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i think the distinction totally hinges on race. southern food is regional cuisine, distinguished by ingredients, cooking method (someone above mentioned casseroles for example) and geography. soul food - a term that didn't even emerge until the 1960s - is a national cuisine that is also connected to ingredients, but is very much connected to the idea and reality of blackness. i mean, the term "soul" is totally about essence and innateness, is it not? a couple of you mentioned how chicken and waffles sprung up in the venues of late night jazz culture. i would say soul food is just as connected to blues venues and gospel music. in fact, soul is almost analogous to rhythm in some ways. they are both terms that evoke the innate color and life of a people. to me, soul is inseparable from race.

yes and no.
"soul food" is a blanket term--to different people it means different things.
a lot of the time, it refers to a sort of "home cooked" style found in a lot of Southern USA regional dishes.
another way of saying it might be to say that a lot of southern food is comfort food, but they are not the same thing at all.
It's also interesting to note that a wide variety of "Southern" food styles exist outside of the cliche "fried chicken and greens" type dishes a lot of people associate with the South. I've had the honor to work at both La Jolla and Garrett's, two Montgomery, Ala. restaurants specializing in "new" southern food--gourmet interpretations of all kinds of stuff, from fish to pasta to...yes, fried chicken(La Jolla had fried chicken for lunch for about two months before we decided it was just too embarassing).

@1stmakearoux, the only place I can think of is Cafe Habana, which is the only Cuban restaurant close to the river...their tres leches is awesome as well.

@bitter I was in Philly last summer and went to a fabulous Cuban restaurant down by the river. Of course I can't recall the name, but it was truly like walking into a restaurant in Havana! Beautiful decor, great Cuban food (I had ropa vieja), reasonable prices, and attentive servers and manager.

My gf makes great picadillo when I can talk her into it!

I also happen to be part Cuban too, 1stmakearoux and make a mean picadillo!!!

Right now, I'm craving some shrimp and grits. My bad back has me out from work today, but I can stand at the stove for a l'il bit. I've got some shrimp and andouille (sp?) in the fridge. So tempting.

One thing I miss is fatback. My maternal grands were from Saluda, South Carolina and they used to fry fatback on the weekends. My mom was their only girl, and they were devoted to her. We were their favorites. As soon as Mom parked the car, I'd run up the steps, into the house, kiss them, and then run into the kitchen to eat a piece of crispy, salty fatback. Fatback went into EVERYTHING -- oil for frying chicken, greens - even ice cream. LOL, just kidding.

Right now I reside in Center City Philly - pretty much lily-white, which I hardly have a problem with, except I always have to catch the bus and go to North Philly or West Philly to get the things I miss. I don't have a car, which makes getting the food I crave something of a challenge.

It's a bit like Cajun and Creole. Both are very similar but they are, indeed, different. Soul food is more likely to involve pork in the cooking process - be it through the use of bacon, ham hocks, or chitterlings.

Southern food is light as air biscuits, grillades and grits, squash blossoms, bread pudding, catfish with pecan butter, Hummingbird cake, ambrosia, fresh veggies straight from the garden (Francis I - the sterling pattern- even makes a tomato server), freshly made lemonade and ice tea, juleps, chess pie... those are all southern foods. Just my humble, Mississippi and Alabama raised opinion. :-)