For Families, By Families

An interesting twist on the family run establishment can be found at Country Boy Restaurant in Leipers Fork, Tennessee. Not one, not two, but four different families have held title to this community anchor since the Mealer family opened it in 1968.

The current owners, Shannon and Charlie Martin set out to give the oldest restaurant in Williamson County still in its original location a facelift. The structure itself would get the TLC that it needs and the menu would be reworked to feature more in house cooking. Seems the “Home cookin’” principals on which the restaurant was founded had started to slide. That needed to be fixed by ditching the pre made frozen foods and concentrating again on in house food prep.
The all day breakfast, a staple for the place since inception would of course remain. 

Locals had regaled me with tales of a dumpy, run down room that was in desperate need of attention. What has resulted after a renovation lasting more than a month and 5,500 man hours is a clean country home setting. Unfortunately, with the change the place loses a lot of that character. So it’s not all roses but I’m not complaining. Ambience is nice but what come out of the kitchen is really what matters.

So lets have a look at what is coming out of the kitchen then shall we??

The Fried Chicken was crispy and juicy but I like a heavily seasoned and herbaceous breading. It was a simple breading so I can’t rate it near the top on my scale. It was however perfectly done. Really good all 'round flavour.
The Greens weren’t as “Porky” as I’ve had but that said they were still fantastic. Of course a little pepper sauce always helps too.
The Mac & Cheese was outstanding. A creamy cheese sauce mixed into the noodles with grated cheese melted on top. Very cheesy. Very tasty.
The simple dinner roll was perfect for sopping.
The Country Fried Steak was fabulous. Crispy breading that stood up well to the gravy and tender steak inside.
The Fried Okra was very good but not really my thing.
The Pinto Beans were very tasty too. Again, not too porky like the greens but all in all, had a really good taste that really allowed the earthiness of the beans to shine.
The Corn Bread was fine. It was true Southern style and as such, not my favourite.
We were so full from dinner that we had to take desert to go. Country Boy also makes Fried Pies on site and that was too good to resist. We had a few options but we went with the “Elvis.” Peanut butter and bananas encased in pie dough and deep fried. It was fantastic.

You can find Country Boy Restaurant at 4141 Old Hillsboro Road, in Franklin, Tennessee.


You can also find them on the web, facebook and twitter.
 

Well that’s all for now. Catch ya later in the food court.
 

Davwud