Diner restaurants in The South
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A
Angeli on Decatur
Great philosophers have long debated one of the most pressing of human questions: what makes a late-night place great? We humbly submit: the food tastes as good sober as when you’re trashed at 3am. Enter Angeli: decked out with hipster art and patrons, the food here is wonderful no matter your state of mind/inebriation/whatever. It serves burger, pasta and pizza fare, but it’s top-of-the-line stuff, especially if you need to layer your tummy after a long night out. Early music sets by solid live acts are a good way to launch your evening, but bring cash – credit cards are not accepted. Good range of vegetarian dishes.
reviewed
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Lynn's Paradise Cafe
It's breakfast anytime at this psychedelic diner, marked by the 10ft-tall teapot outside. Don't miss the homemade biscuits with sorghum butter, or the Hot Brown sandwich, a Louisville classic invented in the 1920s at the Brown Hotel.
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B
Slim Goodie’s Diner
This hip retro diner, all overlaid with some punk-rock sensibility, was among the first restaurants to reopen after Hurricane Katrina, so it deserves a hell of a lot of credit just for that substantial accomplishment. Burgers, shakes, all-American breakfasts and other short-order standards round out the menu; it’s good, if not exactly awe-inspiring stuff. Vegetarians are well treated here, thanks to the presence of items such as latkes and black-bean nachos on the menu.
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C
Clover Grill
Gay greasy spoon? Yup. It's all slightly surreal, given this place otherwise totally resembles a '50s diner, but nothing adds to the Americana like a prima-donna-style argument between an out-of-makeup drag queen and a drunk club kid, all likely set to blaring disco music.
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D
Camellia Grill
The other great thing about this spot, besides its excellent diner burger-chili-Reuben fare, is it’s the sort of place where the black staff look like 50 Cent, the white staff look like the Ramones and they all call each other – and you – ‘baby.’ All the time. Plus, they dress in tux shirts and black bow ties, as if this place couldn’t be any wonderfully weirder.
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E
Elliston Place Soda Shop
This venerable eatery has served fountain Cokes and meat-and-threes to Vandy students since the 1930s, and the decor hasn't changed much since.
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F
Alibi
Alibi is more bar than restaurant, but we’re including it here because it’s one of the better 24-hour joints in the Quarter (popular wisdom holds that local strippers head here after their shifts). The grub (definitely ‘grub’) is decidedly greasy, unhealthy and perfect after a long night of doing whatever it was you were doing on Bourbon St a few minutes ago – yes you, bleary eyes. Alibi does burgers and po’boys and fried stuff, largely, although salads are on the menu and, rumor has it, occasionally emerge from the kitchen.
reviewed
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G
Schiro’s Café/Little Julie’s India Kitchen
Yes, you read it right: diner and Indian. One menu at Schiro’s is typical New Orleanian greasy spoon, offering po’boys, blackened catfish, hushpuppies and gumbo; the other serves saag paneer (spinach curry with un-aged cheese), tikka masala and vindaloo. Oh, and the other part of the business? A launderette. Schizophrenic Schiro’s is set in a lovely grand dame of a Marigny mansion, perfect for a cheap meal and repose under the eaves. This is a good choice for vegetarians.
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H
Huevos
huevos ‘Huevos’ is Spanish for eggs. Don’t you love a restaurant that knows what it’s good at? Really. It’s eggs and eggs only, thrown into one of the most incredible enormous breakfast sandwiches in the city, poached on hash with sausage and bacon and ranchero-ed out with black beans. Try the chicory coffee, or as we like to think of it, rocket fuel.
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I
Blue Plate Café
Cheap and cheerful and colorful, too, the Blue Plate does some solid servings of breakfast and lunch stuff that’s firmly of the Louisiana diner genre. The three-egg omelets are a satisfying treat. It gets packed on Saturday mornings, and justifiably so – this is one of the city’s better cheap breakfast options.
reviewed
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J
Liuzza’s by the Track
The quintessential Mid-City neighborhood joint does some of the best gumbo in town, a barbecue shrimp po’boy to die for and legendary deep-fried garlic oysters. Always start your visit with a beer and an inspection of the daily specials (red beans and rice, pork chops and the like), which are always up to scratch.
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K
Café Reconcile
Café Reconcile fights the good fight. By recruiting at-risk youth to work as kitchen and floor staff, the restaurant is training a generation of New Orleanians to realize their best potential. The food is humble New Orleans fare: red beans and rice, fried chicken and shrimp Creole, all cooked exceedingly well.
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Pig Stand
It doesn’t get much more Southern than a place named the Pig Stand. This one-time hole-in-the-wall has received a spiffy makeover, but thankfully they haven’t changed the amazing pulled-pork sandwiches. You’ll want to take some of the mustard-based barbecue sauce home.
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L
Joey K’s
Just great Southern diner fare: we’ll personally vouch that the cheese fries should be patented, while specialties like fried pork chops and white beans and turkey with stuffing, yams and green beans is as satisfying a meal as you’ll find for under $20 in the Lower Garden.
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Homer's
It's a schlep out by the airport in the industrial district, but businessmen smoking stogies rubbing elbows with hunters in overalls and Air Force officers on break and high-ranking politicos hatching plans make a visit to this country-cooking classic worth it for local theater alone.
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Grill
Downtown diner that's an Athens institution for curing late-night, drunken munches. It's all about the fries dipped in feta cheese.
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M
Arcade
Elvis used to eat at this ultra-retro diner, Memphis' oldest. Crowds still pack in for sweet-potato pancakes and cheeseburgers.
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