After pop ups at the S.O.S. Tiki Bar and Sceptre Brewing, Mothers Best fried chicken opens December 6 in the former Calle Latina space in Decatur. (Calle Latina moved down the street.) Boasting fried chicken made with a signature 14-spice blend—that’s one more spice than KFC uses—Mothers Best will serve the Southern poultry staple as tenders ($12), in sandwiches ($12), and in buckets (ranging from $25 to $85, including bread, sauces, and sides). Think elevated fast food with quality ingredients.
“We brine our chicken, spice it, season our flour and buttermilk, and add our signature seasoning on the outside of the chicken after frying. We employ a lot of layers of flavor to ensure the quality will be a step above,” says Ean Camperlengo, who owns the restaurant with Ross Winecoff. “The not-so-secret ingredient is brown sugar, which caramelizes to add richness to the chicken. There’s also hot sauce, fresh thyme, garlic, and soy sauce for umami.
Camperlengo was raised by a single mom in New Orleans. He remembers relishing fried-chicken dinners from Popeye’s and Publix. “Mom is a cook, the leader of the household,” he says. “We want to invoke happy memories and good-time feelings.”
The fried chicken at Mothers Best features a crispy exterior and moist interior. The fried-chicken sandwiches use breast meat instead of chicken thighs on thick-cut, Southern-style Engelman’s white bread lightly buttered and toasted with Mom sauce and thick-cut pickles. Camperlengo says Mom Sauce is an amalgamation of fast-food dipping sauces, influenced by the sweetness of Chick-fil-A sauce, the pepperiness of Raising Cane’s, and an extra kick as an ode to his Cajun roots.
On the side, expect thick crinkle-cut fries, cole slaw, mashed potatoes, red beans, and Spice Rice, Camerlengo’s answer to Popeye’s Dirty Rice. Fried cauliflower is in the works for vegetarians.
At the bar, Mothers Best—which has yet to acquire its alcohol permit—will eventually offer a compact menu of irreverent cocktails and beer. The Brickey Blast—named after Mothers Best mascot Brickey the Chickey—is an adult version of a Baja Blast with honeydew-infused white rum, pineapple juice, and Creole shrub. A frozen Irish coffee harkens back to Camperlengo’s favorite drink at Molly’s at the Market bar in Louisiana. Expect PBR tall boys, an American-style lager made for the restaurant by Sceptre, and Creature Comforts brews on tap.
The bar itself is tiny, with room for only four stools. Snag one of them and you gain access to the Nintendo 64 on the TV overhead. The randomness is intentional. The 1,200-square-foot space is designed to elicit feeling of nostalgia, with booths salvaged from an old Huddle House, tables with vintage chrome plating, and celebrity photos on the walls. There’s a special-edition Battlestar Galactica comic book along with Ken Griffey Jr. memorabilia. A takeout window offers speedy service for those in a rush.
“The goal was to develop a fried-chicken restaurant that’s better than what people are exposed to, but with a level of hospitality added,” Camperlengo says.
