So you overslept, spilled coffee all over your white blouse on the way out the door, and then the presentation you labored over for hours bombed at work. Singing the blues? We've all been there. Luckily, all it takes is a little feel-good comfort food to soothe your soul and mend your mind.

"Soul food," as we've come to know it today, originated in the Deep South and has ties to the Civil Rights Movement of the mid 1960s. African slaves were given only leftover and undesirable cuts of meat from their masters and were forced to make do with what they had. The slaves experimented with different foods and ingredients, giving birth to soul food cuisine.

Over the years, soul food has become synonymous with comfort food. The customary cuisine of the Deep South has made its way to restaurant menus all across the country. The very fact that these foods show up on the menus of both your favorite hole-in-the-wall neighborhood restaurants and some of the nation's most upscale eateries tells the story of how Africans came to this country and what they encountered once they got here. It is a cuisine that is deeply rooted in our history and one that satisfied the soul back then just as much as it does today.

Biscuits, cornbread, fried chicken and catfish, grits, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes are considered to be some of the most traditional soul food dishes. For a sweet treat, it's fried ice cream (try a deep-fried twinkie on a popsicle stick for a fun twist) or bread and milk (known as a 'po folks dessert in a glass), which combines crumbled cornbread, buttermilk and sugar.

Here's a look at some of America's best soul food kitchens:

10. Sylvia's in New York, N.Y.

9. Son's Place in Atlanta, Ga.

8. Bertha's Soul Food Café in Los Angeles, Calif.

7. Mama Dip's Kitchen in Chapel Hill, N.C.

6. Swett's in Nashville, Tenn.

5. The Praline Connection in New Orleans, La.

4. Alcenia's Desserts & Preserves Shop in Memphis, Tenn.

3. B&B's Soul Food in Huntsville, Ala.

2. Dixie Kitchen in Chicago, Ill.

1. Georgia Brown's in Washington, D.C.