You probably can’t get into Patti LaBelle’s favorite Philly restaurant

In the intro to her first (of five) cookbooks, LaBelle Cuisine: Recipes To Sing About, which was originally published in 1999, Patti LaBelle wrote: “From the time I was a little girl, I knew there were two things in this world I was born to do: sing and cook.”

Through a career that stretches back to the early 1960s with Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles to glam funk-rock band LaBelle in the 1970s to her “Over The Rainbow” star turn at Live Aid in 1985, LaBelle’s fellow musicians have always known that she has abundant culinary, as well as vocal, talent.

One of LaBelle’s favorite stories is about cooking for a young British pianist in London named Reg Dwight, who got on her bad side when he failed to return the Tupperware she had sent him home with. Years later, then known as Elton John, he paid her back with a diamond ring.

“I cooked so much food for Mick Jagger and his band that they had to send a van to come and pick it up,” LaBelle told the Daily News in 2014.

“I made them cabbage, beef brisket, ribs, and fresh-cut corn right off the cob. My only request was that they write my name on top of all of the aluminum foil pans so that everyone knew it was my food and not some caterer.”

Asked where she likes to eat in Philadelphia, LaBelle, who sings a duet with Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata (”This Christmas”) on the team’s current holiday album, says: “I like my own kitchen. I consider it one of the best restaurants. And I cook what I want.”

When she does go out, LaBelle says, “I love the Capital Grille,” the steakhouse with outlets in Center City and King of Prussia. Her former favorite eatery in the city was Ms. Tootsie’s, owned by KeVen Parker, who also owned KeVen Parker’s Soul Food Cafe. “I loved it there,” she says, but the restaurants closed after the death of chef Parker in 2021.

LaBelle is in the soul food business herself, with a line of Walmart products including macaroni & cheese, collard greens, and fruit cobblers. In 2015, food vlogger James Wright Chanel’s review of her sweet potato pies went viral and spurred a run on sales. Holiday season gatherings are good for business, she says, “and I’m thankful for that.”

She is also well known for the bottles of hot sauce she brings along when she goes out to dine. When Jamaican rapper Shaggy played Philly in September on his One Fine Day festival with Sting, he told of once being seated with her and Rihanna at an awards show in Monaco and how LaBelle had whipped out the hot sauce and passed it around the table.

“I keep them in my purse,” she says. Favorites include Scorned Woman, Pain 100%, and Kick Ass Jalapeno. “I’ve got a fridge full of them, and a cabinet full of more I haven’t opened yet. If you find one that is really hot, let me know.”