Good Eats

Stone Bridge Farms serves an upscale buffet that’s cooked irresistibly well

Story by David Myers Photos by David Moore & Rose Myers

Iadmit, I like to eat. And I like to eat a lot of food. So you might surmise that I’m a frequent visitor to buffets. Unfortunately, I’m married to a woman who pays attention to how much – or how little – she eats and is not a big buffet fan. She also pays attention to how much I eat – can’t blame her for that.

But not all buffets are created equal. That’s what we found out when we drove out the back roads of Cullman County to iconic Stone Bridge Farms. Located on 136 acres, this breathtaking campus of endless green grass, stunning landscaping and lodge-like structures is an all-inclusive venue that – lucky for me – offers a spectacular buffet twice a week.

Once inside, it’s clear there’s no reason to be concerned about coronavirus in this place be-cause it’s huge. Tables have wide open spaces around them. The buffet line stretches out so there’s plenty of room between people, and the staff serves plates while wearing masks and gloves.

Now on to the star attraction – the food. I lined up and immediately had to choose between six meat offerings. I looked to see how much my plate could hold but the nice server suggested we pick three samplings each.

She promised that I could come back as many times as I wanted, so I chose a pork chop, fried catfish and boneless ribs. Rose went for the Stone Bridge chicken, a signature dish, as well as barbecue chicken and meatloaf.

Advancing to the vegetables we face more big decisions: fried okra, cream corn, green beans, baby Limas, black-eyed peas, English peas, Stone Bridge potatoes, mashed potatoes, pinto beans with ham, squash casserole, baked beans, corn on the cob and turnip greens. We just loaded up because everything looked irresistibly good.

At first bite, it was amazing how perfectly cooked each of the proteins were. The star was the Stone Bridge chicken, the most tender chicken we’ve ever tasted. I couldn’t identify the subtly sweet flavor but I definitely could appreciate it.

Also delicious was the catfish, cooked perfectly crisp and flaky. The pork chop was juicy and tender. Same for the boneless ribs. The BBQ chicken was smoky, the meatloaf spicy and yummy.

Color this New Orleans boy well satisfied.

Rose, meanwhile, was obsessed with the vegetables, murmuring between bites that several talented grandmas must be in the kitchen whipping out fresh veggies the old-timey way.

The squash casserole had a buttery crust and a subtle sweetness. The okra was fresh and crunchy, while the mashed potatoes were deliciously creamy.

The seasoning and tenderness of the green beans is exactly what made me fall in love with them when I first came up from the Big Easy three decades ago. The black-eyed peas were divine and paired with the turnip greens and cornbread made a real treat.

The star here was definitely the Stone Bridge potatoes, a dish of French fries cooked with cheese, bacon and the perfect Clockwise: Salad bar offers fresh choices; fried chicken and Stone Bridge chicken with mashed potatoes, green beans and squash casserole; sweet potato dumplings, ice cream and caramel; there are buffets and then are great buffets; meat loaf, fried pork chops, okra and tomatoes and Stone Bridge potatoes. It’s all good.

touch of seasoning. I see why they put their name on these spuds.

Stuffed and happy, alas, we had no choice but to head to the dessert bar. The temptations there were peach cobbler, chocolate cobbler, strawberry dump cake, chocolate dump cake and banana pudding dump cake. So full already, we had to settle for little bites of each.

If there has ever been better peach cobbler I have not had the pleasure of eating it. The chocolate cobbler was a new confection for me and a welcome one. Each of the cakes was a sweet dream.

All of this is available for $15 per person, which includes drinks and tax. This is a culinary steal.

Stone Bridge Farms is owned and operated by the fourth generation of the Rev. V. L. Foust family, Ron Foust. A minister for over 50 years, Ron’s grandfather married, baptized and conducted funerals for hundreds of people in Cullman County. His home created wedding memories for many couples.

Ron is carrying on the tradition by offering 10 venues for family reunions, anniversary celebrations or corporate events, as well as catering services and floral design to make any wedding magical.

Stone Bridge Farms is about eight minutes from downtown Cullman. It’s open for dine-in service on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Curbside to-go orders are available Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.