Mama's Boy: A side of Southern charm

Mama's Boy
197 Oak St.
706-548-6249

By DERRICK THOMAS

The location of Mama’s Boy Southern Fun Dining says a lot about the restaurant. On Oak St. in Athens, it’s too hip for Watkinsville, but also a little casual for downtown.

As I walk into the petite building, maybe 10 cars outside, fresh coffee enflames the nostrils as a friendly face asks me to sit wherever I like. “I’ll just follow you with the menu,” she says with a smile. With a dining room no bigger than a nice living room, the choice is limited to a couple of booths and just over a dozen tables. A table for two in the corner will suit my companion and me just fine.

We had our doubts as we walked in. With a bit of a townie feel, my friend and I wonder, “will we be welcome here?” Before long, the casual dress of the workers, the soft Southern rock soundtrack and the welcoming service put us at ease.

This place is for everyone. A group of girls are having bible study in a corner booth. A couple of students quietly enjoy each other’s company. An older couple sits down next to us after a few minutes – obviously regulars. Even the bus boy enjoys the local paper as he wraps silverware.

The environment is all well and good, but things get serious when our plaid-shirted waiter asks us what we would like to drink. Let’s see if that coffee tastes like it smells… Nope! Disappointment. The coffee, while in a delightfully oversized mug, is nothing special. At least it’s hot.

As my friend decides what to order, I try to decide whether I like my coffee. We look over the menu, and two workers enjoy a laugh behind the Waffle House-style bar, and we are glad to be here. Yeah, the coffee’s average, but the water comes in a Mason jar! This is my kind of place.

We order, and in just a few quick minutes, our hot breakfast has arrived. The biscuits and gravy I ordered are not exactly what I expected. Two biscuits under white sausage gravy, right? Wrong. Two large biscuits (cut in half, seeming like four) are smothered in beige bacon gravy. Not what I expected, but how bad can you screw this classic up? The answer is, not at all. These soft buttermilk treats were baked for the sole purpose of bathing in this newly-discovered gravy. And the “thick cut” bacon that accompanies is crisp with an above-average flavor. All of a sudden, this coffee ain’t so bad.

I asked my companion to keep the assessment of her sausage biscuit to herself, so as to not sway mine. It didn’t look like much: just a single sausage patty on one of the aforementioned buttermilk biscuits. No jelly. No cheese. Really, how good can this be? Wow. This is the most simple – and fantastic – biscuit I’ve eaten in some time. The biscuit, as mentioned, is very good, but it simply compliments the abundant flavor of the sausage.

The food is great. The only problem is that our (perhaps too) casual waiter has yet to give me a chance to tell him about it. Not to mention I need some more of this increasingly satisfying coffee. He eventually comes.

As we finish our meals, I notice the beer and wine in the refrigerator behind the bar. The simple selection of beer offers Miller High Life and PBR for the good ole boys. Meanwhile, Amstel Light and some Terrapin Golden Ale will satisfy any local hipster. The wine ranges in price from $19-$40 a bottle. Breakfast has been good, but we must come back for dinner and a few drinks.

We receive the check and realize we have both enjoyed a late breakfast for around $10 a piece (including tip). The food was very good, and the service was okay (although he did offer a coffee to go). But Mama’s Boy isn’t going for a memorable fine dining experience. Instead, as the name suggest, this “Southern Fun” diner offers a laid-back experience that is just as much about the cozy environment as it is about the good home cooking. And the coffee really isn’t that bad.