200 W. Broad St.
780-0004
comfortrestaurant.com

Second Place: Croaker's Spot

Third Place: Mama J's Kitchen

Back before Richmond had a host of places to find home-style food, Comfort put down roots in a virtual dead zone of Broad Street. But with patience, meatloaf and fried catfish, it wooed both foodie and nonurban dwellers to what is now a bona fide arts district. Jackson Ward's other comfort-food destination, Croaker's Spot, departed for South Side, where it attracted an even more devoted following. Mama J's Kitchen took up the slack with the best fried chicken in the city and a pile of homemade cakes that any grandmother would be proud to serve.