Restaurant Yea's and Neh's
So I just wondered what experiences people had to eat in towns along the trail. Recommend any restaurants or warn us about any to pass? Would be appreciated
After a couple of weeks on the trail, Hiker Hunger kicks in. And just about anything edible becomes THE MOST AWESOME THING I EVER ATE! Many of us find that whenever we revisit these places under normal circumstances that they aren't nearly as good.
The New Ming Garden Buffet and Grill in Waynesboro, VA.....hands down the best.
Second place goes to Dot's in Damascus, VA for greasy burgers, cold beer, and whiny country music on the jukebox.
Last edited by Spokes; 02-27-2012 at 22:38.
"Fish Camp Woman.... Baby, I like the way you smell"
- Unknown Hinson
Vermont has some great stops for that hiker hunger:
Up for Breakfast in Manchester Center, VT
Whistle Stop in Clarendon, VT
Inn at the Long Trail at Sherburne Pass, VT
Village Store (grill) in West Hartford, VT
Order your copy of the Appalachian Trail Passport at www.ATPassport.com
Green Mountain House Hostel
Manchester Center, VT
http://www.greenmountainhouse.net
Beside Mings (the best Chinese restaurant anywhere!), I recommend the Home Place in Catawba, VA. In GA, if you can get a ride into Blairsville from Neel Gap, the Cookie Jar has a good buffet. There's also a nice buffet in Hiawassee.
Places to avoid: most any Chinese restaurant that is not Mings. Most Mexican restaurants are aweful except for the one across from the Sapphire Inn in Franklin, TN and the one across from the Howard Johnsons in Daleville.
Gotta second the Whistle Stop in VT. After dinner they let me camp behind the place for the night, so the next morning I went in for breakfast as well. (I had "The Works").
"Katahdin barada nikto."
My favorite places to eat at or near the trail, so far (GA - NJ) would be:Originally Posted by dserum06
So I just wondered what experiences people had to eat in towns along the trail. Recommend any restaurants or warn us about any to pass? Would be appreciated
The Dillard House, Dillard, GA (Favorite! - Not especially easy to walk or hitch to from the trail, but well worth the stop if in the area and you have transportation; we stopped there after several section hikes. The Dillard House is about 6 miles from the A.T. at its closest point.)
Smoky Mountain Diner, Hot Springs, NC (the skillet breakfast was great)
Fatty's, Damascus, VA (sadly no longer in business)
The Home Place, Catawba, VA
If you drop into Gatlinburg, the Smoky Mountian Brewery is expensive, but very good with outstanding beer.
Worst Chinnese buffet of the trail : Pearisburg. Don't bother.
The one here in Gorham, NH is pretty good. I eat there fairly often.
I'll have to try Mings in Waynsbrough on this years trip through VA, though that might be where I'm getting off.
I wasn't impressed with Dots. I like the Dairy bar down the street on the corner better.
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Smoky Mtn. Diner
elms diner
3c's diner
lou's diner
stratton diner
a few good ones.
Probably the best food I ate was a lamb-based shepherds pie from The Norwich Inn in Norwich, VT, just across the Connecticut River from Hanover. They brew their own beer and Jasper's Alehouse was a great place to watch a game of soccer on a lovely Fall afternoon. The pie was so good that I came back and at the same thing for dinner! Unfortunately, it appears that they no longer serve the pie, but they do have a few other interesting-looking lamb dishes.
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Lou's Diner in Hanover had some fantastic French Toast, with real maple syrup (required).
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The Home Place is a must-visit, although sad to say, I never had the opportunity to partake (one of the drawbacks of section hiking).
GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014
Unsurprisingly, a really good restaurant with really big portions isn't going to sneak up on anyone on the Trail; you hear about them a long time ahead, hundreds of miles sometimes (like Ming's and the Homeplace ... I heard about them in Georgia). But for the record, ones that stand out off the top of my head:
Smoke Rings BBQ in Hiawassee, GA
Ramunto's Pizza in Hanover (free slice if you're a thru-hiker, but you'll want more)
The Homeplace in Catawba, VA
White Wolf Inn in Stratton, ME
Smoky Mtn Diner in Hot Springs
"Hahk your own hahk." - Ron Haven
"The world is a book, of which those who do not travel read only a page." - St. Augustine
http://www.scrubhiker.com/
Also I've got to disagree with the vote for the Chinese place in Gorham, NH. Those dishes were all super-bland MSG bombs. The BBQ restaurant in Gorham was also terrible. But those are just my opinions.
"Hahk your own hahk." - Ron Haven
"The world is a book, of which those who do not travel read only a page." - St. Augustine
http://www.scrubhiker.com/
I'll second Lou's in Hanover,NH; Home Place in Catawba, VA; and I liked Cowboys in Damascus, VA for breakfast. We also hit a pretty good AYCE Chinese place in Hiawassee, GA that looks like it is now either a steakhouse or a BBQ place.
Home place is awesome place across from outfitters in hotsprings Chinese in Hanover YUM and lots of places UN new England spendy tho. I got say the Colorado trail has a lot of great food
Isn't there. Place in Jersey that's so unfriendly to hikers that some of the guidebooks stopped listing it? If I recall it had some sort of "keep your backpacks outside" sign hanging out front when I passed by...
The good news is that the rest of NY/Nj seems to have a sandwich place every couple of road crossings, there's a reason they call it the deli belt.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
The Home Place
Jacob's Pub in Dalton, MA has great Reubens
Mings has an unbelievable buffet on weekends
I thought that the Doyle in Duncannon had good food
Port Clinton Hotel, but hikers can't eat in the restaurant.
Avoid Gyp's Tavern in Culvers Gap, NJ - We ordered our food and beers and were all set to watch World Cup when the waitress told us to sit in the back room where there was no TV because we stunk
More walking, less talking.
I like it best when ur surprised by a place u didn't know was there can't remember where in NJ but we crossed a rd and there sat a hotdog stand yummy delightful in a gross what is in this hotdog kind of way
I stopped at that Deli last year, got a wonderful sandwich so big I had the second half for dinner. He has a bench on the side of the building, marked "For your gear and your rear". There is no place to sit inside so I thought it was very thoughtful to have a bench just for hikers.
+1 Best. Buffet. Ever.
Second the Inn at the Long Trail and Whistlestop in VT and the Port Clinton Hotel in PA.
Yup - Breckenridge, Leadville, Salida, Silverton, and Durango all had wonderful restaurants. Carvers Pub in Durango offers a free Colorado Trail Ale to all completed thruhikers.
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