Southern Living Magazine readers chose 14 of the best Southern restaurants in the country and a popular chicken restaurant in Texas made the cut.
DALLAS — A popular chicken spot with 10 locations in North Texas has been named among the best locally-owned Southern restaurants in the country by Southern Living Magazine readers.
Southern Living Magazine readers chose 14 of the best Southern restaurants and Babe’s Chicken Dinner House, the popular restaurant known for its small menu, fried chicken and family-style sides, was the only Texas restaurant to make the list.
The magazine wrote that the best Sou thern restaurants “might not be the ones that win fancy accolades …They are the reliable restaurants Southerners turn to again and again for everyday meals and special occasions. Some are new, and some have been around for generations. The one thing they all have in common, other than great food, is that they are beloved in their communities, which is perhaps the highest praise a restaurant can receive.”
Babe’s Chicken Dinner House first opened in Roanoke in 1993 and is still owned by the founding family, the Vinyard family, who also developed the recipes. Since then, the restaurant has grown to have locations in Garland, Sanger, Carrollton, Burleson, Granbury, Frisco, Cedar Hill, North Richland Hills and Arlington.
Babe’s menu includes fried or smoked chicken, chicken fried steak, and fried catfish and sides of mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, salad and biscuits served family style.
“The fried chicken at Babe’s Chicken Dinner House recently brought a guest to tears—of joy. Just like her grandmother’s, she said,” the Southern Living Magazine reads.
The Vinyard family’s first restaurant is Bubba’s Cooks Country, which opened in University Park near SMU in 1981.