Going to the Mt. Airy area this weekend and I'm looking for good recommendations for places to eat, both causal and a little nicer anywhere in the Mt. Airy / Pilot Mtn / Surry County area

Thanks T-dub!

10/24/2007 11:33:59 AM

just ask Andy Griffin OMG THAT'S FUNNY

10/24/2007 11:42:35 AM

Andy Griffith actually lives in Mount Pilot. It's very similar to Pilot Mountain but it looks exactly like southern California.

10/24/2007 11:44:19 AM

I thought he lived in Manteo?

Anyway, as an Andy Griffith fan, I'm definitely going to the Snappy Lunch, but other than that, I'm actually trying to avoid the touristy places. We're more looking for off the path places that have a good reputation with people from the area.

10/24/2007 12:16:25 PM

You have to go to Snappy's Diner and get a pork chop sandwich.

^beat me to it

[Edited on October 24, 2007 at 12:18 PM. Reason : .]

10/24/2007 12:17:39 PM

those people are crazy.

i went for mayberry days because my girlfriend somehow became the "north carolina pork princess" and had to be in a parade.


they actually think they are in mayberry.

and the talking rock is cheesy

10/24/2007 12:27:06 PM

they can't be any worse than the crowd at Mule Days

10/24/2007 12:41:37 PM

Quote :

"north carolina pork princess"

Did she win first prize in and eating contest or something?

10/24/2007 1:12:38 PM

^

she won first place in a "pork pulling" contest..

10/24/2007 1:13:35 PM

I lived there for 5 years through high school. There really isn't too much to do other than hike around Pilot Mountain. Downtown Mt Airy (if you can call it that) was always kind of quaint, there used to be a really good military surplus store there that had quality stuff really cheap. I haven't been back over 5 years so I'm sure some things have changed since then.

As far as places to eat, there used to be a place next door to the Holiday Inn in Pilot Mountain right after you got off of Hwy 52. Mountain View Restaurant or something like that. They actually had really good food...oddly enough a couple Greek dishes that were fairly tasty.

10/24/2007 1:22:00 PM

Quote :

"because my girlfriend somehow became the "north carolina pork princess""

awesome

10/24/2007 1:24:35 PM

there's a bojo's buffet around that area. [/thread]

10/24/2007 1:25:41 PM

^^^ Thats the kind of thing I'm looking for

Speaking of the NC Pork Princess, I once dated the roommate of Miss Johnson County Community College. Her claim to fame? She used to sing with Clay Aiken when he did the country shows they've got there in the Summer.

10/24/2007 1:44:12 PM

i'm from pilot mtn.

the mountain view restaraunt isn't anything special

there will be a line at snappy lunch 100 miles long

a chili's and ruby tuesday recently opened in mt. airy, that's about as good as it gets

10/24/2007 1:47:24 PM

shut up fag

10/24/2007 1:48:30 PM

snappy lunch, you gotta get a porkchop sandwich.

there's a thai place that's near the lowes food that's reaaaaally good, i can't remember the name of it.

10/24/2007 1:53:04 PM

There's a new pizza hut and movie theater since I left. I think the old theater, that didn't have staggered seating, got turned into a religious complex. Then there's the drive in theater which is fun to do atleast once. There’s a sonic near the drive in if you wanted to have a drive in themed night. There wasn't much variety or quality there food-wise growing up. Just getting a Sagebrush (or was it outback?) or a new Chinese place in town was a huge deal… and apparently they have a cook out now too.

I don't know much about fancy food there... I think I took my prom date to Michael’s restaurant which I think she enjoyed which is a slight upgrade from where one of my friends took his date – bojangles. It’s near Mt Airy high school, and directly across from Jack Goads car lot (yes we're related... my dad also had a car lot in town before retirement). But I don't really remember any road names around there. There’s one place with great hotdogs & fries but I can’t remember what its called or where its located.

There was something like copulas (sp) Italian restaurant that was decent but not great. There's also Olympus Family restraunt near riverside park if you're into a walk in the park by the river and dinner. They'd close it down around x-mas and my family would gather there... mostly my dads side of the family.

