Tag: diner

The American Breakfast

M's Adventures

As my time in Washington draws to an end, I’m reflecting on the things I’ve enjoyed about living in the United States. One of the awesome things about life in America is the American breakfast and brunch. If I was to describe America and what makes it uniquely American, I would say that it’s the breakfast. Take for example the classic American diner. A place where you can get breakfast all day, and night, long. What makes breakfast for an American? Eggs. Bacon. Sausage. Biscuits…

Where have I had the best breakfasts in the Washington, DC, area? Hard to say. Here are a few places.

Bob and Edith’s Diner: Classic old school. Maybe not great food but it’s a greasy a spoon as one can find.

Table Talk: Same thing.

Matt and Tony’s: It’s fancier but I liked that I could order a giant breaded chicken breast as a side.

Classic with pancakes, eggs, and bacon.

Sidamo: An Ethiopian coffee shop. Their breakfast sandwich tastes homemade and they decorate the plate with a side of honey covered banana.

Good Company Doughnuts: Really good for meeting up with good company. Their espresso creme doughnut is so good that one French lady I spoke with told me that it was her second day in a row eating there.

Look at the espresso creme!

Another country that has a famous breakfast is Turkiye. More on that later.

Old School Eatery in Alexandria

M's Adventures
There are two dining areas and a bar.

As I mentioned earlier, I went to Table Talk diner. Inside it sure has the feel of an old school diner.

I imagine that they have a waitress named Flo… with big hair…

Gloria taking orders for pancakes.

As I was saying, it’s retro inside. One can meets locals. I did. One can chat with passers through. I did not. One can eat there everyday. I met a local who does.

If you find yourself back in the area, and need to get a crab cake, then drop by Table Talk. They got them under “must try.” They even have meatloaf and liver and onions. I may have to go back to try those. Meanwhile, their ham was good!

Virginia ham, bacon, and sausage.

The place needs to be saved. I hope they stay open for years to come.

They have a private parking lot.

Where to Eat When Everyone Else Is Asleep – 24/7 Restaurants in the DMV

M's Adventures

Washington, DC is a city that goes to bed early. Most restaurants are open all day and many serve dinner as early as 4 pm. There are even restaurants that close at 9 pm! But if you get here in the middle of the night and need to eat, here are a few places open all day, all night, every day of the year, 24/7. Most of these places are not on the Metro line, but then again, the Metro does not run all night.

Tortas y Tacos Chiquita, 2911 Columbia Pike, Arlington, Virginia. It is a Mexican place located about a mile from the Pentagon.

Mexican place on Columbia Pike.

Kabob Palace, 2315 S. Eads Street, Arlington, VA. This is a well known kabob place near National Airport.

Yechon, 4121 Hummer Road, Annandale, VA. This Korean barbecue restaurant is large and humming at 3 am.

Tosokchon, 7031 Little River Turnpike #21D, Annandale, VA. A Korean restaurant hidden in the strip mall behind Shilla Bakery.

Steak ‘n Egg (24 hour on Saturday only), 4700 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC. Located way above Georgetown, this all day breakfast place is famous. After a renovation, they now have a bit more seating.

Bob and Edith’s is a diner that has various locations.

Ihop is a fast food pancake restaurant. All day breakfast and pancakes piled like cake available all day.

McDonalds. Some are open all day but in the DC area, this tends to be the ones out on the highways.

Denny’s is a breakfast chain that also serves food throughout the day.

Subway is a sandwich chain. Most do not have too much seating.

And a few others on this list from Eater that include Gom Tang E out in Centreville.

The Dixie Diner

M's Adventures
Sweet tea is a Southern thing.

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 counter.

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.

The Dixie Diner.

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.

Typical diner chairs.

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.

Typical chairs but clearly new.

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.

Biscuit, sausage, home fries, gravy with sausage, bacon, corned beef hash, and eggs.

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.

Grits are made from treated maize.

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.

Corned beef hash made from corned beef.

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.

Famous local guy.

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.

The other dining room.