POLO – If you are in the mood for some southern-fried comfort food, look no further than The Dogwood Inn Restaurant in Polo.

From the southern fried chicken, to the jumbo shrimp, to the biscuits and gravy, the Southern cuisine at Dogwood Inn is all homemade.

"This is a down home kind of restaurant," said Berniece Ratledge, owner of the restaurant.

Although she is the owner, Ratledge does other things for the establishment, which opened in 2008. She also cooks and waits tables.

"I do everything," she said.

The southern-style cooking came naturally for Ratledge, who is originally from Tennessee.

"We made everything from scratch growing up," said Ratledge, who has been cooking for about 45 years. "We cooked a lot at family get-togethers, and that is basically how I learned to cook. I didn't attend any cooking classes."

When I went into the restaurant, I was surprised at how empty it was, even though it was around lunchtime. Other than the employees, I was the only one there.

"Business has been really slow, and in the wintertime it's worse," Ratledge said. "There are days when we get bombarded, and there are days like today when we are really slow."

Ratledge made me a home-cooked meal that included seasoned, hand battered fried chicken, barbecued ribs, baked beans, coleslaw, and a dinner roll.

I had a hard time finishing it all, but one thing I did finish was the ribs. You know when a rib is cooked well when the meat falls off the bone. That was the case at Dogwood Inn.

Dogwood Inn also offers a wide range of desserts, including a variety of pies, chocolate cheesecake, carrot cake, and peach cobbler.

Ratledge said the name Dogwood comes from a tree in the south.

"The dogwood tree also represents Christ," she said.

The dogwood theme is carried from the restaurant's interior to the landscaping. Berniece herself planted many of the dogwood trees that surround the property.

The inside of the restaurant definitely has a cozy atmosphere. Booths are lined up along the walls of the building. Round tables can seat four people and bigger tables can accommodate larger groups.

On the other side of the restaurant is ample space for banquets, parties and business meetings.

Large windows throughout the restaurant let in plenty of natural lighting.

The restaurant begins serving lunch at 11 a.m., but will serve breakfast during the day until the food is gone.