Of the upscale Southern/Soul Food restaurants in Los Angeles, Georgia on Melrose may have the glitz, but Aunt Kizzy's Back Porch has the food. Aunt Kizzy's is located in an outdoor shopping center in Marina Del Rey, tucked into an obscure corner between a Vons supermarket and a music store - you have to look hard to find it.

A predominantly WASP shopping center in an upscale California beach town may seem an unlikely location for a Southern American restaurant with a predominately African-American clientele. But Aunt Kizzy's is well worth searching out, because this cozy spot serves great homemade Southern food, in a nice neighborhood, and at reasonable prices.

Aunt Kizzy's does standing-room-only business, drawing stars such as Magic Johnson and Arsenio Hall down to the Marina to try some of the greatest home-style cooking in L.A. Hundreds of framed B&W photos of Hollywood stars line the restaurant's walls (Willie Nelson, Eddie Murphy, Stevie Wonder...). Janet Jackson likes their catfish & greens. The Lakers' Kobe Bryant likes to come here on Fridays, as does A.C. Green and many other NBA stars. Actress Debbie Allen ("Fame") prefers Sundays (she loves their biscuits.) Director John Singleton is also a fan.

A large mural of African-American celebrities (including Bill Cosby and Whoopi Goldberg) adorns the quaint "porch," located just inside the front door. (Speaking of Whoopi, Aunt Kizzy's catered her birthday party!)

(In an ideal world, I wouldn't have to mention this... but if by any chance you're hesitant about coming here because you're white, don't be - there are no problems to be found at Aunt Kizzy's, just damn good food.)

The tables have red-checkered tablecloths. The old-fashioned, home-style food includes entrees such as smothered pork chops, short ribs, chicken & dumplings, meatloaf, jambalaya and chicken-fried steak. Sides dishes include a very good potato salad, macaroni & cheese, black-eyed peas, collard greens, candied yams, and corn bread dressing. Big meals for big appetites. Desserts feature peach cobbler, a "Sock-It-To-Me " cake, sweet potato pie, and a great coconut-pineapple cake. Wash it all down with their "award-winning lemonade."

Because it's such a tiny restaurant, their little tables are much too close together, and the lines of people waiting to get in can get long indeed during their busy hours. So come early for dinner (not for lunch, when they offer an awkward cafeteria-style arrangement). You can expect to pay about $35 for dinner for two - far less for lunch. Dress is nice-casual to semi-dressy.

Getting there: to reach Aunt Kizzy's, from the Marina Del Rey Freeway west, go to Mindanao Way and turn right (north), then turn left (west) into the Villa Marina shopping center. Aunt Kizzy's is tucked away in a corner between a Von's supermarket and a Wherehouse store. You'll have to search for it.