Lunch at the Legendary Mrs. B’s

A recent business trip found me in the great city of Montgomery; and for lunch, my hosts said we HAD TO eat at local restaurant Mrs. B's.

Most people who are familiar with my family know that I come from a long line of good cooks. We pride ourselves on our food being seasoned to perfection. Even the teens cook! I'm not talking about boxed food either (although it IS convenient from time to time), and not only on Sundays! As a matter of fact, just last night, I cooked baked chicken breasts, macaroni and cheese, green beans, butter beans, and cornbread. Now, I don't cook as much as I'd like, but when I want to cook, I want to cook.

Anyway, they took me to Mrs. B's. On the way there, all kinds of things crossed my mind.

I bet it's not all that.

They probably don't even know what good is.

If they have stuffing and call it dressing, I'm gonna be tripping.

We get there and when I saw the building, I was like, "Ohhhhh. This is going to be good." Something about a restaurant that looks like you're walking directly into grandma's kitchen.....

Sure enough, I walk in and I'm instantly hit by the aroma of grandma's cooking! Now, it wasn't MY grandma's (you know we all think our grandmothers have the best food), but the recipes used were definitely from SOMEBODY'S grandmother.

As I walk down the hall to "the kitchen," I notice the pictures of different people who've eaten at the restaurant. I finally make it to the entrance of the buffet line, and the first server starts going down the list of meats available that day. "We have baked chicken, fried chicken, ribs, catfish fillets, hot wings, barbecue wings....."

How do you choose when there are so many options? Still apprehensive, I go with "old faithful."

"I'd like baked chicken. White meat, please."

"Do you want rice or dressing?"

Kinda hard to mess up rice. So, that would have been the safe option (remember, I'm a huge skeptic), but I just had to know if it was really dressing.

"You want gravy on your dressing?"

"Sure."

Normally, I don't go for gravy on dressing. It makes it too mushy for me. I like my dressing to still be cornbready. Yes, I made up that word.

After that, I had a hard time deciding my other sides as I didn't want to go into carb overload. I chose collard greens and macaroni cheese. I should have chosen another vegetable like a legume, but..... Look, just pray for my willpower. Here's a plus! I got water to drink.

My group walked across the hall to the dining room, and at first, I just poked at my food because I don't like it to touch. I had to separate it. And then you know how it is when it looks good but you're afraid of being disappointed, so you don't delve right in? That was me.

I finally decide to take a bite, and it wasn't even 10 minutes later.... I was done! Maaannnn, that food was so good I tried to find a way to fit a monthly visit into my plans!

One of my hosts sat down after most of us, and as he ate, he made the comment, "They give you so much food it's like two servings." Now, when A MAN says that but YOUR plate is clean.... I took a napkin and tried to cover my empty plate. Too late! We all burst out laughing! Hey, I was hungry!

I WILL say THIS, though: I didn't eat all of my greens. I'm not a fan of sweet vegetables. They weren't overly sweet but since I am monitoring my blood sugar, I knew that if it tasted even slightly sweet to me, I shouldn't eat them just to be on the safe side.

All in all, Mrs. B's is a winner for me. It's good to know where you can eat when you want a home-cooked meal but don't feel like cooking yourself.