So Much Soul: Sweet Georgia Brown Remains a Dallas Icon

Some things change, some things stay the same. One thing that hasn’t changed is Sweet Georgia Brown’s longstanding reputation as a premier Dallas soul food institution.

In this cafeteria-style setup, Southern comfort foods like beef tips and rice, meatloaf and fried pork chops the size of small dinner plates are yours for the taking. Chicken comes baked, smoked or fried, and smoked barbecue meats are abundant (ribs, links, sausage and brisket). And the sides here star almost as much as the mains.

We stopped by midday on a Saturday and somehow walked straight to the head of the line; this was a stroke of luck as the line can snake well outside the door at Sweet Georgia Brown, especially on weekends and assuredly on Sundays after church. But the service is inviting and warm, and they operate with machine-like efficiency. After you’ve finished ordering, you’ll be handed your styrofoam box (or boxes) of food, which can barely contain the heaping portions. Then it's time to move to a table, where they’ll bag everything for you (this is primarily a to-go establishment).

Our order was substantial, and one of the servers behind the counter joked, “We hope you have help with all that food because you’re going to need it.” He was right. We did have help, but clearly not enough, as leftovers lingered for multiple days (not that we’re complaining) before we finally polished them off.
Our first order was the turkey wing dinner ($19.89). Smothered in delectable gravy, these mammoth turkey wings came with three sides: broccoli rice and cheese, which was excellent, collards salted just right (that’s been an issue for us in the past at other places) and a tangy, flavor-packed stewed okra that was maybe the best we’ve ever had.

Next up: a pound of smoked pork ribs ($22.89) on par with those found at top barbecue establishments. Smoked to sinfully tender perfection, these ribs don’t come with sides, though they did come with standard slices of white bread and barbecue sauce.

At this point, we still had fried pork chops ($6.89) on deck, and it was beginning to feel a lot like midway through a plate of seconds at Thanksgiving. Heavier, sleepier, but just enough left in the tank to push through. If you had these glorious pork chops in front of you, you would’ve pushed through, too. Battered and then fried until crispy, these juicy hunks of pork were as good as it gets.
And did we mention the complimentary cornbread that may as well have come straight from Grandma’s kitchen?

We were reminded later that we should’ve gotten dessert at Sweet Georgia Brown as that’s a requisite finish to any great soul food meal. Alas, after the face-stuffing binge, one bite of sweet potato pie could’ve been potentially coma-inducing. Next time, though.

Sweet Georgia Brown, 2840 E. Ledbetter Drive. Monday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.; Sunday, 10:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.