First look: Red Springs Café

Finger lickin' good. (Credit: Molly V. Strzelecki)

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Oh, Paula Deen, we feel sorry for you. You and your butter-laden dishes have some stiff competition for the hearts of Baltimoreans, now that Red Springs Café has arrived. Massive amounts of Southern cuisine are served cafeteria-style, but if heaping plates of buttery, fried goodness aren't filling enough, Red Springs throws in a side of corn bread, too. And, oh, what a side it is. Wash it all down with some sweet tea, and you've got yourself a potentially coronary-inducing, family reunion-style feast at your disposal five days a week.

Crowd: The majority of Red Springs' business comes during breakfast (grits!) and lunch from downtown offices, and, if the scrubs are any indication, Mercy Medical. It's a friendly bunch, though, probably because the cuisine inspires diners to channel some Southern hospitality.

Food: It seems like every traditional Southern dish you could dream of is on the steam table at Red Springs, from fried chicken ($6) to barbecue ribs ($8) to Cajun-fried catfish ($8) and more. While each is wholly fantastic, we'd be doing you a disservice if we didn't suggest you make room for side dishes—"Side dishes! Make room for them!"—like mac 'n' cheese (made with five different kinds of cheese), collard greens or fluffy mashed potatoes, to name a few. The coleslaw could have used a little more flavor, but the candied yams melted on the tongue.

Did we mention the mac 'n' cheese? We were told by one Red Springs diner that it was "off the chain." Here is the mac 'n' cheese, and there is the chain, totally off, sitting over there in a corner practically across the street. And there is no judging should you decide to have a second helping of mac for dessert.

Speaking of dessert, is it truly a Southern meal without pie, cake or cobbler? No, of course it is not. The sweet potato pie ($2) is full of rich nutmeg and cinnamon flavor. It's a toss up as to which is better—that or the rum cake, moist and booze-soaked. It's like doing shots of rum in cake form. Really. And fair warning, you might need a post-lunch nap. But is it a boozy snooze or a food coma? Hard to say. But very easy to say we'll take either.

Digs: To be honest, Red Springs Café isn't all that much to look at. If you're not searching for it, you might actually walk right by. Inside, there are some lovely soft pillows that line the banquette along one of the walls, which come in mighty handy when you're done eating and drifting off into that blissful, food-induced nap.

Bottom line: If you don't have expandable pants, you'll want to seriously consider buying a pair, if only to wear to Red Springs Café. Because, yeah, you're going to want to eat that much food.