Sunday Column: The Mary Mac’s Melee
For my Sunday column (which appeared in the print edition of the newspaper yesterday), I wrote about the lively discussion that followed my 30 Restaurants visit to Mary Mac’s Tea Room. Here’s the column. I’m going to go run for cover. See you next restaurant!
(P.S. Check out this nicely written blog inspired by the same comment that caught my attention.)
When I first moved to Atlanta in 1997 to become the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s dining critic, my editor drew up a huge list of restaurants for me to visit. As luck would have it, a 50-year-old institution called Mary Mac’s Tea Room had just received an aberrantly low health-inspection rating.
“I don’t think you need to go there, ” this editor said, looking a little relieved that we wouldn’t have to deal with it. For reasons too complicated to go into, some people loved this restaurant, others hated it, and it was so far off the food-trend radar that my time would be better spent elsewhere.
So years passed — years in which I racked up thousands of miles traveling through the metroplex searching for Thai food, barbecue and fussy fish entrees in the bistro du jour — before I set foot inside Mary Mac’s. By then it established an unassailable health record.
When that day came the restaurant seemed a little touristy, sure, but also not without its charms. I liked the comfy sprawl of the place, the small cup of pot likker that served as a kind of down-home amuse bouche at the start of each meal, and the well-seasoned service staffers who were so good at reading each table. The fare was a mixed bag: some of it decent Southern comfort food, some of it processed to a fare-thee-well.
Several more years passed, and I decided a couple of weeks ago to visit Mary Mac’s again. This time I wrote about it on my blog.
Mary Mac's beloved owner Margaret Lupo, who died in 1998
Once again, I had overall positive feelings about the restaurant but found a mixed bag. Crisp fried pork chops were worthy of praise, a scoop of cheesy something called “tomato pie” was oozing so much grease I couldn’t face it.
And that’s when readers let me have it.
It was fascinating. The first wave of posters were aghast that I’d have any opinion about this beloved Atlanta institution. At least four of them pulled the old Lewis Grizzard canard about Delta being “ready when you are.” Beneath all the comments was this subtext: How can you review this if you’re not a Southerner? (Um, the same way I review Thai food. Good is good, bad is bad, right?)
Then the next wave came in to either defend my integrity or chime in with their own disappointments regarding Mary Mac’s.
Soon, the battle lines were drawn. Some claimed no true Southerner could make any negative comment about Mary Mac’s. Others claimed no true Southerner could like this poor facsimile of real home cooking.
And then the really interesting thing happened. People began synthesizing and interpreting the discussion. One poster named “Pat” told this wonderful story:
“My mama was a true Southern lady. She made her own homemade jam, pies and cobblers, and always had fried chicken, turnips or collards, fresh rolls and assorted vegetables ready on Sundays right after we got home from church.”
You know where this is going, right? Wrong.
“But good Lord, the woman was an AWFUL cook. Sadly, she was probably one of the worst cooks in our neighborhood, congregation, heck, probably the whole town. She boiled her vegetables to mush, turned pancakes into vulcanized, syrup-topped, rubber discs, rolled biscuits that sat in your stomach like shot puts for hours …”
Pat’s conclusion?
“In Atlanta, where everything gets torn down every three or four years, people develop a deep fondness for what’s survived for years — the comforting and familiar — especially a restaurant that cooks like a beloved relative. Flavor, freshness and quality ingredients just aren’t that important to some. Like a sweet, old maiden aunt who absent-mindedly puts salt into the sugar cookies, Mary Mac’s way past her glory days — but most Atlantans defend it vigorously with a never-ending benefit of the doubt.”
Pat says it best.
Not being a native Atlantan, I’ll say I liked the pork chops but hated the tomato pie. I can only taste the now.
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53 comments Add your comment
shawn
November 16th, 2009
11:10 am
First!! always wanted to do that
Objective
November 16th, 2009
11:37 am
I too was disappointed in MM when my Father-in-law took my wife and I there a few years ago. Greenwoods, or even the Southern Skillet has better food
VolnATL
November 16th, 2009
11:40 am
Well, I like it just fine. Great fried chicken, great collards, pretty good meatloaf too. Not all restaurants have to be 5 star quality. There is something to be said for the middle of the road joints out there – especially the ones that have stood the test of time.
VolnATL
November 16th, 2009
11:41 am
oh yeah – the Colonnade is better.
