CAPITAL COUNTRY COOKING
It’s also big on the food and atmosphere fronts, thanks to huge portions served in a warehouse-sized former garage filled with farm implements hanging from the ceiling and practically everywhere else. For all these reasons and more, it’s simply big-time when it comes to restaurants in Raleigh--or anywhere else in the state.
Originaly published in Our State Magazine
Opened in 1989 in the rejuvenated City Market area near the State Capitol, Big Ed’s is now an anchor for a once-dilapidated area. With a reputation for opening and running successful restaurants, Watkins was approached by city fathers and convinced to bring his country cooking downtown.
Now, city and state politicians, plus other downtown workers, have a place to call home for breakfast and lunch. “More deals have been made at these tables than over at the Capitol or anywhere else in Raleigh,” Watkins says.
The formula for success in the struggling City Market building was one Watkins had successfully embraced in other venues: serve large portions of traditional country cooking with friendly faces and moderate prices. A quick look at the menu--and the crowds--confirms that his recipe works. Big Ed’s serves up some serious country cooking for breakfast and lunch (which Watkins still calls dinner). It’s a haven for lots of local workers and residents, with several regulars eating there every day for breakfast, lunch, or both.
The fresh country breakfast menu is an ode to the pig, with practically everything but the “oink” featured somewhere on the list of options. There’s bacon, smoked, patty, or link sausage, seriously tasty (and salty) country ham, and even pork tenderloin. To go with this bovine bonanza, other breakfast offerings include country fresh eggs (he likes his over medium), grits (“Georgia ice cream”), thick and savory red-eye gravy, hot biscuits (ask for them grilled), huge hot cakes, omelets, biscuit sandwiches, and more.
Except for the biscuits, grits, and a few other menu items, it’s a breakfast that would make Dr. Atkins proud. Of those famed grilled biscuits, Watkins says, “Those biscuits are made just like my momma made them and they can make a poodle pull a freight train.”
Watkins says there’s one woman in the kitchen who has the sole job of making the famed biscuits. He’s quite proud of the huge sparkling kitchen, which diners can see into from practically anywhere in the restaurant (except the equally clean restrooms). Whether it’s biscuits or fried chicken, Watkins is also proud of what comes out of that busy kitchen.
If you ask real politely, they’ll even dish up a breakfast “sampler” that’s not on the menu; Watkins claims this huge order will make a tadpole slap a whale. It’s only appropriate that breakfast is served anytime (and it’s the only thing available on Saturdays, when the place is packed for the five hours it’s open).
While holding court on most days at his reserved table and special chair (he’s hard to miss in his standard denim overalls and red-checked shirt), Watkins explains that the “dinner” menu is handwritten daily and features the dishes his mother prepared while he was growing up on a tobacco farm in nearby Knightdale. “Everything is prepared fresh that day, just like my mother did for us,” Watkins says, who adds that any and all leftovers are provided to the Raleigh Rescue Mission each afternoon when they close.
The mid-day menu typically includes homemade chicken-n-dumplings that are melt-in-your-mouth good, as well as fried chicken, (try it with their BBQ sauce), chuckwagon steak with onion gravy, and several other offerings that Watkins says regulars won’t let him take off the menu under any circumstances. Other popular choices often seen on the menu include country ham, beef tips, catfish, and country-style steak.
Virtually every full meal comes with a choice of one meat, two fresh vegetables, bread, and dessert--Watkins convinces most folks within earshot to order the brownie topped with vanilla pudding or maybe one of the homemade pieces of pie. For their bread basket, smart diners ask for more of those famed biscuits. At lunch, many locals top them with thick molasses.
There’s also the huge “Big Ed’s Spread,” which comes with a choice of two meats and three vegetables, as well as the popular vegetable plates.
The vegetable list, which typically numbers a dozen or so, includes only what’s available fresh. Favorites include blackeyed peas, sliced tomatoes, potatoes in various forms , snap beans, yams, butter beans, apple sauce, cabbage, collard greens, homemade cole slaw, and many more. Most of the vegetables come from local farms, by way of the nearby farmer’s market. For topping many of the vegetables, Watkins even created a special vinegar sauce that’s seasoned and marinated just right.
Many veteran visitors, who have frequently experienced post-lunch “narcolepsy” back in their office, opt for one of Big Ed’s sandwich offerings. The quarter-pound hamburgers and sandwiches of varied pork persuasions are huge hits when a “full” meal might just be a bit too filling.
Besides the enticing food, the other thing newcomers to Big Ed’s quickly notice about the menu is the pricing. The food is a great value and the meals are priced at unusual amounts. Lunch is typically around seven dollars and priced in ways that round up to even dollar amounts nicely (it’s an all-cash establishment, of course). The big breakfasts are similarly well-priced.
Watkins is certainly a character befitting the restaurant’s food and personality, which includes lots of farm tools and supplies from his family farm. This is now a family operation as well, with his son, Richard, daughter, Menette, and daughter-in-law, Debbie, actively involved in the restaurant. Watkins' wife, Lynda, is his frequent companion on RV trips, when they sample country cooking wherever they can find it.
Either Watkins or his son is at the restaurant every day, making sure both employees and customers are happy (and full). It’s quickly apparent why Watkins has lots of long-term employees--and customers. Whether it means signing off on a new piece of equipment needed in the kitchen or sending over a free piece of pie to a loyal luncher, Watkins simply makes sure everyone is pleased when it comes to great food and service.
Watkins may never have made it out of the eighth grade, but country cooking fans have made him a Rhodes Scholar of food in Raleigh. He started with Ed’s Grill in Raleigh back in 1957 and owned and operated a plateful of successful restaurants until opening the current Big Ed’s. It’s also the current restaurant and it’s signature country cooking that have made Big Ed a capital city classic.
Big Ed’s City Market Restaurant
220 Wolfe Street
Raleigh, NC 27601
(919) 836-9909
Hours: Monday through Friday, 7am to 2pm; Saturday 7am to noon