#18   GEORGIA – What? No Greek Diner In Athens?

You would think there would be a Greek diner in a city named Athens; you know, one of those diners with 10 menu pages of breakfast choices, mirrors, murals, and bright lighting. That did not turn out to be the case as an internet search for breakfast places turned up only one viable breakfast candidate. It turned out to be a great substitute.

Mama’s Boy
Athens, Georgia

AMBIENCE:  Mama’s Boy opened  in 2006 and since has won a number of awards including “Athens’ Favorite Breakfast” for the last nine years in a row. Southern Magazine listed it as one of the South’s best biscuit joints.  Every review I read warned about the long waiting lines to get in. When we arrived, the small parking lot in front of the restaurant was filled so we drove around back to the much larger auxiliary lot which was also filled. After driving the side streets and reading all the “No Parking” signs we finally found a spot about a 10 minute walk from the restaurant. I feared a 15 minute search for parking would translate into an unbearable wait for a table. We were joyously surprised that we were seated immediately upon our arrival.

Mama’s Boy bills itself as “Southern Fun Dining” and both staff and customers seemed to be having a lot more fun than such an early hour of the morning deserved. There were a couple of people who were even eating chocolate cake for breakfast.

The place is not real big, maybe with a capacity of about 50 customers.  It is cheerfully decorated with a quirky mason jar chandelier and wallpaper you might find in Austin Power’s bedroom. The ceiling-to-floor windows in the front of the restaurant let in plenty of sunlight through sheer curtains.

5 out of 5 stars.

FOOD:  Many of the reviews I had read raved about the biscuits so it was predetermined that I would be ordering one. Furthermore, I had yet to have the iconic southern biscuits with gravy.  It was an easy decision; I ordered two of the homemade biscuits topped with sausage-thyme gravy. To top it off, I also asked for a side of bacon.

As is my habit, I eat all of one item on my plate before moving on to the next item. I tackled the bacon first and it was outstanding. Next, the main course looked like a tsunami of gravy, all but obliterating most of the biscuits. I thought the taste was more akin to turkey stuffing than sausage, probably due to the influence of the thyme. It was very good but I would probably have preferred a more sausage laden gravy. Speaking of heavy, I read that a healthy breakfast should energize you for the rest of the day. If there was any doubt that this was not the most healthy breakfast in the world, when we got into the car to drive to South Carolina, I promptly fell asleep.

The Healthy One ordered Cook’s Trail Mix granola with yogurt, fresh fruit, and honey. She has now had granola with yogurt in five of the fourteen breakfast stops she has visited on the tour; a very respectable .357 average.

The presentation of the granola, et. al. as a parfait in a mason jar was pleasing to the eyes but made it difficult to mix everything together. Valuable granola bits were lost during the mixing process. Nevertheless, she thought it very tasty.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

COFFEE:  The coffee was quite good and was the restaurant’s own special blend from one of the best named roasting companies I’ve run across – Jittery Joe’s.

4 1/2 stars out of 5

SERVICE: Our server was friendly and helpful. Most of the staff was tattooed and pierced and she was no exception.  About a month before we ate at Mama’s Boy, a server was arrested after he reportedly stole a Donald Trump campaign sign from the neighboring property because he felt the sign “reflected poorly on the business”. As I said, the service was outstanding.

5 stars out of 5

COST: $29.65 with tax and tip.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT ATHENS:  Athens is to Georgia as Madison is to Wisconsin or Austin is to Texas or Boulder is to Colorado. The small city is a liberal university-centric enclave nestled in the middle of a conservative state. The University of Georgia’s 36,000 students along with the resident Athenians support a vibrant downtown district. There are a ton of bars and music venues and restaurants. Athens gained national music fame for spawning such rock bands as R.E.M. and the B-52s back in the late 1970s. Today, the music scene still very much thrives but is much more diverse with rap, country rock, folk, Latin, and other genres entertaining the populace.

UGA, founded in 1785, dominates life in Athens. The University’s economic impact on the local economy has been put at $2.1 billion. The mascot of UGA is the bulldog or “dawg” as they like to say. There are more than 50 statues of the mascot throughout the city of Athens. The official live mascot bulldog’s name goes by the not-so-creative name of “Uga”. Since the original “Uga” was paraded out in 1956 date, 9 dogs have carried the name “Uga”. Each of the 9 males has been descended from the original “Uga”, and has frequently been the son of the predecessor. If seeing a statue or two or three doesn’t sate your “Uga” appetite, you can always visit the mausoleum where all the previous “Ugas” are buried. It is located at the football stadium.

BURN THOSE BREAKFAST CALORIES OFF:

We walked the downtown Athens area and the massive campus of the University of Georgia. Go Dawgs!

November 4, 2016

NEXT UP: South Carolina