Bubba
November 16th, 2009
11:44 am
This is totally off topic, but does anybody remember a small local (I think) fast food chain called The Shrimp Boat? They were teeny places with a shrimp boat facade. They served fried seafood and fried chicken, and I remember thinking their chicken was the best on earth. But I was just a kid–Whoppers were delicious then. I think they went under in the ’70s.
phildawg
November 16th, 2009
11:44 am
Glad the column inspired some debate and, hopefully, Mary Mac’s current management will learn from this discussion. I visit MM’s twice or three times a year. It is a delightful institution, but the food is hit or miss. If you stay with certain items, you’re fine, if you stretch it, not so fine. Fried chicken is good, so are fried pork chops. Turkey and dressing is passable – much like a 1970’s high school lunchroom. Chicken livers are an eperiment – you’ll probably get a large serving, but they may be under cooked or over cooked in the same batch. The cooking oil can also taste a little old at times – a sign of misguided cost control or sloppy kitchen management. In short, I’d go once a month if it was a better place but I need a two to three month buffer between visits to let my nostalgia override my taste buds. Like many an old girl she’s still mighty nice, but could use some tightening up. That’s from a 1958 born and bred Georgian raised in rural middle Georgia near Dublin. Mr. Kessler is correct about this one (and really about most that he reviews). God Bless Mary Mac’s!
chris
November 16th, 2009
11:48 am
I enjoyed the Colonnade, lemon cream pie was amazing. Mary Mac’s could be incredible with a few recipe tweaks, like seasoning the fried chicken. City Cafe in Tuscaloosa, Al blows the doors off anything Atl has to offer. Stay away from Knoxville everyone, you will get robbed by a UT player.
Richard Bagge
November 16th, 2009
11:53 am
Bubba, the last Shrimp Boats I know of was the one in Athens – it closed in ‘93 or so.
D
November 16th, 2009
11:56 am
Mr. Kessler, Sweetheart you don’t have to hide anymore. You made up for everything with your smashing review of Bones. It is so great to have back in your element, brutal honesty and all.Someone gave me Margaret Lupo’s cookbook for Christmas one year, and I swear I think it was edited by the CEO of Purina.
Carpetbagger
November 16th, 2009
11:59 am
Anyone who defends Mary Mac’s as a palatable response to southern cooking is as dumb and ignorant sounding as the southern accent spewing from their taste defying pie-holes.
Smoove Bee
November 16th, 2009
12:18 pm
I grew up in Georiga; I was born here in 1963. I ate and still enjoy Southern fare, and from time to time some soul food as well. I eat Thai, etc; I ate at Mary Mac’s several times during the early nineties; the best thing was the iced tea (at the time) – now I don’t drink iced tea in restaurants at all. Ever. It brewed in a coffee maker and not steeped. It should be steeped for four minutes only.
And, the food, at that time, was average. Across the highway was Junior’s just off the campus at Georgia Tech. We all ate there, too, it was average, sometimes worse; a lot of it came from food-industry-sized cans; in other words, it is industrialized food. More than the food, going there was a nostalgic trip with my buddies for a “meat and three with tea” for about $4.00;
Same thing for Mary Mac’s – I would never want to return there; I can make better collard greens and cornbread than that.
Nostalgia is fine; don’t over-do it; don’t over-defend the food just because you love the woman. It’s true, “kindess is wiser than truth” when it comes to, well, being kind; but a restaurant review should speak the truth – it may spur the owner to action to take the food seriously again.
Greg
November 16th, 2009
12:25 pm
Chris,
Thank you for reminding me of City Cafe. It is the best. Wish I was standing in line right now.
Mid-GA Boy
November 16th, 2009
12:39 pm
There is still a Shrimp Boat in Milledgeville, and I think it started as one of the chain someone else mentioned in this blog but now is locally owned. Still has the best fried chicken of any local restaurant although it’s a little salty for my taste.
As for Mary Mac’s – an objective review would have to be mixed at best. Those who love MM are being sentimental.
Jim
November 16th, 2009
12:40 pm
Didn’t Margaret Lupo sell MM many years ago? Not sure of the present owner, a guy I believe. So don’t try and defend Ms. Lupo, not her cooking.
rebelliousrose
November 16th, 2009
12:45 pm
City Cafe and Guthrie’s are tow of the things I actually remember fondly about Tuscaloosa. Also that diner with the numbers in the name by the bridge; it’s been too long.
I liked the pork chops at Mary Mac’s. The green beans were DREADFUL.
Sylvia
November 16th, 2009
12:50 pm
Yes i do rembemer the Shrimp boat great food and yes the whopper’s were great of full of life. Remeber Butcher’s drive-in on simpson Rd.
Larry M
November 16th, 2009
12:56 pm
In the name of God, people. Only tourists go to Mary Mac’s now. If you want some real Southern cooking, try Matthews Cafeteria in Tucker.
