Sweet Georgia Brown

2840 East Ledbetter Dr., Dallas, TX - (214) 375-2020

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Posted By Michael Stern on 10/20/2012 6:01:00 AM

Tipster Lincoln Barber recommended Sweet Georgia Brown in South Oak Cliff for the "best mac-and-cheese ever (seriously, ever!)." But in the scheme of things at Sweet Georgia Brown, marvelous mac 'n' cheese is only a supporting player. The place is a barbecue, and a good one, offering deliriously fatty chopped brisket, ribs with long strips of intensely flavorful lean meat sharing bone space with equally flavorful, melting-soft fat, hot links that are crisp-skinned, and Polish sausage that delivers pepper punch. Because service is cafeteria-style and each meal is painstakingly plated exactly to specifications, you will have a long time to survey the offerings and change your mind a dozen times choosing among mighty collard greens, sauteed corn, fried okra, broccoli casserole, braised cabbage, beans and peas of various size and color.

There are beautiful layer cakes for dessert, as well as sweet potato pie, chess pie, and cobblers; but the size of my meal precluded them all. Portions at Sweet Georgia Brown are Brobdingnagian. A full meat and three meal, arrayed in a partitioned Styrofoam clamshell (the only dishware, whether you are doing take-out or dining in) weighs more than five pounds and will serve at least two large hungry people. So the $10-15 dollar price of a full meal is a bargain. (BBQ sandwiches also are available at about $7; they, too, are big.)

If my survey of the menu did not make it clear, Sweet Georgia Brown is a soul food restaurant serving the cuisine of southern African Americans. I was the only Caucasian in the restaurant the Friday I went for lunch. The staff and other clientele were nothing but welcoming.

Scorecard

Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace

3 Meat Meal	Collard Greens
Macaroni & Cheese	Broccoli Casserole

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"A 3-BBQ meat meal: Polish sausage, ribs (hacked in half), and chopped brisket accompanied by collard greens and macaroni and cheese. There was no room in the Styro plate for broccoli casserole, so that came in a separate cup. Note the relative size of the silverware. This is one humongous meal."
Michael Stern

"It was an unqualified recommendation of the mac & cheese that drew me to Sweet Georgia Brown. I was not disappointed with this supremely hearty version. Unfortunately, the picture does not show all the good chewy edges that came with the softer, custard-like middle."
Michael Stern

"When I asked for broccoli casserole after also ordering mac & cheese, the man behind the counter said, ''cheese upon cheese?'' I probably should have paid attention and ordered fried okra, black-eyed peas or broccoli and rice. This really was a cheese overload."
Michael Stern

"The spirits along the cafeteria line run high, in part due to the joie de vivre of the staff, but also because the aroma and sight of the food are quite literally thrilling if you arrive with a healthy appetite. "
Michael Stern

"The building that houses Sweet Georgia Brown appears once to have been some sort of fast food franchise, complete with drive-through service (at the left of the photo). Today it is a one-of-a-kind destination restaurant in Dallas's South Oak Cliff neighborhood."
Michael Stern