Mothers Best wants their fried chicken to take you to a simpler time.
“Nostalgia for the fried chicken of my childhood is behind everything we do,” Chef and Owner Ean Camperlengo explains as the sounds of Hall & Oates’ 1981 hit “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” fill the cozy, eclectically designed restaurant space off Church Street on the Decatur Square. From the recipes to the decor and service, every piece of the restaurant is designed to give you a trip down memory lane.
Opening their doors at the end of 2024, Mothers Best DGFC (that’s “damn good fried chicken”, for the uninitiated) was a long-anticipated and welcomed addition to the Decatur restaurant scene. With years of successful pop-ups under his belt, Camperlengo had a steady set of fans clamoring for his food around town after trying his burgers (Smiley’s just down the street is also his concept), crawfish boils, and of course, crispy chicken.
“I love engagement over food,” Camperlengo explains. “We still do boils, but fried chicken has the same community spirit. They both bring people around a table together to eat with friends. That’s what we’re about.”
Camperlengo’s love for deep-fried fowl goes back to his roots in New Orleans, growing up on supermarket and fast-casual fried chicken. “My mom raised us on her own and fed us on her own, and I respect that so much. Chicken from places like Popeyes and Publix was a staple. And I loved it. I knew when I opened my own restaurant that it would be an homage to my childhood in that way.”
Creating an ideal fried chicken recipe comes as no accident. Camperlengo trained in Michelin-starred kitchens in New York, learned from some of Atlanta’s greats (Linton Hopkins, Joe Schafer, and Terry Koval, to name a few), and has run the gamut of cooking experience from fast-casual to fine dining. “I still have a love for fine dining,” Camperlengo explains as he dredges cut chicken in a signature blend of 14 herbs and spices. “The attention to detail, the sourcing of ingredients, the level of service–we focus on a lot of the same elements. We just do it with food you already know.”
The food truly speaks for itself. The simple, refined menu captures every element of picnic fried chicken you crave, elevated with classic technique and finely-tuned recipes.
The chicken, available in classic whole fried pieces, sandwiches, and tenders, manages to be perfectly crispy and packed with flavor without feeling greasy or too salty. Classic sides like Louisiana-style rice and beans and collard green coleslaw add to the nostalgic flavors, while the “whirled famous” velvet potatoes & gravy are a real contender for the best butter potato dish in the city. Everything is made in-house, and it shows. Simple menus can sometimes be the most difficult to execute, but Mothers Best confidently owns that simplicity and still manages to offer something for everybody. Any more would be too much.
After 6 months on the square, Mothers Best feels like it’s been part of the community for decades. “Decatur was a pretty obvious choice for us,” says Camperlengo. “This is where we all used to hang out after work. I met my wife here. I know how the restaurant owners around here support each other, and it’s special.”
The tight-knit collection of chefs, restaurateurs, and community-oriented businesses around Decatur was a sort of “unicorn” situation for the Mothers Best team. “The culture of support you see around here is unlike any other,” says Camperlengo. “I see Terry and say hey every day as he’s going into Deer & The Dove. I see Mike Gallagher (Brick Store, Leon’s) crossing the street and want to throw him a tender. You can be a young business owner here because of that scene of support- there’s so many amazing people packed into this Square.”
As Mothers Best settles into their spot in the Decatur restaurant world, it aspires to make a mark that goes well beyond noteworthy fried chicken. “I want this place to really be a part of the community,” Camperlengo explains. “We’re building our relationships in the city and want Mothers Best to be a place people can come and do the same. Connect over good food. We want to help people out as much as we can and try to make decisions every day to honor that.”
"I love engagement over food...fried chicken brings people around a table to eat with friends. That's what we're all about."
“The culture of support you see around here is unlike any other. There's so many amazing people packed into this Square."