As soon as I realized that one of the five Grecian Gyro locations was just one exit away from Marie’s work, I schemed to get over there and have supper. Every once in a while, I like to go pick her up from work and spare her the awful, lonely, Friday evening commute home. She certainly seems pleased to have me and, often, at least one of the children pull up to give her the break. Unfortunately, on this instance, the toddler fell asleep on the way to Dunwoody. We had a bad feeling that he was going to be a Mr. Crankypants when he woke, and we were right. Continue reading “Grecian Gyro, Dunwoody GA”
Category: local chains
South 21 Drive-In, Charlotte NC
With six stops plus a photo-only post in Charlotte and its surrounding suburbs on this trip, this city is just killing me with all the great restaurants and things to do. I am miles – miles! – from visiting all of the places here that I want to see, and hope that we’ll be back before long. But one thing was certain before anything else, I had to visit the South 21 Drive-In on Independence Boulevard. This location has been around since 1959 and seen off all kinds of competition over the years, including, reportedly, one of those What-a-Burger Drive-Ins as seen in yesterday’s post, which was apparently just down the street. Still family-owned (Maria Housiadas’s father and uncles, named Copsis, opened the place) and loyal to a small company of awesome carhops who’ve been with them for years, they’re said to make some pretty good burgers and the best onion rings money can buy. Continue reading “South 21 Drive-In, Charlotte NC”
What-a-Burger, Mooresville NC
As the road takes us back into the Greater Charlotte area for the final leg of this trip, a couple of thoughts strike me. A couple of points need clarifying, to my mind.
First up, there are three entirely different and separate chains of restaurants with almost the same darn name in the south. The best known, of course, is Whataburger – note the spelling, as one word – the Texas-based chain with the orange and white buildings that stretch into Alabama and Florida, and, briefly, into Georgia. (Two of the three in this state failed; I believe there’s still one in Thomasville.)
There are also, however, two completely unrelated groups of restaurants that call themselves “What-a-Burger” with hyphens. One of these groups of restaurants is based in Virginia, and one in the Carolinas. The original Carolina version started in the city of Concord, just outside the Charlotte perimeter on I-85, and expanded to fifteen stores. Most of them have closed, but the six that remain still have their original numbering proudly posted at each location. Store number 10, in Kannapolis, and number 11, in Mooresville, which I visited, look very, very similar, and very, very beautiful if you love old drive-ins with gorgeous canopies or awnings and Servus-Fone call-boxes. Continue reading “What-a-Burger, Mooresville NC”
Hours and Hours in Hapeville
Marie’s mother was coming to visit. One of her friends on Saint Simons Island was coming to Atlanta to address the Rotarians or the Rosicrucians or the Romulans or somebody at an airport hotel, and she caught a ride. I volunteered to go pick her up, since, downtown, I’m closer to the airport than Marie is. Plus, there was a restaurant in Hapeville that I had been wanting to try. Continue reading “Hours and Hours in Hapeville”
Williamson Bros. Bar-B-Q, Marietta GA
After several years hoping that time had improved the quality of the barbecue at Williamson Brothers, we made a cautious trip to the gigantic barn of their flagship store. I won’t rehash old complaints, rather, I’d prefer to learn from them and stay away from certain things on the menu that I don’t enjoy. Full disclosure: in the mid-1990s, my parents found themselves enjoying this place, and befriended the owners, and so I have been many, many times on their dime. I briefly developed a taste for it, and it took a while, and a much broader experience of barbecue, to lose it. Continue reading “Williamson Bros. Bar-B-Q, Marietta GA”
Skins Hot Dogs, Anderson SC
Last week, I mentioned that the South Carolina Upstate has a pair of quasi-chains local to the area, the various diners or drive-ins called Clock or Pete’s. A truer comparison point with Macon’s Nu-Way or Fincher’s, however, would certainly be Skins Hot Dogs. This is a chain in the proper sense of the word. All twelve of the stores, located in a triangle from Seneca to Greenville and stretching south to Greenwood, are owned under the same corporate umbrella, using the same chili and slaw recipes that the original proprietor, a man with the frankly awesome name of Skin Thrasher, developed in the 1940s. Continue reading “Skins Hot Dogs, Anderson SC”
Como’s Pete’s No. 4, Greenville SC
Quite a few of us in this hobby have a love for old, vintage restaurants, and, as you saw in yesterday’s chapter, and will see again next week, the South Carolina Upstate is really packed with businesses from the 1940s and 1950s that are still vibrant and fun. Continue reading “Como’s Pete’s No. 4, Greenville SC”
Marie, Let's Eat! 