Babe's Chicken Dinner House - Arlington

The Wife and I were in Dallas recently for a concert and I wanted a place to eat that was close to the venue. You can't get much closer than Babe's. The show was at the Arlington Music Hall, and Babe's is, well, right next door. Tossed the keys to the theater valet and didn't look back. Great courtyard seating when weather permits (it didn't this trip), and the interior is just kitchsy as hell, in a delightful way. Menu is, well, short. Our server explained we didn't really need to look at one because we had 2 choices.... chicken and catfish. Chicken was cooked in a few basic ways, fried, grilled, etc. and the catfish is of course, fried. The sides are what they are. So meal selection is as easy as it gets.... and yet, I couldn't decide, so I got fried chicken with a single order of catfish on the side. Start with an elegantly simple salad with a wonderful vinaigrette and iceberg lettuce. It's astounding sometimes how simple can be so much. Next came some remarkable biscuits and honey. Outstanding. Then the main stuff started hitting.... the chicken (4 pieces per order, basically half a chicken), great mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and fried sweet corn. For a southern boy, it was a little heaven on a table. The chicken is some of the best I've had. Cooked to perfection, with a well seasoned, crispy crust that hung on the meat for each bite, guaranteeing you meat and crust every time. The mashed potatoes were properly done, and the gravy the perfect consistency with a decent flavor... not at all bland and pasty like some places I've eaten. The green beans and corn would do any southern granny proud. Service was awesome, and in spite of sitting at a family style trestle table, we had plenty of privacy and enjoyed our meal immensely. Overall, it's not the cheapest chicken you're going to eat, but for the price we paid, I was more than happy with the taste/experience/value. If I lived nearby, Babe's would see me regularly.

Typical homestyle cooking, nothing to be excited about, especially since they don't carry ranch dressing as a choice for salad or dipping sauce.

Always great experience and food is awesome, highly recommend.

This location is very dark for some reason. The food was tasty but chicken pieces are smaller than usual. Service is always good.

Absolutely one of the best catfish I've eaten. The service was good and cordial. My only issue was the music was a little too loud. Bit it is a great place to hang out with friends and family.