Customer Reviews

Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House Cookbook: A Celebration of Traditional Southern Dishes that Made Miss Mary Bobo's--An American Legend

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Earlier write-ups about Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House Cookbook intrigued me so I added it to my collection. Reading through it brought back memories of dishes I hadn't thought about -- much less made -- since my Georgia childhood. Then I started preparing them! I could swear that Miss Mary and my mother must have been bosom buddies, maybe even swapped recipes over a pitcher of homemade lemonade. From Southern Iced Tea to Sweet Deviled Eggs and Country Sausage and Gravy on Baking Powder Biscuits and from REAL Cream of Tomato Soup to Best Fruit Salad, the tastes of rich (read lots of cream and butter!)Southern food once again overwhelmed me. Not that every dish was cholesterol-laden -- try the sweet-sour mouth-tingling pleasure of Fresh Tomato Hash or vinegary Garden Fresh Cucumber Salad, for example. The breads are terrific -- and the main yeast one, Country Loaf Bread, adapted easily to the bread machine, producing a light, tasty, "mile-high" loaf. Fresh Zucchini Bread makes great toast and Our Favorite Raisin Bread, lightly glazed, was perfect with Cheese Soup and that wonderful fruit salad. The sauced Boarding House Meat Loaf pleased everyone, as did Our Famous Pork Ribs, Salmon Loaf, Southern Fried Catfish (AND Chicken, of course)and such beloved side dishes as Yankee Limas, Macaroni and Cheese, Southern Corn Pie and Creole Grits (even my grits-despising Minnesota-bred husband had seconds, Summer Squash Casserole and Our Best Baked Beans. Have only started to re-visit the delights of Southern desserts, sampling Old South Butter Cups and Fresh Strawberry Pie -- more to come! Obviously we can't continue at this rate with daily excursions into this wealth of memories and calories, but I plan to highlight at least one dinner a week with such! With thanks from a Southern California gal with happily-renewed memories of an earlier time and place!

I have actually had the opportunity to visit Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House. The only problem I had was that I visited in August and the first available time for a reservation was in December. Everyone in Lynchburg had nothing but wonderful things to say about the Boarding House and the food that is served there. So the next best thing to being able to eat there was to buy Miss Bobo's cookbook. The dish that my family and friends like the best is the Tenderloin Tips. I serve the beef up with a big heap of mashed potatoes and there is total silence because everyone is just enjoying the flavor of the food. I am ordering a copy for a dear friend of mine who is a true southern belle. I cannot wait to present her with her very own copy. The recipes are very easy to follow and you do not have to be a gourmet chef to use any of them. Another neat thing about this cookbook is the wonderful stories and pictures that are included. Miss Bobo had a very interesting life with many interesting visitors. Any American history buff of the 1880's to 1980's would really enjoy reading just the stories.

Like other reviewers, I've heard of this establishment for many years, but have never been there. I purchased this book based on the other reviews and ratings.

This is a beautifully written book, profusely illustrated with photographs and personal accounts of locals and boarders. In addition, the recipes are written in a very clear and easy-to-follow style for the less experienced. Most of these recipes exist in one form or another in other books of mine, but some of the seasoning combinations are unique. I've always felt that good home cooking has that indefinable ingredient, some call it love, that raises ordinary ingredients to art.

However, I must agree with a prior reviewer about putting Jack Daniels in so many of the recipes. From what I've read, Miss Mary didn't drink or use booze in her cooking. So why put it in here? I feel Jack Daniels hurt its credibility, and the credibility of the book, by doing this. They couldn't be selling many extra bottles of whiskey by pushing it in these recipes.

I don't know whether this restaurant has made or lost money since its takeover by Jack Daniels. Certainly, the distillery has performed a public service by maintaining this traditional establishment. For that, I'm appreciative.

This book will make a good gift for someone, particularly someone who's a whiskey fan. I have enjoyed it myself, with the above caveat.

