An honest review of a fan-favorite, family-style restaurant in Pigeon Forge: Mama’s Farmhouse
I sometimes struggle to review family or farmhouse-style restaurants. Why? My grandmother, who we called Nanny. A tiny Hoosier from Southern Indiana, she was an excellent cook who made down-home classics like chicken and dumplings and meatloaf that you could have served to any food critic in the country and gotten rave reviews. But I’ve seen my Nanny’s recipes. I know you couldn’t serve her food at a family restaurant and expect to make money.
If you’re going to make a profit, and that’s the whole reason to have a restaurant, you need to adjust the meat-to-filler ratio so much that her meatloaf would be recognizable. That’s my conundrum. I know, intellectually, that the food served at down homestyle restaurants must strike a precocious balance of flavor and value. I understand it. My tastebuds, however, refuse to adjust their expectations. So, at a place like Mama’s Farmhouse, I can find a good, satisfying meal. However, for me, there’s always also at least a tinge of disappointment since I have high expectations.
IN THIS ARTICLE
About Mama’s Farmhouse
Mama’s Farmhouse is a member of the Johnson Family of restaurants that started with Bennett’s Pit BBQ. Today, it includes seven concepts, if you count Mad Dogs Creamery and Donuts.
First of all, Mama’s isn’t a buffet. The server brings a bit of everything – or most everything – on the menu for you to try. If you want more, they’ll keep it coming until you tell them to stop. The restaurant’s website says its chicken, biscuits and banana pudding have either won awards or been recognized as being among the best. Lunch is $19.99 plus a drink for adults, and dinner is $23.99. Kids five and under eat free while kids 6 to 10 are $8.99 or $9.99 for lunch and dinner, respectively. Breakfast is $16.99 for adults and $7.99 for kids. Note that prices are subject to change.
What’s on the menu
The menu depends on the day. Lunch and dinner at Mama’s offers three possible “main” dishes and a bevy of sides. At lunch, you get two of the three mains and at dinner, you get all three of the available main dishes. But the menu changes daily.
My most recent visit was on a Saturday, and I was – frankly – looking forward to some Salisbury steak. What can I say? The lunch ladies at Burris Elementary in Mitchell, Indiana made a mean Salisbury steak in mushroom gravy. However, I’d picked the wrong day. On Mama’s fall and winter menu, Saturdays are fried chicken, ham and shrimp and grits. The only menu item available every day is fried chicken. For Salisbury steak, I would have had to come on a Tuesday or Friday.
I also just missed what I consider to be the best menu day – Sunday’s fried chicken, roasted turkey and stuffing and meatloaf – which is also served on Wednesdays. Other possible menu main items are fried fish (Tuesday and Friday) and country fried steak (Monday and Thursday). Note that the schedule is subject to change.
In addition to your main course, you get biscuits – mine came with a pleasant strawberry jam – and soup. I chose the chili and enjoyed it quite a bit. It was probably the best part of my meal. It was like a better version of Wendy’s chili, though I realize to some this that is faint praise. There are ten possible side dishes, and the table starts with four of your choice. If you finish a side dish, you can try a different one. Your meal also includes a dessert, a cobbler or banana pudding.
My thoughts on Mama’s
If I’m being honest, Mama’s might be my least favorite of the Johnson Family concepts. I am a fan of Bennett’s, Big Daddy’s Pizza and the Alamo Steakhouse. But many of my issues have little to do with Mama’s itself but are connected to the limitations of the dining style. When you’re serving so much food, it’s hard to do it well and make a profit. Throw in the fact that there are only two nights of the week that the three available mains are among my favorite options, which add to the issues.
And, while there were plenty of items that I really enjoyed and I left having successfully put together a good and filling meal, it’s hard to overlook the items that failed to meet expectations.
The pros on Mama’s
The biscuits were fine – not the International Biscuit Festival Award-winning fine, but just regular old fine. However, the strawberry jam was nice and elevated it quite a bit. As I said, I enjoyed the chili. The fried chicken was good. They brought out a lone drumstick, but I could have had more if I’d asked. The server came around frequently to check. It had a nice spice and was well-prepared. I don’t know if it’s award-winning, but it was quite good.
I was happy with my choice of fried okra for a side, but my love of fried okra knows no bounds. The mac and cheese? I’m putting it in the good category. I’d rather it be a more traditional baked style. It was creamy and cheesy but a little bland. While I didn’t get to rate them on this trip, based on experience I’d also put the Salisbury steak, meatloaf and turkey in this rating. I’ve never had fish, so we won’t rate it at all, though I suppose if it’s a similar process to the chicken, it’s probably fine.
Things that were okay, or acceptable included the ham – it’s a slice of honey-glazed ham. Based on experience the mashed potatoes and green beans are also fine.
Things that disappointed
First, I was a bit disappointed by the shrimp and grits. This may well also have to do with unintentional expectations. Having lived mostly in Indiana and Tennessee, shrimp and grits have never been “down home” for me. It’s always been destination dining with large, flavorful shrimp, lots of spices and creamy, elevated grits. My guess is they want to make the Saturday night meal something special, so the shrimp and grits are there for a little Saturday night pizzazz. But they didn’t shine. The shrimp were sad, chewy and lonely. When they sat the plate down with two shrimp on it, I said to myself, “Oh, I’ll be ordering more of those.” Then I ate them. I didn’t ask for more. I finished the chili instead.
Another disappointment? The chicken and dumplings. For me, it was two bites and done. Also, the broccoli casserole was not cheesy or crunchy enough. The first bite was a big hunk of dough or breading. Finally, the banana pudding had much the same issue. The breading and wafer-to-pudding ratio was way off. It was more like a banana pudding cobbler.
Though I walked away satisfied with my meal, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my $30 could have purchased a better meal at one of the other Johnson Family restaurants. The BBQ combo platter at Bennett’s is $28 or Alamo has several menu items for right around $25 including pork chops, chicken or a chopped steak with mushroom gravy that I wouldn’t have had to wait until Tuesday to order. Ultimately, I wouldn’t say Mama’s is bad or try to dissuade anyone who likes it from going there. But for me, there are so many other options that rate higher at a comparable price rate.
The location and hours
Mama’s is located on 208 Pickel Street in Pigeon Forge, up above Professor Hacker’s mini golf. It’s open all week 8 am to 9 pm. Lunch is only available throughout the week. Saturdays and Sundays go straight from breakfast to the dinner menu. Hours are subject to change.
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