I can't think of anywhere specific that’s good, but all this reminiscing about places I’ve eaten makes me think I spent too much time at Wal-Mart and waffle house when it was late. When I got out of Mt Airy and went to a “real city” like Raleigh, I never looked back. I can’t have gone back more than 15 to 25 times since I left 5 years ago. Some for holidays, and deaths in the family.

There are some decent people there, and decent places to visit once if you’re into Andy Griffith, small town charm, a stop off on the way to the mountains, closed textile mills, but otherwise it kinda sucks. I have a love/hate relationship with it. It has a special place in my heart due to certain memories and friendships, but its not that fun a place to be if you like variety, want a job, want any sort of entertainment, or want to meet new people.

If you see any Goads, Wilmoths, Russels, Brintles, Lowes, Baugus, Hawks, Dobys, Pleasants, Franklins, Gentrys, Mcgraws, Barnetts, or Janes there... I'm probably related although mostly only to the first 7 there.

10/24/2007 8:23:52 PM

Quote :

"think I took my prom date to Michael’s restaurant"

Yep, did the same thing my junior year. It was one of the few "upscale" places in the area. That said, it's about as upscale as Darryl's used to be on Hillsborough St.

Like I said I haven't been back there but maybe 2 times in almost 10 years so I am totally out of the loop on what's good. The only reason I mentioned Mountain View is because it was one of the few places I could even remember that was tolerable and wasn't a chain restaurant or fast food.

10/25/2007 11:16:29 AM

Appreciate the advice, I'm not expecting anywhere great, I'm just looking to see whats there other than the obvious. Ruby Tuesday's was never an option.

I grew up in the Cary / Apex area but I remember when it was small. These days there is nothing left to have a love/hate relationship with, I mostly just hate all the suburbs / traffic.

10/25/2007 3:50:34 PM

So how was the trip?

10/28/2007 8:54:25 PM

Not bad, blew through more money than I intended, but had a great trip.

Friday night we went to the Depot at Cody Creek. Saturday morning we did the generic touristy "Mayberry" stuff; got my hair cut at Floyd's City Barbershop, (Mr. Hiatt comped me when he found out I was in the Army) did the squad car tours, (our guide was a Korean War vet who served in a similar unit to mine, so we talked about that) and hit the Snappy Lunch after only a 5 minute wait in line. Saturday afternoon we hit up Old North State Winery and Shelton Vineyards and then went to the Wolf's Lair for supper.

This morning we hit up Golden Corral for Breakfast , hit the Blue Ridge parkway for a while and then, after a potentially disastrous tree-climbing expedition, went to the Rag Apple Lassie and Stony Knoll vineyards.

Overall, my two favorite vineyards / wineries were Rag Apple Lassie and Stony Knoll. We got the most hands on and informative tour at Stony Knoll, but RAL just nudged them out as far as my favorite wines.

Here is a picture of me getting my hair cut. As stupid as this sounds, I was probably more excited about getting my hair cut by this man than I was about meeting anyone else I've met before and I've met everything from congressmen to 4 star generals to the President. Ok, I only took the president's picture from 4 feet away, but still. I have to say, Mr. Hiatt a pretty amazing man for his age.



Anyway, I appreciate all the advice, this was definitely one of the best weekends I / we've had in a long time. [/blog]

[Edited on October 28, 2007 at 11:05 PM. Reason : .]

10/28/2007 10:54:11 PM

Daaaaaaaaaaaaang I want to hit up Rag Apple Lassie sometime

10/28/2007 11:26:59 PM

If you want to go to Rag Apple, go in a few weeks. They only had 5 of their wines when we went, so they should have more in a few weeks.

I think my favorites were Shelton and Stony Knoll.

The Blue Ridge was amazing though, I'd never seen it at this time of year.

Quote :

"this was definitely one of the best weekends I / we've had in a long time."

10/29/2007 8:37:24 AM

Another piece of wine advice; universally the vineyards said that 2007 was an excellent year for grapes, so if you've got one you like in particular from the Yadkin Valley area, keep an eye out for the '07s in a couple of years.

10/29/2007 9:03:51 AM

Goobers is tasty

10/29/2007 9:49:36 PM