Please read all the reviews here for a better picture of this cookbook. Perhaps the recipe are enjoyed by some, particularly those fond of putting whiskey in everything from salad to dessert and every dish between.

There is an out-of-print book "Miss Mary's Down-Home Cooking" by Diana Dalsass, which includes superb Southern recipes from Mary Bobo's boarding house. These are the recipes used during Mary Bobo's tenur. These are the recipes which the tea-totaller Miss Mary would approve of. My wife and I thought it was worth the expense of using a book finder service to get.

Before using the book finder service, I bought the Mitchamore book listed here. I figured it would contain the same recipes and I'd save a buck. They aren't even close. Even without comparing the two books, I still can't recommend this book to anyone who doesn't vehemently adore Jack Daniels. This really is a whiskey cookbook. A fine gift shop purchase, but not an heirloom Southern cookbook.

I had this sudden impulse to start baking everything that I could that would be southern cooking. My husband is from North Carolina, so he is a great critic. I have used this cookbook so many times it is crazy. The desserts are delicious. I love the Salmon Loaf and Meatloaf...gosh everything! I have recently bought a whole library of southern cookbooks and this by far would be my favorite and most used.

I was fortunate to dine at Miss Mary's last summer, and since then have used this cookbook on several occasions. The recipes are wonderful, truly Southern, and always turn out extremely well. I highly recommend this for those seeking the recipes they remember from their Southern childhood! The book also has tales about Miss Mary and the town of Lynchburg. Great book!

I have to admit I'm prejudiced because my family was from Lynchburg and I am a Bobo and a Waggoner. I pulled out the book to pick recipes for a traditional southern birthday dinner for my daughter. This is how I knew how to cook. I love to pull out the recipes for a good ole Southern meal in the heat of the summer with lots of iced tea and fresh tomatoes. It's something you can do about once a summer; however, many of the recipes can be used as a special treat with some low fat grilled chicken, etc. Most of my friends up here in Delaware really watch their diets but they chow down on my Southern dishes on holidays. I have given copies to my children and family. My youngest daughter especially likes to pick recipes from this book for any special occasion and loves to make them (and she'll be 27 tomorrow). I was surprised to see Uncle Roughton actually went to the World's Fair, bought Joan a china dog, and paid for her tap dance lessions--we thought he never spent any money. When I was there a few years ago, we met up with someone who had known him and he said he knew Roughton Waggoner--"still owns the first nickle he ever made." He's still famous over forty years after he died. I am back to purchase the book for a young friend who is getting married to a young man whose favorite dish she found out at a recent shower is Swiss Steak. "What is that?" asked all the guests but me. So I am coming to her rescue. This book brings back good Southern memories. There are many excellant recipes. By the way, my relative gave that still to Jack Daniel.

I collect cookbooks and this one has quickly become a favorite! Every recipe I have tried has been excellent. They are easy to follow and have simple ingredients, most of which I have on hand. I would recommend this book for anyone who loves down home cooking at its best.

As a Southern transplant and lover of Southern food and cookbooks, I was a little dissapointed in this book. Miss Bobo's Boarding House has a long and wonderful reputation and though I would like to, I have not had the pleasure of dining at the establishment. The book contains a ton of history, photographs and memoriblia as well as several wonderful recipes. I was little put off though at the number of recipes that called for Jack Daniels whiskey. I realize that the Boarding House is now owned by the distillery, but to label this as the authentic cookbook of Miss Mary Bobo's legend seems a little odd as Miss Marry never served a drop of liquor on the premises. All in all, the recipies and stories are fine, it just seems that if they wanted to sell a Jack Daniels cookbook then they should have titled it as such and not used the appeal of a Southern legend to sell books.

It is obvious that Jack Daniels is trying to put their stamp on the cookbook, but they should at least be honest and say Ms. Mary didn't prepare her meals with whiskey. The book has a lot of recipes that I have been looking for for years and I intend to use them. These aren't the kinds of recipes you will find on the Food Network, but they sure remind me of my childhood and I plan on sharing them with my granddaughter ---minus the booze.