Mamma D's Smokehouse

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  After talking about making the 35 minute drive for several weeks, the confirmation of freshly made jerky convinced us to go. Definitely well off the beaten path and not much else is even open during the hours this place is. Decor is bright small town diner, belying its more stately roadhouse exterior, but they will apparently smoke and pull any kind of meat or poultry around. The pulled turkey was a first for me and it along with the special corn soufflé side, were the deliciously pleasant surprises. The brisket was quite stringy, but probably the most flavorful item on my combo plate. All were served 'dry' with 3 sauces are available: the proverbial 'sweet baby', a house-made 'red' which was HEAVY on the pepper, and a house made 'yellow'. I enjoy mustard-based BBQ sauces more than most people, but this one was heavier on the plain yellow mustard than the red was with the pepper?!  (A spicier option would be nice, otherwise, if you ask me, stick to the first two mixed together.).  I was also in the mood for some chicken wings, but was thoroughly disappointed by the quality and taste. And the perfunctory salad bar, was just that.
  
  As for the jerky, the friendly couple that owned the place were nice enough to come 'round with some samples.  The beef was mediocre (cajun was not distinguishable, so we're looking forward to the promised spicy batch), but the turkey variety was so tasty we had to take some home!  Also on the plus side is the homemade cinnamon butter, which made an average dinner roll taste like Cinnabon!
  
  Its quite likely we will be back to give the place another chance later this year and to try the ribs and flavored sausage/brats...but I honestly can't encourage anyone make the drive from Bloomington, Decatur or Champaign based on the meal we had, unless you're really bored on a Friday or Saturday night between 5 and 8 pm.

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  Posted on 02.09.13 Pete R.

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  A solid three stars but add a star for the hospitality.   The owners were very friendly and spent time talking with the customers.  The restaurant is very quaint and located in a small town a little off the beaten path.  They're only open Friday and Saturday nights from 5 to 8PM in the Winter.  
  
  I ordered the combo plate of brisket, pulled chicken, and pulled turkey, baked beans, and french fries.  The brisket was chopped and very flavorful.  I liked the "red" sauce on the beef.  The chicken and turkey were good although I was unable to really tell the two apart.  I used a little of the mustard and red sauce.
  
  They have three type of barbecue sauce, one is store bought and two homemade sauces, one tomato based and one mustard based.  The tomato based sauce is a little spicy with a lot of black pepper but sweet too.  The mustard based would be awesome on pork but I didn't order pork this time.
  
  I would like to have some bread to make little sandwiches out with but all in all it was a good meal.  Next time I will order the ribs...  I can't believe I didn't order pork or brats.  They sound good.  We did buy some jerky though.  I picked up a 1/2 lb of turkey jerky to snack on later.

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  Posted on 02.08.13 Mike N.

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  Two things sum up this trip:
  1.  Ribs.  Fall off the bone why did they even give me a knife did I miss any meat ribs.  Wow.
  2.  Mountain Dew Apple Dumpling ala Mode.  Yup, you read that right.  I really shouldn't have eaten any more, but when Tristan ordered it I couldn't say no.
  
  Weldon took us about 40 minutes to get to from Bloomington but it was so worth it.  I was using the new Yelp map that refreshes with restaurants as you zoom around and it popped up.  What an awesome find!  We are so going back.
  
  Mama D' is worth the effort! But remember they are only open Friday and Saturday.

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  Posted on 09.02.11 Jamie M.

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  How am I spending my Friday night this week? Recovering from a rack of babyback ribs and writing my review of Mamma D's. Food that good needs to be praised immediately.
  
  Walked in and did not think I would like Mamma D's. Ugly yellow walls, folding chairs and tables with paper place mats. Decor, kind of lacking. But I quickly realized a place with walls that ugly, has to have really good food to stay in business and Mamma D's has that food.
  
  They also have the service. Very friendly staff who offered honest recommendations on the menu and were friendly and chatted with us after our meal.
  
  The menu offers a great assortment of meats. You can get a two meat or a three meat combo or get some babyback or spare ribs. I shared a 3 meat combo and a rack of babyback ribs with a friend. The cheddar jalapeno brat came out looking pathetic, but it tasted amazing. The brisket was smokey and very tender. The pulled pork was just fantastic. The chicken was juicy and fall off the bone tender. And that was the food that I barely touched.
  
  I barely touched that food because I was busy ripping the rib meat off the bones of my babyback ribs. They came out hot and covered in bbq sauce. I would have preferred less sauce so that I could put some of the delicious red sauce the had at the table on it. The red sauce was peppery and improved the taste of everything it touched. The yellow sauce was mustardy and those at the table who like mustard thought it was good. The knife I was given was completely unnecessary. You touched the bone, the meat fell off and then quickly was shoveled into someone's mouth. I'm a talker (I'm a lawyer after all) and I usually talk a lot during meal. This was a quiet meal. Well a meal without a lot of talking, I'm not so sure we were all that quiet. There may have been some grunting.
  
  I should also mention the sides, or as I call them, the things that weren't meat. They were also good. Red potato salad was a little mayoy for my taste, but still decent. The onion rings were good, but eat them quickly while they are warm, they get pretty bad when the cool down. The sweet potato chips were interesting. Not what I was expecting, they were thick and not crispy. Good, but I prefer the sweet potato chips at Courier Cafe in Urbana. But who cares, you aren't coming here for sides, you're coming here for fall off the bone delicious meat.
  
  So after eating all of that, drinking two terrible beers (they have a 3 beer limit and only have domestics in bottles and cans), I decided that dessert was somehow in order. After doing the Man v. Food shimmy to make some more room, we ordered the Mountain Dew Apple Dumpling ala mode. The perfect end to an amazing meal. Buttery with big chunks of apples and a healthy portion of cinnamon, topped with a generous portion of ice cream. It didn't last long.
  
  Worth the 40 minute drive from Blo/No. They are only open on Fridays and Saturdays.

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  Posted on 09.02.11 Tristan B.

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  Wow! Who would have thought such a wonderful restaurant would be located in Weldon. It is worth a special trip if you like barbeque.
  
  The chicken was cooked to perfection. It was smoky and tender and pealed right off the bone. It wasn't saturated in sauce either so you could really enjoy the chicken on it's own merits.
  
  The brisket was wonderful as well. Even my daughter enjoyed it and she is a picky eater.
  
  But the star of the show in my mind is the homemade brat. They have multiple different flavors of both pork and chicken brats. They were so good that we bought extras for home. These aren't fatty and greasy like store bought brats either. You could tell these were made with love and attention. I could eat the jalapeno-cheddar brats every day. Seriously.
  
  I could go on and on forever. The baked beans were honestly the best I'd ever eaten. I would go out of my way for them and I don't normally like baked beans. The sweet potato chips come with brown butter and marshmallow that you can dip them in. The portions are very generous and the prices are very fair for this caliber of food.
  
  The staff is friendly and prompt, and the owners don't mind taking time to chat with you. The place is not much to look at from outside, but the interior is impeccably clean and very inviting.
  
  The only potential negative is that they are only open from 5-9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, but that only makes it more of a treat in my eyes.
  
  I can't wait to go back and try the ribs!
  
  UPDATE (3/26/12): I went back, and tried the ribs.  UNBELIEVABLE!!  I left nothing but bones behind... and trace amounts of sauce too, but that wasn't for lack of trying.

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  Posted on 05.24.11 Phil P.

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