I decided that after we collected the girlchild, we’d take a long way home. We were in no particular hurry. US-411 runs parallel to I-75 for most of the way home, so we drove a little south to the town of Maryville, one of Knoxville’s suburbs, and stopped at a classic drive-in for a snack. Continue reading “Two Tennessee Drive-Ins”
Tag: drive-ins
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”
Kermit’s Hot Dog House, Winston-Salem NC
Before I left Winston-Salem, I wanted to follow up on a tip that I got to check out a fun old canopied drive-in, the first of three that I would visit on the second day of the trip. Kermit’s Hot Dog House opened more than 48 years ago, in January of ’66. Sadly, the original owner, Kermit Wade Williams, didn’t get the chance to see his restaurant really thrive. He died after only two years of running the place, leaving it in the hands of his brother, Arthur. He took on a partner, Paul D. Church, in the 1970s, and they’ve served breakfast and chili dogs to many thousands of locals and retro-curious tourists. Continue reading “Kermit’s Hot Dog House, Winston-Salem NC”
Bar-B-Q Center, Lexington NC
Here’s another silly reason why this circumnavigation was unlike the three previous ones. On those outings, the best meal of the trip – the life-affirming, revealing, “this is better than I was expecting” visit to a legendary old place – came halfway through the jaunt, roughly at the furthest point from Atlanta. Those were Brick Pit in Mobile, Scott’s BBQ in Hemingway, and Brooks Barbecue in Muscle Shoals. However, the high point this time out came at my fourth stop, Lexington’s Bar-B-Q Center. This was an astonishing little meal. Continue reading “Bar-B-Q Center, Lexington NC”
Sugar -n- Spice Drive-In, Spartanburg SC
Around the beginning of every year, Marie and I take a day trip to the Palmetto State. This was our fourth year doing this, and we decided to stick around the I-85 corridor this time around, and enjoy some good eating before and after a visit to Greenville’s Children’s Museum of the Upstate, about which a little more on Friday. Continue reading “Sugar -n- Spice Drive-In, Spartanburg SC”
Familiar Flavors in Different Locations, Macon GA
Late last month, Marie and I took another short trip to Macon to meet her mother and let Marie drive her the rest of the way into the traffic and sprawl of Atlanta. This gave us another chance to quickly visit a couple of places before those two went home, leaving me the chance to mosey on home at my own darn speed. Continue reading “Familiar Flavors in Different Locations, Macon GA”
Marie, Let's Eat! 