Ms Bulldawg
November 16th, 2009
1:04 pm
I think part of the problem with many of us who were raised in the south is that our mothers probably weren’t the greatest cooks to begin with and that led us to “think” that the food we were served in some of these institutions was better than it actually was in reality. As I have aged and refined my own cooking techniques, I have re-evaluated my mother’s cooking and I realize it was abysmal! She could make a wonderful yeast roll, but her biscuits were rejected by the family and the fammily dog! Her vegetables usually did start off fresh but by the time they had cooked for hours, they we usually unrecognizable. But her cooking home cooking and it was comforting at the time….And thank goodness my mother doesn’t have a computer so she will never know of my less than stellar review of her cooking!
Cyn
November 16th, 2009
1:08 pm
Hey Bubba! I remember the “Shrimp Boat” My Mama use to take me there Boy that did that place have real good Fried Chicken & Shrimp of course. I also remember the Biscuits that came with the best Honey you could imagine! Food was better in Atlanta in the 70’s. Hell, even Benihana’s was better back then
RFP
November 16th, 2009
1:08 pm
I would like to take credit for starting “Delta is ready when you are” on the original thread. I rule.
Fishawk
November 16th, 2009
1:12 pm
Nostalgia aside;I’ll take the Busy Bee over MM’s any day of the week. Consistently good and down home southern.
Flowery Branch Yellow Jacket
November 16th, 2009
1:12 pm
My wife claims that Mary Mac’s is her favorite restaurant in metro Atlanta. Personally, I enjoy going there, but it’s more for the atmosphere than the food. I was born in Rome, but remember visiting Mary Mac’s several times as a kid. I think I enjoy going back now as much for the nostalgia as anything else.
BTW Bubba, we had a Shrimp Boat in Rome when I was a kid. The restaurant was an actual boat, built on the banks of the Etowah River at the 5th Avenue bridge. You’re right … they had some of the best fried chicken you could find anywhere (outside my mom’s kitchen).
71Relic
November 16th, 2009
1:13 pm
If you liked real southern food in the late sixties, early seventies you could get it at “The Southern Club” a boading house that served the public on 12th street just west of “The Strip” on Peachtree or at Ma Hulls near where Sons Restaurant used to be near the Inman Park Marta Station. You don’t find biscuits like they served, these days. Maybe they are illegal now.
Both those restaurants disappeared many years ago and nobody remembers them but me. Maybe it’s true that if you remember those times you weren’t there.
itpdude
November 16th, 2009
1:20 pm
Yeah, the whole nostalgia thing is strong and it’s a good thing. Atlanta has always been a transient city. It’s nice to see some things stick around. I doubt the defenders of Mary Macs have been there for a while. It’s more of a landmark that tourists visit for “A Taste of Atlanta” or something. . . . which is too bad because it’s not that good.
Eric
November 16th, 2009
1:25 pm
I’ve been a regular at Mary Mac’s for over 30 years. The food is good and the service is good and it’s reasonably priced. When relatives come to town, that’s where they always want to go. To be around as long as it has, they must be doing something right. I also like Colonnade. Matthews is okay, but it’s too far out for me.
DaveyB
November 16th, 2009
1:40 pm
Enter your comments here I have only been to MM twice but it was GREAT BOTH times. While there may be places with a better bill of fare, you’ll be hard pressed to find one with atmosphere and ambience as charming as MM. I like good food as well as the next person BUT in a day and time where things of the past are so quickly fading from the landscape, MM has stood the test of time so they must be doing SOMETHING right.
gretchen
November 16th, 2009
1:45 pm
That place is disgusting. I’d rather go to FOLKS than Mary Mac’s. And that is saying something!
Pete
November 16th, 2009
1:46 pm
I was born in Atlanta and I’m usually partial to the local establishments, however I’ve been to Mary Mac’s and it’s the Planet Hollywood of home cooked Southern fare ie: a lot of pizzaz without the substance. Matthew’s in Tucker followed closely by Doug’s in Emerson are my own choices for authentic Southern home cooking. They’re both consistent & predictable.
Native Atlantan
November 16th, 2009
1:46 pm
I’ve been eating at Mary Mac’s since the 60’s. Ok, I’m old. I still go about once a month. The food is tolerable – better than any other “southern” food I’ve found downtown. I usually have country fried steak and 2 veggies. The corn is good, mac & cheese is ok, butter peas are not bad, rice & gravy/potatoes and gravy are both edible. I don’t eat greens.
The food is more traditional than, say, OK Cafe. I don’t like the Colonnade at all.
