smith street diner

consistent comfort food. we visit greensboro a few times a year, and always eat at smith street diner. we wandered in one day when our sons were in middle school, and after we ate they aptly named it "the giant biscuit place." our latest visit was for dinner. we had a chicken breast biscuit, and afriedfish sandwich. the chicken biscuit was so big my husband had to eat it open-faced with a knife and fork. he got some jelly and finished the biscuit as dessert. my fish sandwich was a "special", and was served on a fresh bun with slaw and a slice of red onion. we shared a dish of mac and cheese for a side. all of it was delicious. there's nothing fancy about this place, but the food is really good in a homey diner atmosphere.

great food, breakfast or lunch. there are times when i am guilty of not appreciating the greensboro restaurant environment, or at the very least, not giving the proper respect to the gems of that scene - gems like this busy, funky little diner with pictures of lexington barbecue pigs on the walls, which serves (with pleasant efficiency) excellent comfort food morning, noon, and night, and does so at most reasonable prices. shame on me!

i love big biscuits as much as anyone, and breakfast has always been a recognized and appreciated staple of this place, but their sandwiches (hot or cold), salads, burgers, soups & chili, and their daily plate specials are also excellent - and especially with the mon - fri specials, the portion size makes the value here undeniable to even the most casual observer.

thefriedchicken special on thursdays ($8.50) is half a chicken, 4 pieces (guess nobody counts the neck or back as pieces) with 2 sides and bread. the chicken is well crusted, seems more panfriedthan deep fat fried, seasoned a little differently than most in the area, and there is plenty of it..

the chickenfriedsteak is awesome - tender, with a nice, outside crust, and great tasting milk gravy. i've had better only a very few times, and those were intexas.

our choice of sides (fried okra & collards) were super, and also very plentiful - largest serving offriedokra i've encountered not in my momma's house. the cornbread is nice, moist, slightly on the sweet side. the mashed potatoes and the pintos were ok, but not quite in the same league as the okra and collards. the dinner roll was also excellent, not you typical roll, loaded with flavor.

love the service approach - you have a "primary" server, but everybody who walks by seems to check on your status and your needs - got refills from 2 servers other than the one who took our order - so cool, and so appreciated. hard not to find something you would like here. can't wait to come back - their version of huevos rancheros up next.


-----23 jul, 2011-----

great breakfast spot, and more. this little place, which is actually located on battleground avenue, has a local reputation as a breakfast hot spot (and it is), but it also serves up some nice lunch choices as well - all the while staying a little under the radar - maybe location? biscuitville type hours?

as many know, this place serves huge biscuits - largest i've seen that weren't on a billboard - but not just big, flaky, soft, and tasty. egg plates, omelets, pancakes, pork tenderloin or country ham biscuit at about $3, and 2 biscuits and gravy at $3.95 9s a full meal. tried the smoked salmon, not my favorite. home fries are excellent.

lunch items include the usual selection of salads, sandwiches with a nice burger. plates vary daily, but usually include cs steak (nice), spigahetti, meatloaf,friedflounder, and chicken pot pie - all good choices. the have pork barbecue from time to time, but i'd pass - if they don't cook the barbecue there, don't eat it there. daily lunch plates run about $6 - with sandwiches about the same, a little pricey.

they serve breakfast all day on sat & sun, and they close at 2:30 daily. it can get quite busy at peak breakfast times on week ends, with lines, and service can get a little slow. best to come early, and come hungery. parking is basically on the street, and can get a little sporty.

as far as diners go, i'd say smith street diner is good. expect large portions, notably their biscuits, though i would suggest trying their cornbread, which i thought was good. thefriedchicken and corned beef hash i had were both fine but won't be drawing me back for more. i honestly don't understand the hype around smith street diner, but contrary to that, i think if you *do* enjoy diners you will be perfectly happy with the food and atmosphere. pretty much the quintessential greasy spoon. if you haven't been and love diners, give it a shot, but i personally wouldn't suggest standing in line for a seat.

extremely rude behavior marked our visit. four of us excitedly showed up at smith street diner today for lunch around 1:00. we meet every thursday and smith street hasfriedchicken on thursday. we asked for a table for four and they told us that we would have to wait outside. none of us are large people, one friend is not even 5 feet tall. one member of our group is in her 70's and the heat index today was right at 100. they were full but had a few extra seats and three at the bar. she told me we had to wait outside because of the capacity rules. i mentioned that there were three chairs at the bar and she said we could only sit there if we were going to eat there because that was reserved for paying customers. my friend is on heart medication and i was not making her stand in the heat to eat at any restaurant. i quickly counted the tables and chairs and in addition to the three bar stools they also had 6 empty chairs at tables which were not at capacity. i have to say, theirfriedchicken is usually good but today it just did not taste that good. i for one will not be going back. rude behavior is uncalled for and asking a 70+ year old woman to stand outside in the heat to wait for a table is absurd. bye smith street diner. by the way, i am very familiar with the fire marshall's rules. my husband works for them.

favs!. i love love love this place. everything is delicious. all other gravy should want to grow up to be smith street gravy. the hashbrowns with the onions are always spot on. the potato pancakes are awesome.friedchicken thursday is the best day of the week. and it's awesome that they serve it with lemon. and the coffee is banging. a diner must.