DaytonDailyNews.com

The Leadbelly Boys Rate Home Page

Mom's Restaurant

Ohio 741 and Ohio 123, Red Lion
746-0150

By Leadbelly Boys (Ron Rollins, Ray Marcano and Jim Dillon

Red Lion, a crossroads hamlet between Franklin and Lebanon, may not have much in it--but it does have Mom's, by gosh. The shortage of parking spaces suggests all of Warren County comes here for breakfast, which some people claim is just the case. The cakes, $2.35 for a stack of three, are straight-up and no-frills. The decor includes about 500 coffee mugs lining the walls, tons of University of Kentucky memorabilia (the owner's from Hazard, Ky.) and hundreds of autographed $1 bills left by customers. Like us!

Eats for three: $16.28.

Leadbelly note: The biscuits and gravy are what people come for, and small wonder. For $2.25, it's a generous plate of hearty, buttery biscuits smothered in the finest, drop-dead reddish-brown gravy this side of the Red River. It's rich with a smoky, pan-seared flavor and bits of meat.

Cake rating: 4.75.

Ray: What a way to start the day. Simplicity at its best. Simple surroundings. Simple menu. But nothing simple about the value or taste. Clearly, Mom's offers one of the best breakfasts in the area.

Ron: Hey, did you hear about the biscuits and gravy?

Jim: Save some of those for me. I don't eat them often, but these are the best I've ever tasted. The cakes rank right up there, too--cooked just right with no doughy aftertaste, and they soaked up the syrup like a sponge.