The Small-Town Restaurant That Is Worth A Visit From Anywhere In Alabama
By Lisa Battles|Published February 05, 2024
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Lisa Battles
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Lisa has traveled the U.S. for over a decade, seeking out and sharing the stories of its most interesting places, people, and experiences. A journalism graduate of Auburn University, she has been a content strategist, editor, and writer for more than 25 years. Lisa has worked in community news, PR, and marketing with a focus on tourism, hospitality, and economic development. Besides following her curiosity around every corner, she's a devoted dog mom of two and advocate for animal welfare.
Do you have a thing for down-home, delicious comfort food like fried catfish, mashed potatoes, collard greens, and cornbread? Do yourself a favor and get out your country cooking bucket list to add The Front Porch of Cusseta, a small-town Southern cooking restaurant in Alabama about 13 miles northeast of Opelika. You may want to get out your stretchy pants, too.
This family-owned Southern comfort food restaurant opened in 2019 in Chambers County, a rural area of east central Alabama. It's open for lunch Tuesdays through Fridays and serves supper on Thursdays and Fridays.
Its menu covers "food as pleasing as a Southern front porch," and by all signs so far, it's delivering on that mission.
While the town of Cusseta only has about 150 residents, it's not uncommon to find the parking lot packed with people who drive from all around to this hidden gem on County Road 388.
When you enter the spacious dining room, look for the big, dry-erase board for the specials of the day. While we'll get to the standard menu items in a moment, the big board is where it's at for sizing up the sides and any entrees not on the menu.
Rotating special entrees can include the incredibly popular beef tips and rice, or Kristie's Alabama Swamp Soup, for example. Also important: Friday is Catfish Fry Yay around here.
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All dinners come with two sides and a choice of cornbread or Texas toast. Entrees on the regular menu are hamburger steak or country fried steak, chicken tenders, fried chicken livers, or a four-veggie plate. Just a few of your veggie options might be fried okra, squash dressing, baked beans, collards, or smashed taters.
There's also a variety of burgers and sandwiches, and the burgers here have as many or more fans as the meat-and-twos. If you're extra hungry, go for the Big Country burger – a 10-ounce patty topped with cheese, bacon, and an onion ring. Other sandwiches include a hefty club, a patty melt, chicken, steak, and BLT. You can get fries or another side, or you may prefer one of the appetizers of onion rings, crazy taters, or fried pickles.
The salads are something else, as my grandma used to say. There's a signature Front Porch Salad as well as a chef salad, which is a large, crisp mix of vegetables topped with honey ham and oven-roasted turkey, boiled eggs, cheddar cheese, and croutons.
While this spot is relatively close to the thriving city of Opelika, it’s definitely worth a trip from any part of the state. Grab our road trip essentials packing list, especially if it’s going to be longer than a short Sunday drive. If you want to know before you go about what’s on the daily menu, you can keep up with the posted specials on The Front Porch of Cusseta Facebook page.
We think you’ll love this small-town Southern cooking restaurant in Alabama. Let us know after you’ve made the trip, or share your thoughts if you’ve already discovered it!
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