Like many great culinary inspirations, one of the must-try dishes at downtown Birmingham’s popular Yo’ Mama’s Restaurant was born out of the belief that a resourceful cook never lets anything go to waste.
A couple or so years ago, Denise Peterson, who owns Yo’ Mama’s with her daughter Crystal Peterson, had some peaches left over from making one of her peach cobblers.
Her daughter knew just what to do with them.
“I was like, ‘I’ll just pour them on my waffle,’” Crystal Peterson recalls. “And I tried it, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’
“We started serving it the next week.”
And that’s how the peach cobbler chicken and waffles – an indulgent amalgam of two Southern soul-food classics – became a thing at Yo’ Mama’s.
“If I sell 50 chicken and waffles,” Crystal says, “maybe 20 of them are with peaches.”
Yo’ Mama’s initially served the peach cobbler chicken and waffles only during its twice-monthly Saturday brunches, but since last year, it has been on the regular daily menu, as well, Crystal says.
Customers are easily enticed by the tempting photos of the sweet, syrupy peaches served on a pillowy Belgian waffle with crispy chicken wings that are displayed on the Yo’ Mama’s digital menu board above the front counter, as well as on the restaurant’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.
“People eat with their eyes,” Crystal says. “When they saw the picture of it, they were like, ‘I want to try it.’”
The peach cobbler topping is served as an add-on option to Yo’ Mama’s traditional chicken and waffle entrée.
A plain chicken and waffle with six chicken wings and a Belgian waffle sells for $11.95, and the peach cobbler topping is an additional $1.50.
The peaches -- which are flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and butter --make an ideal complement to the fluffy waffle. House-made syrup and whipped topping come on the side for an extra helping of sweetness.
“It is the peaches that my mom uses in her peach cobbler, but instead of the bread, we’re using the waffle as the cobbler part,” Crystal explains.
“It’s like this is the perfect combination because those peaches are hot on top of that waffle, and it just kind of melds together.”
The best way to eat it is a matter of personal preference, she says.
Some folks prefer to have the waffle and the peach topping together as one dish and eat the chicken wings separately. Others mix it all together – the chicken, the waffle and the peaches.
“I have people that get the wings and take all the meat off the bones and then eat it (all together) like one goulash,” Crystal says.
Think of it as breakfast, lunch and dessert all in one dish.
“Yeah,” Crystal laughs, “I have people that say, ‘Hey that got me through the whole day. That’s all I needed.’”
Denise Peterson, left, and Crystal Peterson are the mother and daughter owners of Yo' Mama's Restaurant in Birmingham, Ala. The Petersons opened their restaurant in November 2014. (Bob Carlton/bcarlton@al.com)
A downtown dining destination
The Petersons opened Yo’ Mama’s Restaurant in downtown Birmingham’s rejuvenated Second Avenue North restaurant and entertainment district in November 2014, after Denise Peterson retired following a 33-year career with BellSouth.
Denise runs the kitchen, planning and preparing the menu, and Crystal manages the front of the house, greeting customers and taking their orders. Another of Denise’s daughters, Delisha Peterson, manages Yo’ Mama’s website, email account and its digital menu board.
With the Petersons’ winning combination of home-style cooking and family-friendly service, Yo’ Mama’s has become a popular downtown dining destination known not only for those chicken and waffles but also shrimp and grits, fish tacos and hot wings -- as well as daily specials such as pork chops, lasagna rolls and chicken and sausage Alfredo.
The restaurant was included on AL.com’s 2016 list of 50 Essential Birmingham Restaurants, and that same year, Hillary Clinton visited Yo’ Mama’s while campaigning in Birmingham during her unsuccessful presidential bid. In 2017, the Cooking Channel featured Yo’ Mama’s on its food and travel show “Cheap Eats.”
Also, in 2018, the Alabama Media Group recognized Denise Peterson as one of 30 Women Who Shape the State.
Yo’ Mama’s is at 2328 Second Ave. North in Birmingham. The phone is 205-957-6545. Current hours are 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. The dining room is temporarily closed because of the COVID-19 outbreak, but the restaurant is open for to-go orders and curbside pick-up, as well as limited outdoor seating. For a menu and more information, go here.
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This tasty Alabama dish is the best of both worlds - AL.com
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