Mrs. B. cooks the best fried chicken I’ve ever tasted, hands down!
THE REAL DEAL. We’ve had some pretty good meals since we left San Diego more than four years ago. But for the real-deal Southern home-cooked fare, our lunch today at Mrs. B’s was far and away the best. We happened on it by chance. Driving to Starbucks we decided we were hungry and Florence found four our five places on our GPS. They all sounded good, but for some reason I picked Mrs. B’s. I’m so glad I did. When we arrived, I had second thoughts for a moment. The place was located in a pretty run-down residential neighborhood and for some reason I felt a little nervous. After all, we are now in the truly deep South and far from any tourist attractions. We’ve unintentionally been around some real white trash and some blacks that looked as if they’d skin you alive for a twenty dollar bill! We’ve had a few “scares” as I’ll write about soon, but we decided to march right in to this little restaurant like we owned the place. Wow! The diners were mixed, friendly and seated at tables “family style.” I could judge in an instant that the food prepared here was going to be special and the owner and her helpers worked hard to make it so.
Pretty plain. No fancy sign here. But wait ’til we go inside!
The front porch is appealing. I’ll bet it’s packed with folks waiting to be seated lots of the time. Or, with folks who are so full after their meal that they need a place to rest for a moment or two!
LOOKING BACK. When I started the “Eateries Section” of this blog, my intent was to post about the truly special restaurants we found along the road. As I look back at all the cafes I’ve mentioned in prior posts, I realize that many of them weren’t worthy of inclusion. Don’t get me wrong, we enjoyed our meals at each of them but some weren’t unique or truly special. But I’ve sure not made a mistake by including Mrs. B’s. This little eatery truly belongs in this section.
Maxwell-Gunter Air Force base is located near the park where we’re staying, and also close to Mrs’ B’s restaurant. Lots of airmen were in the place and I had a chance to say “thanks” to this group of men. But when I first approached and asked if I could take their picture, they weren’t quite sure what to think of me! They got over it once I explained.
Lots of memorabilia on the walls pays tribute to the men and women of our armed services.
This view is just inside the front door. As you’ll see on the wall to the right, there are signs stating “in” and “out.” We figured we’d try the “in” and we were right. We were greeted by Mrs. B and an array of home cooked food for us to choose. A large entree, two huge sides and a large ice tea cost just $9.00. I can understand why the place was packed.
This is the serving line. We had a choice of fresh fish, fried chicken, barbecued pork chops, and braised beef tips. Florence had the pork chops and I ordered the fried chicken. It was the best.
YOU KNOW ME. By now, most of you guys know that I’m a wanna be chef and restaurateur. At any restaurant or cafe that’s interesting I try to get at least a peek at the kitchen and a moment to “talk shop” to the chef. So today, on the way back from the men’s room, I saw a door with a sign: “Kitchen. Employees Only.” Oh well, I thought. What are they gonna do, shoot me? So, you guessed it, I opened the door and peaked inside. Two African American ladies were working there and they of course looked surprised that I’d just walked right into their domain. I asked if I could take their picture and their first response was, “You’ll have to ask Mrs. B.” To which I winked and said, “Oh, come on, I just want to take a quick picture of you pretty ladies.” That worked, and in addition to getting their picture I had a chance to see the tiny kitchen where the prepare all that comfort food. You know what impressed me the most about it? It was spotless…always a sign of a good kitchen. But it was hot…really hot…probably 100 degrees hot. I don’t know how they could work in there, but I’m glad they did. The food they prepared was fabulous.
These sweet ladies were cooking today. And boy can they cook! After I sneaked in the kitchen to take a look around and snapped their photo, the each gave me a hug and told me the food was “prepared with love.” Nice.
Lots of photos of Mrs. B and her family adorn the walls.
Florence is a light eater, but today she cleaned her plate!
WHAT A GREAT DINNER. In the South, dinner is the mid-day meal and a lighter meal in the evening is supper. Regardless of what it’s called, the food at this little joint was wonderful. I thanked Mrs. B on the way out the door and told here that we’d come all the way across the country without finding any comfort food better than hers. She thanked me profusely for letting her know, beamed a huge smile and gave me a hug. “Y’all come back soon, you hear me?” Oh, yes. We hear you!
I’ll continue my story next time.
