Octagon Cafe

Such good home-cooking! I'm not big on eating "home cooking" at restaurants because it never quite lives up to that promise of tasting like great-granny's mashed potatoes and Aunt Ethel's macaroni and cheese. You know what I mean. Well! We dropped in the other night (thankfully not with my Celiac husband). I got the beef tips, green beans, and mashed potatoes. First of all, you pay about $8 for two sides, a meat, a roll/cornbread, and a drink, which is a little high to me. BUT you get so much food! I couldn't finish all of mine, which was a shame. I think the potatoes were actually and really mashed potatoes, because I got a lump now and again that wouldn't be possible with instant. The beef tips were also excellent, tender, and not nearly as fatty as I would've guessed. The green beans were good, and my mom even commented that they were "grandma green beans" because it tasted truly southern and home-made. We were really impressed. (For any Celiacs following or surfing my reviews: This isn't safe for you, and I don't recommend it for you. For anyone else, YES. It was super tasty. But it cannot accommodate gluten-free needs probably unless you only have an intolerance.)

My wife and I ate at 6:30 on a Friday. The fried fish was cold, dry, and as hard as shoe leather. My mac 'n cheese was a gelatinous blob of solid goo. The cornbread muffin was probably excellent hours earlier when it came out of the oven, but it was cold too. I forced myself to eat what I'd bought, solely to stave off hunger, but it was an unpleasant experience. My wife had a fried chicken breast; I asked how it was, and she said she wasn't inclined to come back. I agree with her sentiments. If the food was like this at 6:30, I can only wonder what it was like when the place closed at 8:00.