As the Food Turns

“Just seeing if I missed something.” [Gentleman spinning the Lazy Susan]

“Did you have a biscuit [yeast roll] with butter and honey?” [Gentleman’s friend across the Susan]

“No.”

“Then you missed something.”

And you’ve missed something, my friends, if you haven’t sat at one of Buckner’s large family-style tables and witnessed the best Southern food to grace a Lazy Susan (in our humble–and right–opinion). The folks at Buckner’s Family Restaurant have been blessing the South Metro and its visitors with comfort food since 1980; and John and I have enjoyed the fruits of the Buckner family’s labors since we were barely old enough to see the food spinning above our heads (literally, y’all).

It’s all about the fried chicken. The crispy exterior is both salty and sweet. The meat is juicy and tender. Fried up in peanut oil to a perfect golden brown, this chicken is enough to make us thank the heavens that we weren’t born with nut allergies. We’ve sunk our teeth into many a bird at many a soul food establishment–standouts include Social Circle’s Blue Willow Inn, Atlanta’s The Colonnade and Mary Mac’s Tea Room, Savannah’s Mrs. Wilkes’ Dining Room and Montgomery’s Martin’s Restaurant; as well as childhood visits (which we can nostalgically say were much better than recent visits) to North Georgia’s Dillard House and Smith House–but what sets Buckner’s apart is consistency. We have never been disappointed. We’ve also never eaten just one piece of chicken around that table.

If you’re going to eat that much fried chicken (and you will), rest assured that the vegetables are tasty, too. Don’t worry your pretty little head about what else is in the sides (like fatback or sugar). If you’ve committed to eating around a Lazy Susan, you left modesty at the door. I don’t like to “miss something,” so there’s generally a rainbow nation on my plate, including but not limited to green beans, creamed corn, stewed tomatoes, lima beans and coleslaw. I’ll also taste the other protein of the day whether it’s country ham, BBQ pork or Brunswick stew. The sweet cornbread is good, but one of my favorite things in the world is that soft yeast roll with butter and a squeeze from the honey bear. And for dessert, don’t miss the peach cobbler. It’s set down with everything else that arrives on a metal cart at the beginning of your meal, so have it first if that’s your inclination. Just don’t hide it at the end so that you can get a piping hot cobbler instead of your original, still warm. We won’t judge you, but the baked fruit gods will.

A few atmospheric notes: It’s in the country, so it’s country from the kind people serving you to the ones eating around the table with you to the butter churn sitting on a shelf above your head. Don’t be shy. There’s nothing like a moving circle of good food to make friends out of just about anyone. Make no mistake–you’re in God’s country–but no matter what your religious persuasion, you can get down to some good Gospel music next door. Besides, you’ll need something to do while your soul-satisfying meal settles.

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