par with the invention of quantum computing). Don’t leave without a slice of pound cake, even if you’re so full you have to take it to go.