I went to Matthews recently. It was terrific – the real deal – but a long drive for me. I lived in Tucker in my high school years (early sixties) – even went to school with one of the Matthews boys – and the food is as good now as it was then.
My favorite meat and three places have disappeared. American Lunch on 10th street, Ma Hulls, The Southern Club.. all gone. They were the real deal, too.
Just a reminiscence.. there was a cafeteria near Emory (next to Oxford Books) in the sixties run by a man named Fred and his son Jim. He had fresh tomatoes in season – I can still taste them – great acid bite. Yum. Skipper Ray used to hang out there at night. Gosh, I am old
LindaK
November 16th, 2009
1:48 pm
Phildawg, I have to laugh at your turkey and dressing comment. My mother ordered it (once) and was mortified that it was that processed turkey “stuff”. That was several years ago. While we do make it there once a year (after all, it is a Sunday tradition for many) and a comfortable institution, none of us has ever tried the turkey and dressing again, so maybe it’s changed.
John Kessler: I was thrilled when you came on board because I was delighted to find a reviewer that would honestly review restaurants. I was so tired of reviews that didn’t have much good to say about a restaurant, and yet they ended up with 3 stars. I’ve been meaning to tell you that for years and I’m just sorry it took me so long to say it!
Atlorilu
November 16th, 2009
1:51 pm
I’m responding to Larry M’s inaccurate post that “…only tourists go to Mary Macs now.” My downtown Atlanta co-workers and I are a diverse group, made up of black, white, young, old, Georgia natives and Yankee-transplants. We visit Mary Macs several times each year for lunch…be it a birthday celebration, bon-voyage party, or for no important reason at all.
I think we’d all agree that Mary Macs isn’t the BEST example of southern cooking, but we go for the service, experience, selection, quirkiness, and most of all…tradition. I’ve never walked away disappointed and will continue to return.
Personally, I love the cornbread dressing.
Stephanie
November 16th, 2009
1:54 pm
Phildawg hit it out of the park.
pattik2
November 16th, 2009
1:54 pm
71 Relic, I must be a “relic” myself. I DO remember Ma Hull’s. I believe it was on Boulevard back in the 70’s. Really good cooking!I remember sitting at a table out in the yard.Then she just went away….alas.
Becky
November 16th, 2009
2:01 pm
I’m 47 years old and grew up in Atlanta, I have only been to Mary Macs one time and didn’t find anything worth raving about..Guess I’ll have to go back and try it again..Maybe my taste buds have changed…
Mike
November 16th, 2009
2:01 pm
Bubba, the Shrimp Boats are long gone, but there’s still two of their buildings left – a package store on Peachtree Road just south of Lowe’s in Chamblee, and Pat’s Subs on Collier at Howell Mill. I’d be interested to know if there’s any others.
On topic, I prefer the Colonnade to Mary Mac’s.
Stu Dio
November 16th, 2009
2:03 pm
Thirty years I ago I worked for John Knox Press (offices were in the Presbyterian Center at 341 Ponce de Leon, just east of Mary Mac’s). The place was a standard site for office lunches and celebrations. But then, after a few years, probably around 1985, the quality suddenly changed. You could tell the vegetables were from cans; the tea became sugar water, the biscuits a little too hard (and perhaps reheated a few too many times). I left in 1988 and had not eaten in the place in three years. Its reputation far greatly overstated. Like the Varsity, it is not a place one would go to for the food but the atmosphere is unique. The Colonade on Cheshire Bridge is much better for traditional Southern Sunday cooking.
beck4186
November 16th, 2009
2:11 pm
Isn’t it great that not all restaurants have to appeal to everyone. If you don’t like Mary Mac’s then you don’t have to go there. If you like Mary Mac’s then go there all you want. I do not go to a restaurant because someone else likes it and I do not stay away because someone else dislikes it. I go to a restaurant because I like it. I eat at Mary Mac’s for lunch sometimes. I would probably eat there more but what bothers me is the price tag for lunch not the quality of the food. As any restaurant, Mary Mac’s has it’s good and bad qualities and as I said if you like it then go and if you don’t then stay away. It is really just that simple!!!!
JDJ
November 16th, 2009
2:18 pm
Back in the early 60’s (I’m old too!!) there was a boarding house in mid-town that served an all-you-care-to-eat lunch that was just wonderful country cooking! Anybody remember the name?? I was introduced to southern fare (my mom was from Ohio — whatever it was came out boiled and bland) at this fine establishment, and the only thing that comes close now is the Colonnade.
