Mama Dip's

Mama Dip's is a traditional country cooking restaurant located at 408 W. Rosemary Street in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, seven days a week. Mama Dip’s also offers an extensive take home menu. They also sells some distinctive items such as: barbecue sauce, poppy seed dressing, pecan pie, tee shirts, aprons, caps, mugs, and gift certificates at the general store located within the restaurant. Mama Dip makes, bottles, and distributes her own special barbecue sauce and dressings to many local specialty foods shops as well.

History

The restaurant opened in November 1976 and is still very popular today.

Mildred Council, better known as “Mama Dip,” started and owns the restaurant.^[1] Mama Dip’s cooking and life story has earned her a large fan base beyond the community of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She opened the restaurant with $64 with $40 going towards food and $24 to make change. The morning’s profits were used to fund lunch, and the lunch fund to make dinner. At the end of the day, Mama Dip took home $135 and the rest is history.^[2] Mama Dip learned to cook by watching her family members and is famous for her “dump” cooking style. Dump cooking involves no recipes, just measure by eye, feel, taste, and testing.

Mildred Council

She has written two noteworthy books which include: Mama Dip’s Kitchen^[3] and Mama Dip’s Family Cookbook^[4]. Her books not only share recipes, but also great stories about her life in food. Mama Dip celebrates the importance of family and community based around cuisine, Southern cooking in particular. She has been featured on Good Morning America and on the Food Network’s Cooking Live.^[5] It also appeared on an episode of Rachael Ray's $40 a Day. She said that if it were not for the restaurant, then she would have not have put her books together, referring to her first book, Mama Dip’s Kitchen. Craig Claiborne, a food critic for the New York Times, has written about the restaurant as well.^[6]

References

1. ^ "Mama Dip cooks a casserole", The Chapel Hill News, April 06, 2011, accessed May 01, 2011.
2. ^ "Mama Dip's Country Cooking", N.C. Arts Council - Creative Workforce Profile, accessed May 01, 2011.
3. ^ Council, Mildred. Mama Dip's Kitchen. UNC Press, 1999
4. ^ Council, Mildred. Mama Dip's Family Cookbook. University of North Carolina Press, 2005
5. ^ Sara Moulton's Cooking Live - Thanksgiving Secrets. The Food Network - Episode HCSP03
6. ^ "Sophistication Spices Southern Food", The New York Times, June 26, 1985, accessed May 01, 2011. Paywall.

External Links

• Mama Dip's Official Site - History

Coordinates: 35°54′41″N 79°03′48″W / 35.9115°N 79.0633°W / 35.9115; -79.0633