Backroad Buffets & Country Cafes: A Southern Guide to Meat-And-Threes & Down-Home Dining (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Once they dotted the landscape like McDonald's and Burger King. Every town big enough to have a stop sign (and some that didn't) boasted of one or more meat-and-three restaurants that featured country food and plenty of it. When the lunch whistle blew, everyone from lawyers and laborers to tourists and truck drivers stopped what they were doing and headed to the local establishment. These days, these country cafes and backroad buffets are as endangered as old barns, the victims of fast-food restaurants and frantic work schedules.

But thanks to this new guidebook covering the states of the Deep South, you can now find your way to over 200 of these gems. To add even more flavor, well-known Southerners such as John Berendt, Roy Blount, James Lee Burke, Jan Karon, Larry Brown, Willie Morris, and Lee Smith describe some of their favorite backroad eateries.

About the Author

Don O'Briant has been a journalist with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for 25 years. He has also written Looking for Tara, Atlanta, and several books using the persona of good ole boy Sonny Bubba.

Product Details

• Paperback: 263 pages
• Publisher: John F. Blair Publisher (August 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895872218
• ISBN-13: 978-0895872210
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,095,563 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A funny, useful and sometimes surprising gastronomic tour., November 11, 1998

By	Lucinda Long ([e-mail]) (Essex County, New Jersey) - See all my reviews

As is typical of his work, Don O'Briant has filled his latest book with humor, insight, creativity and accurate information. He's a well-known Atlanta journalist and has a reporter's discerning eye. But he's also a philosopher and a warm and sympathetic observer of the human condition. Gratefully, his restaurant reviews aren't like other people's. You feel like you're really there and can experience for yourself the people, smells and sights he describes. The inclusion of comments by notable Southernors is an original and effective device. You can tell that he is a down-to-earth (but incredibly observant) person who genuinely likes the places he went and the people he met. And, best of all, he's a great judge of food. Zagat, take notice! I recommend the book highly.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a delight!, August 30, 2001

By	lynwood w barker (emerald isle, north carolina United States) - See all my reviews

I have used this book extensively in my travels throughout the South. In fact, I have planned some of my trips so that I can sample the delicious food found at the country cafes recommended by the author. My only complaint would be that the author has not come forth with a second book; I have some nominees for him!