That's the slogan for Monell's in Nashville. The family-style dining restaurant has been "serving south to your mouth since 1995." It's a fixed price (about $15 for breakfast), and you get some of everything they put on the table. You just have to share it with everyone else.

I've never been to a family-style dining restaurant, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I've ordered appetizers that are family-style and you serve them to your whole table. But this was kicked up a notch. 

When we walked inside, I noticed a few large tables. One was full, and two were totally empty. We were seated at one of the empty ones, and just moments later, bowls of food started being delivered to our table. And they didn't stop:

A centerpiece held carafes of water, tea and coffee, as well as the appropriate accoutrements.
At any moment, I was waiting for others to walk through the front door and begin filing into seats at our table. But we hit at a perfect time. There was a rush right before us, so we got out own table, and then there was a dry spell after us. About 45 minutes after we arrived, another huge crowd came in, but they were seated at a separate table (our food would have been too cold for them at this point). So, we hit the sweet spot (at least for an introvert like me): A table to ourselves with ALL the food.

And that food was incredible. The fried chicken was perfectly moist, the sausage and bacon were delicious, and the corn pudding blew. my. mind. I don't even really know what corn pudding is, but it's like this mix between creamed corn (which I already love) and corn bread (which I also love). But what I know now is that it is creamy, sweet, salty and just perfect. So good, in fact, that Brittany ended up just taking a spoon to the bowl and finishing it off.

Our half of the table was just full of tasty, delicious platters of all southern breakfast food. It was overwhelming, in a good way. Everything from the eggs to the meats and the sweet apples to the soft biscuits was just delicious. Good, old-fashioned home cooking - with an extra dose of butter and sugar.

I know this probably isn't the typical experience, but it was still great. I think meeting some folks would have been pretty cool, too, though I did enjoy myself just fine.

Have you been? What did you think? Or, have you gone to any other family-style restaurants? Such a cool thing!


Grade: A