The operators of many successful mom and pop restaurants were originally migrants from the US south between World War I and World War II. Many were folks without college degrees who started restaurants around the country and built reputations as great down home eateries with a "just like mom's taste associated with their dishes." Asian migrants have come to the U. S. over the last twenty years and similarly started restaurants, many of them Chinese restaurants in African American communities with soul food items on their menus such as spareribs and fried chicken. So in short, some of the best soul food today can be found in Chinese restaurants in black communities.