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When you arrive at The Coffee Cup, the first thing you see is a humble building with a modest sign: Good Food. Reasonable Prices. First opened in 1935, this soul food landmark has given us the fatback, biscuits and red-eye gravy that Charlotteans have come to love. Its not chic or high dollar, but it could not be more honest. Filled seats and a petition from Mecklenburg citizens to stop its demolition make me a believer that this place serves as a beloved meeting place where people from all steps in the social strata can gather for a hot and hearty breakfast.
Pork, like The Coffee Cup, is also loved by Charlotte natives, as well as by those who travel through the Tar Heel State in search of killer barbecue. I grew up on both sides of North Carolina and love barbecue of all kinds, but lately I’ve become more interested in the kind of pork that sits next to the eggs than the stuff on the bun. After visiting many of our much-loved breakfast spots I’ve even adopted a new mantra: Pork, it’s what for breakfast!
The classic pairing of sausage (or bacon) and eggs is a simple, yet choreographed combination, like a dance, where the partners must be thoughtfully chosen and the performance decisively executed. The dish that appears before you should not show a great deal of effort, but rather appear as an afterthought, while managing to awaken all the senses, truly making it the most important meal of the day. This is precisely why I am now standing under that classic “Good Food. Reasonable Prices” sign on Clarkson Street.
When approaching the entrance to this historic landmark, the large black door that appears to be the entrance to a private nightclub might take one aback. But behind the door lies a small dining room where you will be welcomed by Ms. Chris with a “Hey y’all, come on in.” There are jovial faces all around, everyone content, conversation flowing, and there’s one thing bringing everyone together: hot, down-home cookin’.
While waiting for breakfast, I watched the one-man show taking place at the flat top. The cook looked over at me and my friend and told us, “I’m gonna take care of ya’ll,” and he did. The menu is simple: choice of one meat--sausage links or patties, liver mush, bacon or country ham, all coming from a local butcher--with your choice of two eggs cooked any way you want, and grits or potatoes. The link sausage is seared, lending an andouille flavor from the flat top. It has the consistency that one would expect only from freshly made country sausage. The grits are plentiful and the biscuits are flaky but soft, like a sponge, perfect for sopping up all the tender bits of sausage.
Country sausage, links, patties, bacon, or fat back and eggs; these are some of the finest pairings since peanut butter and jelly. North Carolina is the home to almost 19% of all pigs raised nationally, but you don’t have to look far to figure that out. Think of your favorite convivial breakfast spot and you can be assured that they wear their pork on their sleeve, and for good reason.
Our local history with swine goes back too far for us to abandon our roots. Chef Tim Groody, for instance, is very picky about the pork he uses in kitchens of the Sonoma Restaurant Group, which includes Sonoma Modern American, Taverna 100, and Town. He says, “For me, it’s about supporting local producers who make sausage and bacon, and getting something that is really fresh and clean. Pork has been a southern staple since most of us can remember and there is no better reason to stand behind it than the quality product I get delivered every week by those folks.”
A restaurant that understands breakfast’s ability to deliver good lovin’ is Eddie’s Place on Sharon Amity Road (as well as the new Eddie’s Place at Ballantyne in the Toringdon Center). Eddie’s Place has been open since 1997 and serves breakfast all day, every day. Come early to beat the crowds. The ample portions here really satisfy those of us who yearn for pork. Eddie tries, as he says, “To keep as local as possible.” Whether ordering the usual bacon or sausage, or a smoked link sausage with a snappy casing that gives way to a juicy center, or a crisp and creamy liver mush with its peppery skin that just melts on your tongue into a dreamy savory pudding, you are sure to find something that you love here. The liver mush comes directly from Neese’s in Guilford County, which has been making and delivering fresh, not frozen, sausage since 1917. To get a substantial taste of what Eddie’s is all about, be sure to get the buttermilk pancakes (I think of them as fluffy clouds in your mouth that beg to be slathered with rich syrup), and the stone-ground grits, which are milled right here in North Carolina.
Another long cherished eatery is Art’s, a family-owned place on Morehead Street known far and wide for over thirty years for its breakfast. After Art retired a few years ago, his son Danny took over and you’re likely to see him along with his wife and son working to uphold the hallowed Art’s legacy. Danny understands the hustle and bustle of the city but maintains, “It’s delightful to be able to pull into a place, sit down, and have a cooked-to-order breakfast.” I think of it as the ever-dwindling kind of restaurant where they know your name.
While dining with a friend, I noticed the eclectic mix of Charlotteans coming through the door. From construction workers to cuff-linked businessmen, it appeared to me that everyone had one thing in common: breakfast sandwiches. At Art’s, “hot from the breakfast grill” means that you can get over ten kinds of pork and egg sandwiches, all served on homemade biscuits. The pork comes locally from Tyson Brothers, which Danny insists has “the best flavor and consistency.”
But why stop there? If you get a sandwich with bacon, be sure to get a side of sausage. Art’s sausage is patty style, with a perfect outer char and a toothsome interior. Its mild heat would go almost unnoticed until it suddenly dances on your tongue. Surrounded by a bustling clientele and simple, warm and satisfying meals I found myself wondering if big deals are discussed at the table, or if the big deal is what’s on the table. Probably, it’s a combination of the two.
Perhaps one of the more in vogue spots for a weekend brunch is LuLu’s. While their pork selection is limited to just bacon and sausage, both are served perfectly. The spicy yet mellow apple wood smoke flavor will leave you deeply satisfied. What would eggs cooked your way be without them, or without LuLu’s dreamy pimento cheese grits?
I thought I might have had just about every kind of pork I could find in the Queen City but, in a long-standing brick building in Historic South End, the Original Pancake House offered me yet one more surprise. While they are known for their buttermilk pancakes, what should not be missed are the bacon pancakes, a creative variation on pigs in a blanket. When my stack of hotcakes arrived, I lathered them up in butter and drenched them in syrup, which is always delivered hot. With each forkful, I got the airy and light texture of the buttermilk pancake plus the meaty and smoky flavor of the bacon, both moving about as if bathing in a sultry trough of buttery maple syrup.
So, the next time you wake up with a breakfast-sausage jones screaming at you for satisfaction, head out to one of the many local breakfast places that share your passion. And look for me; I’ll be the one in the corner with the big smile on my face, sitting in hog heaven, savoring my enormous pile of bacon, pork patties, and liver mush—eggs on the side.
~ Kailie Bennet
LuLu’s (Weekend Brunch)
1911 Central Avenue
704.376.2242
Sunday: 10 am – 3 pm
Eddie’s Place
Breakfast Anytime
Cotswold
617 S. Sharon Amity Road
704.442.0147
Mon.-Thu: 8AM-10:30PM
Fri.-Sat: 8AM-11:30PM
Sunday: 8AM-10:30PM
Art’s Barbecue & Deli
900 East Morehead St
704.334.9424
The Coffee Cup
914 S Clarkson St
704.375.8855
The Original Pancake House
4736 Sharon Road
704.553.8364
Monday – Friday: 6:30 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: 7 a.m. – 9 p.m.
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