Mama Dip’s in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
The bbq.isgoodfor.us crew is on a field trip to North Carolina. For our first culinary stop, Tamar, Andrew, and I head for lunch is Mama Dip’s Country Kitchen in Chapel Hill. This restaurant is a classic for southern country cooking, and while it’s not strictly a BBQ joint, they do make BBQ, and we tried it, so we’ll review it here.
We started off with a quick hit of fried green tomatoes. We all thought they were good, but not as crispy as they could’ve been. The corn meal batter had a nice flavor, though they served the dish with a side of ranch which overpowered everything else.
For lunch, Tamar and Andrew both had fried chicken, which is the real rock star of this Chapel Hill institution. Tamar chose white meat, which was quite tender and juicy, not overdone at all the way a lot of white meat fried chicken is. Andrew’s dark meat (also my favorite) was amazing, with a perfect, dark brown, nutty, crisp crust. (Andrew says: The fried chicken at Mama Dip’s is indeed nearly perfect — but I would add that I’ve made my own fried chicken with the recipe in one of the restaurant’s cookbooks, Mama Dip’s Kitchen, and the simple coating in that recipe of flour, salt, and pepper does not fry up nearly as hefty or crunchy as what they now serve at the restaurant.)
The sides were impressive too. I had a side of fried okra, which was tasty, though I was a little confused about how each of the crispy nuggets got to be exactly the same size. Andrew and I both tried the greens, which were the tastiest I’ve ever had, nicely seasoned with little bits of pork. Tamar tried the yams, which were the disappointment of the bunch, mushy and overly sweet. Andrew had black eyed peas which were also not great, mushy, but at the same time grainy / chalky the way beans can get.
I ordered the chopped pork plate, and was reminded that just because NC is a hotspot for BBQ, not every worthwhile restaurant around here makes good BBQ. The pork was the consistency of sloppy joe, looking like it had been stewed in a steam tray for quite a while. There were no brown bits, no texture to the meat, no smoke, and little flavor. Pouring on extra sauce, which seemed to be a hybrid with vinegar and quite a bit of mustard, helped the dish quite a bit.
Still, we all agreed, if you’re in Chapel Hill go to Mama Dip’s, enjoy the classic southern dishes. Drink a gallon of sweet tea and feel the sugar buzz. Order the fried chicken. Avoid the BBQ.