Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too

Owner Norma Jean Darden—a caterer and former Wilhelmina model—builds the menu around recipes from Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine, the cookbook she co-wrote with her sister Carole. The kitchen serves generous, piping-hot portions of catfish, mac and cheese, cornbread stuffing, greens, and cobbler. The inexpensive setting draws an eclectic mix, bringing together Columbia students, uptown churchgoers, and VIPs such as former President Bill Clinton.