I had heard about this local diner in Hendersonville, North Carolina, the Dixie Diner. I wanted to go for breakfast. They are open every day except Christmas day. I heard it from the waitress so it must be true, despite what Google maps tells me. I heard that it was the kind of place where people go regularly. A true diner.
The Dixie Diner is in the South and the word, ‘dixie’ is associated with the American South. To read some theories about this, click on this link. Driving to North Carolina, I saw at least three gigantic confederate flags. In many cities, the confederate names and monuments have been changed or removed.
When we entered the diner, there was no confederate flag, but there were American flags. There were other signs of the South but the decor was not too pimped out for tourists. There was one table of regular customers sitting there and they quickly got up and left when we entered. I think they could see that we would be rowdy out-of-towners.
The diner had a change in ownership in 2022 as the previous owner/long time waitress was murdered. We did not know about the dramatic history of this diner when we went there.
We were greeted warmly by a waitress holding a pot of hot but weak coffee (American coffee is notoriously weak). The bowl in the middle of the table was brimming with small containers of jam, jelly, butter, and coffee creamer. We asked for milk. The other waitress skulked around pulling her face up whenever I smiled at her. Maybe she is shy.
As we were in the South, we tried all the Southern specialties such as grits, corned beef hash, and biscuits. When I asked about the corned beef hash, I was told that the cook was very proud of his hash and that he had been up since 4 am making that. I asked about the home fried potatoes and asked if they were deep fried (which is what most city diners do these days) and was reassured that the cook was also proud of his potatoes and only fries them on the flat top. Phew.
The diner is quite large and apparently they also have a buffet. We ordered a la carte. We had a complicated order so it was good that there were no other customers. The food came out and it was typical diner food. Nothing grand and not piping hot but fine.
By the time we were on coffee refills, other customers came in. As we took photos, one of the customers told us that we should meet the guy who’s photo was on the wall.
When we left, we were no longer hungry. It was an interesting experience eating at a local diner even if the prices were big city prices, with an omelet costing $9.95 and a short stack of pancakes costing $6.95. The breakfast platters were between $7-15 while a side of bacon cost $3.95.
