Some people talk about a note scribbled on cardboard, warning guests not to tote guns inside. Many are loathe to venture beyond known quantities like Southside of Fair Park as a matter of habit. Others ask about inoculations, which they believe necessary if you venture to Sweet Georgia Brown. It’s a dingy buffet, certainly.

The rest may be urban myth or straightforward fear. Whatever—the place serves outstanding soul food. There are tender smoked ribs, achingly sweet tea, dripping collard greens, endless squares of corn bread, banana pudding you’ll swear comes from a can over pressed vanilla wafers. The wonder never seems to stop. Yeah, some people lump it into the barbecue category, but Sweet Georgia Brown is a down-home, Southern cooking place, dishing out buffet comfort for those who remember when catfish and greens were make-do rather than trendy fare.

This is what makes it special: an understanding of Southern cuisine’s underprivileged past and a willing ignorance of today’s trim and trendy urbanite concerns over lard and other fats. Sweet Georgia Brown concerns itself only with coaxing the best from modest ingredients. And they do it fairly well.