Good Ole' Southern, Down Home Cooking

If you love Southern cuisine, and I'm talking sweet potatoes, greens, chicken and dumplings and cobbler, then you just have to pay Mary Mac's Tea Room a visit. I became a life-time patron on my very first visit to the restaurant.

Mary Mac's Tea Room has been serving classic Southern food in the Atlanta since 1945. Right after the end of the World War II in 1945, a woman named Mary McKinsey decided to put her cooking skills to work for her and opened Mary Mac's Tea Room. The restaurant is located along Midtown's Ponce de Leon Avenue, which back then, had trolley cars. The Fox Theatre was also around then, and is just down the street. There were at least 16 other "Tea Rooms" scattered around downtown Atlanta, but Mary Mac's is the only one left.

Though the restaurant has really developed since then, it's still 1945 in the kitchen at Mary Mac's. Things are still done the way Mary McKinsey and her successor, renowned owner Margaret Lupo (1962-1994), did things. Each morning's ritual consists of shucking corn, snapping fresh green beans, baking breads and desserts and brewing the best sweet tea ever.

The restaurant serves all types of folks in search of good Southern fare, from students to senators, plumbers to celebrities. And then there is the repeat customer base, those whose parents, grandparents and great grandparents were served by original owner Mary MacKenzie. I'm a transplant to Georgia, but again, her banana pudding has my loyalty for life!

Before she passed away in 1994, Mrs. Lupo named today's owner, John Ferrell, to carry on Mary Mac's tradition of quality and good ole' Southern hospitality. Their service is very friendly and the atmosphere is comfortable. I first went to Mary Mac's with my family for Mother's Day, and was pleasantly surprised to see families, both young and old, with children and without, just simply relaxed as if they were sitting down to dinner in their own home.

Taking a look at the menu, it was truly hard to decide on any one dish. Mary Mac's serves everything you could imagine: the crispiest fried chicken, grilled salmon, pork chops, ribs, steaks from the grill, fish, shrimp, oysters, you name it! You can choose from more than thirty sides, including fried okra, baked macaroni-and-cheese and cheese grits. My family and I opted for the "family style" meal, where we chose three entrees, four sides, 2 desserts and sweet tea for only $13.50 per person. The food was endless. The wait staff just kept bringing it out. I don't think I've ever been so full in my entire life, but it was so good that we just couldn't stop eating. And just when we thought we were done, dessert had slipped our mind. My aunt used to say that everyone has a 'dessert pocket' in their belly, and let me tell you that we certainly made room and filled it up with banana pudding and peach cobbler!

Mary Mac's Tea Room is open seven days a week, from 11:00am - 9:00pm, serves lunch and dinner, and also has a full bar. They cater, host weddings and corporate meetings, and even pick-up and deliver. They're located at 224 Ponce de Leon Avenue in midtown Atlanta. You can reach them by calling (404) 876-1800 or check them out online at www.marymacs.com. If you like good home-cooked meals, then you just have to try Mary Mac's. Your taste buds will thank you!