Closed for years, a popular MS Coast buffet reopens in a new city. ‘It tastes like home.’
Life doesn’t have a stop sign. It moves quickly and without pause.
Oftentimes we’re pulled along so briskly our roots are ripped from the soil behind us and dragged along. We remained connected to who we are, but we can lose touch with the environments that built us.
That’s where Dunk’s Southern Style Buffet steps in. The recently reopened restaurant is in the business of replanting souls. Of bringing us back to what we love.
Dunk’s previously served Waveland up until 2019. The owners have worked to find a venue the last four years while continuing their catering services.
The beloved restaurant finally found a home this year and just opened again this month. The new venue is small. Roughly two dozen tables fill the suite near Rouse’s in Diamondhead, but every one of them is occupied on the day of my visit.
The biggest change of pace from nearly every other restaurant is the quiet. Despite the many guests filling the room, each person is preoccupied. Conversations are hushed and brief between bites.
People are refilling. Not just their stomachs for lunch, but their very essence. I was reminded of the small college town I lived in back in school as I worked on my second helping. There were only a few options in that Southeast Alabama town, but the best was always the southern cookin’ buffet known as Sister’s.
That nostalgia factor looms heavily, if you’re a Southerner, at least. If you grew up with heavy plates that threatened to break with one more leg of fried chicken.
The buffet is akin to a rotating Thanksgiving kitchen walk-through. Each day you’ll find something new. On this day, well-seasoned and crispy fried chicken stole the show, though the home-cooked Salisbury steak was heartwarming.
Mashed potatoes, rice casserole, broccoli and cheese, beans and cornbread disappeared quickly. There’s even Blue Bell ice cream waiting for you when you finish.
“It’s so much for your soul,” the woman at the register says.
It’s a desperate recharge. A reminder of what food can be when the right amount of heart is mixed in.
“It tastes like home,” my wife says.
I agree. Now it’s time for a nap.
This story was originally published July 14, 2023 at 10:45 AM.
