Moody’s Restaurant

First of all, the name of this place can be a little confusing. The sign hanging over the front door calls it Moody’s Place. A smaller hand printed sign over the parking lot says Moody Café. An interior sign goes with the name Moody’s Restaurant. And then you have to actually find it. Tucked away in a residential neighborhood, Moody’s puts the “hidden” in hidden gem. If you can get past those issues, you will be rewarded with a memorable meal in one of the South’s best meat-and threes.

Don’t expect a menu to be brought to your table. A huge menu board plasters the back wall with a list of everything the kitchen makes. There is a white dot next to each item and if that dot is filled in, (green for entrees and vegetables, blue for desserts and yellow for drinks), then that item is available. As tempting as the baked chicken and dressing looked on nearby tables, I couldn’t pass up chicken and dumplings. A comfort food classic, this is soft, misshapen dumplings, with both white and dark meat. The vegetables are world class: highly seasoned field peas, earthy turnip greens infused with pork, and fresh, sweet oven baked corn, available as a special.

You cannot leave Moody’s without trying dessert or in my case, two desserts. The wonderful coconut pie was highlighted by a thick layer of homemade whipped topping. Even better was the peach cobbler with just the right mix of sugary sweet breading and slices of fresh fruit.

Moody’s is ultra casual and run by genuinely welcoming people. One note of warning: it is open for lunch on Mondays through Fridays only.