Cuisine Review

In my mind no one does breakfast better than Southerners, or the French. And Southerners are hands-down the best at Sunday breakfast.

Unlike other areas in the South, we however do not have that many local breakfast joints beyond the Waffle Houses and Cracker Barrels. Neither of which I like very much.

I have written of the Tiny Diny. The Whistle Stop on Florida Street just south of Dauphin is good. I have not eaten at Dick Russell’s in quite a while, and there is always the ubiquitous Spot of Tea. And downtown, you can always have a great brunch at Callaghan’s or Guido’s when they open for brunch after summer.

I need to put a plug in for Café 615, who has a smashing Sunday brunch. 615 has the most complete Bloody Mary fixings bar ever, and such items as grits and grillades and smoked Gouda and sausage empanadas. They also give you a mountain of extras like two eggs, biscuit and fresh fruit.

But, there is a perfect and popular place I used to have many a business breakfast quite a few years ago. I no longer work out in the area, and last I checked they did not serve weekend breakfast. Recently I noticed an ad in the other paper for Bama Belles, on Government Boulevard near I-65 at the Rest Inn motel that had weekend breakfast times. So I got the children up early and headed out to hopefully beat any potential church crowd.

Bama Belles is old school, cozy and country. A loud cow bell attached to the door proudly announces your entry. You are greeted by one of the belles, and whether young or a bit older, they are attentive and smiling. Faux cedar paneling and rough-hewn booths and tables are scattered about the main room with an open space to view the cooking. There is also a step up into a darker room with no windows. The main room provides plenty of scenery to watch the interesting guests checking out and the beauty of Government Boulevard.

The tables and booths all have glass tops, all the better to view all of the hundreds of business cards crammed inside. What caught my eye the first time I went was that all the ladies had on the same t-shirts, from some body shop. The second time, it was an exterminating company. On another visit I witnessed a man ask what sizes he needed to bring into the ladies. At the time they had a deal where if you brought the shirts, they would wear them for a day. I do not know if they still do this as all of the ladies had on different shirts the last time I was there, but I am trying to get the editors here to take some and see if we can have a Lagniappe day. I will give you advance warning if we do!

The coffee is just coffee – what your parents drank (or drink) Hill and Brooks, Maxwell House or the like. No lattes or double shots at Bama Belles. A red plastic basket is overflowing with creamer, spread and jellies. The jellies are the grape, strawberry and mixed-fruit types. We had a discussion this morning about just what is mixed fruit – is it what is leftover, at the bottom of the grape and strawberry bowls in the factory and they just blend it together? I mean, that is the one I have picked since childhood and I don’t really know why.

The room was filled with just plain ol’ folks. Lots of men in lumberjack or plain white t-shirts with wives or friends sitting around, taking their time eating a good breakfast are found at Bama Belles. During the week you will see businessmen, and on our morning there were two families that came in together after early church. As a side note, my son and I have been talking about the viability of USA football, and I say it is not a good idea. There are too many Auburn and Alabama fans that are either at a game or watching it on television. He says differently. The families behind us had the same discussion and they share my opinion. Take note of this President Moulton.

Nothing wild or out of the ordinary on the menu either. And this is what makes it a wonderful place. Eggs, meat, omelettes (this is how the menu spells it) and the like. You can get one, two or three eggs any style with meat (sausage or bacon) with grits, home fries or hash browns plus toast or biscuits from $3.50 to $4.50. Milk gravy and sausage biscuits ($3.50); pancakes or French toast (they do have something French on the menu) are served with either sausage or bacon ($4.20).

You can get eggs with a pork chop or grilled chicken ($5.20) or a Rib eye ($7.20). Omelettes run from ham and cheese to Western and Spanish (more ethnic flavor!). Rounding out the menu are hash browns, either plain, with cheese, onions, tomatoes, ham, mushrooms or all the way ($1.50 – $3.70). My daughter selected a scrambled egg with biscuit and bacon. My son and I got the two-egg special – mine poached medium and his eggs over easy – grits, bacon, he the biscuit and I selected toast. With two orange juices and coffee our bill came to $15!

The eggs were all good. My father has always said – “it is hard to screw up breakfast.” Well, many people do a damn good job. But all is well with the Belles. What stands out the most is the bacon. It hardly has any fat, is very salty and as thick as the fog on the Causeway.

So bring some t-shirts and have a big ol’ time!

Kinnon Phillips is Lagniappe cuisine editor. Contact him at kphillips@lagniappemobile.com.

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