Even though diners were traditionally housed in passenger cars of trains, they evolved throughout the decades to become quaint restaurants known for their hearty fare at reasonable prices. Typically, home cooked foods, diner fare runs the gamut from all-day breakfast to burgers and fries, liver and onions and chicken pot pie. The following diners are tops in North Carolina. Stop in to one or more!
Visit the Scrambled Southern Diner in Greensboro for a variety of hearty dishes. Voted #1 for Best Breakfast in North Carolina by TripAdvisor, the breakfasts truly are tops. Their biscuits & gravy are a fast seller, followed by their homemade corned beef hash and shrimp ‘n grits. Enjoy a North Carolina shrimp po’ boy for lunch, along with a large assortment of burgers and sandwiches. Blue Plate Specials headline the dinner menu, with the popular Carolina barbecue beef brisket sandwich available on Wednesdays, followed by fried chicken on Thursdays.
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Open 24/7, Midnight Diner in Charlotte serves up pretty much anything you could possibly want to eat. Featuring Breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night selections, enjoy fried chicken, a bevy of egg dishes, pancakes, shrimp ‘n grits and more. Their pecan Belgian waffle is technically a breakfast dish, but goes down like a giant, rich dessert.
Touting themselves as a restaurant and lounge, locals claim Jacktar & the Colonel’s Daughter is a diner through and through. Serving all-day breakfast, a fried North Carolina wild catfish plate, and some of the best macaroni & cheese north of Atlanta, you’ll find just about everything you could imagine eating on their menu. You’ll also find cocktails. And while that’s not typical in most diners, it’s not all that unusual in these parts.
If you’ve never had fried chicken & waffles, don’t balk at the notion until you’ve tried it. A favorite on many diner’s menus, it is very popular at Hunterville’s Metro Diner. So is their Breakfast Pie. Layers of eggs, mushrooms, onions, peppers, potatoes and bacon or sausage bakes up into a hearty, tasty dish that will last you from breakfast to lunch with no problem at all. Lunch and dinner items include fried chicken, steak tips, burgers, sandwiches, and more.
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The tagline for Stack’s Kitchen is “Good Food & Plenty of It,” and that sums it up quite nicely. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, they also feature an excellent kid’s menu and they are known for their comfort food. Dine on chicken pot pie, Mom’s stuffed cabbage, shrimp and grits, classic baked meatloaf, and more. Breakfast finds all the usuals, along with a line of skillets that cater to hearty eaters. Choose from a Western Skillet, Popeye Skillet, Big Daddy Skillet and more. You won’t go hungry when you eat at Stack’s.
If you enjoy beans as a side for breakfast and lunch, and you believe grits go with just about everything, too, you’re going to love 42 Diner. Serving breakfast and lunch, choose from a 42 Special (eggs, bacon, grits, beans), a variety of egg dishes, waffles, hotcakes and more for your morning meal. Select from burgers, club sandwiches, smothered hamburger steak, baked ham steak and fried chicken—to name just a few options—for lunch. Any way you pick them, you won’t leave hungry.
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True Flavors Diner touts itself as an “upscale” diner that features familiar diner fare. Serving breakfast, lunch and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays, choose from fish & grits, chops & eggs, farmer’s hash, buttermilk battered French toast and more. The retro diner feel is enhanced by exceptional service and a direct line of sight into the kitchen—something many diners don’t wish for their patrons to have.
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When was the last time you indulged in a hand-dipped milkshake? If it’s been a while, it’s high time you visited Carolina’s Diner, and enjoyed one with a hearty cheeseburger and fries. Perhaps you’d prefer visiting late at night after an evening on the town. Ask for their famous country fried steak & egg sandwich or eggs with a side of fried bologna. Sit on a stool at the counter and feel yourself transported back decades while you treat yourself to some delicious, home cooked food.