Big Mama's Cooking Inc   

Big Mama's Rib Shack has been cooking Southern specialties for more than 75 years. Best known for its barbecue selections -- the sauce has won every local barbecue award -- Big Mama's also serves Cajun and Creole specialties, as well as what used to be called soul food before we all got politically correct. Actually, at Big Mama's the chitlins, ham hocks, yams, oxtails, hot links and collard greens are still labeled soul food right on the menu and are a favorite of celebrity customers Chuck Berry and Shaquille O'Neal. The restaurant certainly doesn't look like a typical Hollywood hangout; the building used to be a McDonald's, the floors are bare and diners sit at flea market tables and chairs. The gumbo, a house specialty, is served in a Styrofoam cup. But all is forgiven after one bite of the barbecued ribs, beef, pork, ham or chicken, all slow cooked over a hickory pit and brushed with a special secret sauce.