Coweta Dawg
November 16th, 2009
2:21 pm
The atmosphere at Mary Macs is great…but I don’t go out of my way to dine there. The food and price aren’t really worth it. I’d rather walk down the street to EATS for better food at less expense. Definitely miss the Shrimp Boat in Athens. I could use two pulley-bones and some of those biscuits and honey right now!!! BTW, Weaver D’s has the best Fried Chicken.
Long Time Transplant
November 16th, 2009
2:28 pm
While we are reminiscing about long gone home cooking restaurants does anyone else remember Ayunt Fannie’s Cabin up in Smyrna? Great food – only place in all of Atlanta my mom would enloy when she was alive and came up to visit – it was home cooking ala The Dillard House.
disappointed Dad
November 16th, 2009
2:30 pm
every Father’s day my family’s tradition is to have me pick a new restaurant for all of us to try and so I googled Atlanta restaurants looking for “local flavor” that had good reviews. MMTR seemed to be at the top of all the local lists – so we thought we’d give it a try. Bad idea! I had the fried chicken, green beans (at least that’s what they resembled)_ and the blandest Macaroni and Cheese side dish I have ever had the displeasure of tasting. As my family are always good sports about my selections they were not that vocal on MY day about MMTR, but the next day my daughter suggested that maybe – just maybe next Father’s Day I should let she, my son and Mom pick the restaurant…
Ga redneck
November 16th, 2009
2:34 pm
Born and raised in Decatur Ga. Sorry to say Mary Macs isn’t southern cooking. I have been there twice and it didn’t impress me. It was a clean place with passable food. It does have anice atmosphere for gatherings but Iwon’t be going back
Steve
November 16th, 2009
2:34 pm
Anyone else remember Johnny Reb’s and Aunt Fanny’s Cabin?
Ga 4WD
November 16th, 2009
2:53 pm
Aunt Fanny’s – wow. The food was decent as I recall, but the … um… decor / theme was from another time. As a kid, I remember the celebrity photos and autographs on the wall.
Wife and I visit Mary Macs about once a month. It’s comfortable – no stress, nice folks, full belly, bottomless glass of tea. Sometimes that’s all I really want.
Darin
November 16th, 2009
2:55 pm
That comment by “Pat” was awesome in its sincerity and in the way it really rings true with my own experience.
Both sides of my family go back for many generations as residents of Georgia and North Carolina. We’re southern to to the bone. When I was growing up there were a lot of pot luck meals (oh Lord, so many) at large family gatherings where I got to taste a variety of the kinds of traditional southern recipes that were ingrained in the culture and the family. It didn’t take too many years before I learned to dread the food.
There were some highlights — one person could make some decent sausage balls, one person made pretty good venison meatballs, there were some good biscuits — but most of the food ranged from forgettable to pitiful. Just like Pat noted, there were a lot of overcooked vegetables and generally bland, mushy foods. The only positive experiences with traditional southern foods I had were at a great buffet place called the Pine Crest Inn near Canton. I remember the fried chicken and yeast rolls well.
I just can’t manage to romanticize my family’s culinary heritage when I shudder every time I think of my great grandmother’s giblet gravy or the noxious vegetable soup my grandmother made.
I do honestly feel like I experienced something rare and enriching by going snapping turtle hunting with my grandfather at a pond deep in the woods of Cobb County (where sprawling suburban subdivisions and strip malls now stand). Just don’t ask me what the resulting soup smelled or looked like.
John Kessler
November 16th, 2009
3:07 pm
LindaK – thanks a lot. Appreciate it.
Darin – I’m beginning to think there’s a good column in mom’s (lousy) home cooking.
Thanks for reading, everyone.
Doug
November 17th, 2009
11:43 am
Nothing beats the price, value & speed of Mary Macs. I get a good lunch there for $9.50 + a 2$ tip and usually save half of it for dinner. Two meals of good, healthy food for that price is unbeatable. The service is fast with the meal arriving within 5 minutes of order. I usually sit at the bar to get even faster service from William at lunch time.
Mathews in Tucker is great as well, but I don’t get out there much anymore.
HM Roberts
November 17th, 2009
4:41 pm
The Busy Bee never disapoints
Beau
November 18th, 2009
10:11 am
The Shrimp Boat in Athens was on Baxter across from the bookstores and Guthries. It did not have fried chicken but instead offered cheap Chinese food. Guess they kept the name but went in a different culinary direction.
Grant
November 18th, 2009
12:41 pm
When it comes to comfort Southern food and atmosphere, I cast a vote for Rexall Grill in Duluth, up off of Buford. I think Colonnade is great, but Rexall is cozier and less expensive.