I first heard of Mama Dips about fifteen years ago and have wanted to try it because of it's fame and longevity, so my husband took me there for lunch the other day while we were in the area.

The service was very good and friendly and the whole place is very cozy and charming and pleasant to be in.

I'm torn about the food though. The starters we had were all very good. I have to at least give them lots of credit for the very best and most unique and special hush puppies I've ever had. They're so different from the usual, run-of-the-mill BBQ joint hush puppies which I've never really liked because they're all the same - dense, dry, overly fried and just not interesting. Mama Dip's hush puppies are fresh, round, handmade, much more nicely fried and have lovely onion bits on the inside. The fried green tomatoes were classic and good so were the sweet potato biscuits.

Sadly though, it didn't really last through to the entrees. I got the chicken and waffles with mashed potatoes and collard greens. It was all a bit underwhelming. The chicken was tasty but very dry, that was surprising and disappointing. The waffle wasn't bad but was also kind of dry and dense and wasn't special. I was very disappointed to receive a little container of Log Cabin artificially flavored corn syrup in lieu of real maple syrup. I kind of can't believe that, I'd expect somewhere as classically southern as Mama Dip's, which has been around for a long time, to at least offer their diners real maple syrup. I mean, Cracker Barrel can do it and their food isn't all that great. I absolutely hate the fake kind and I just don't see an excuse for it in any decent restaurant. I shouldn't ever see that outside of a McDonald's breakfast, but there's a reason why I don't eat that rubbish either anyway.

The mashed potatoes weren't bad but they were kind of bland, as was the gravy. I've never had good gravy in any restaurant that wasn't an elevated Southern restaurant. The collards were overcooked and also lacking in seasoning. They really could have used some vinegar and spice, and much shorter cook time. Finally, the lemonade seemed to be just Country Time, also artificial and definitely way too sweet for me so I switched it out for coffee.

It was nice to try once and comfortable to be there but I'm not sure I'll ever feel the need to go back, not when I know I can make most of what I ordered much better myself at home. Maybe worth a try if you really like very simple, typical country food (I strongly suspect most of their clientele is senior citizens who probably specifically don't want lots of spice and flavor and are used to basics), but don't expect anything too special. But definitely get the hush puppies.