Honey Butter's Kitchen

Style: American Diner (leaning towards Southern)
My Rating: 4.5/ 5 stars

Website: http://www.honeybutterskitchen.com/

Likes: Large portion sizes and cheaper prices (you get more than what you pay for), retro music (everything from the Beatles to Patsy Cline), cute country décor, easily accessible, great food; everything is basically what you would expect from a fabulous diner

Dislikes: Really odd hours (check the website for times), omelettes aren't fantastic

When I walk into Honey Butter’s restaurant, the theme song from the 80’s sitcom Cheers immediately comes to my head. Even though no one in there actually knows my name, certain waitresses have clearly known others. It is not unusual for waitresses to stop by certain tables that they are not responsible for, and say hi to “Joe” or “Peter.” Last time I was here, the waitresses put a few tables together around 7:30 am for a group of about eight people. Ten minutes later, a regular group of elderly men walk in and the waitresses exclaim, “We’re glad you made it.” Some of the men even receive hugs.

Sitting down, I do not actually hear Where Everyone Knows Your Name, but the Under the Boardwalk song instead. We are there for breakfast and are given the breakfast / lunch menus. One time we were given dinner menus, picked out what we wanted, and then were told we had to have a different choice because they gave us the wrong menu. It was 4:45 pm and dinner was not served until 5:00 pm. That was annoying at the time, but since then we have learned to plan ahead.

The menu is a cross between traditional diner food and southern fare. They have pancakes and eggs, but also greens and fried chicken livers. One of the dishes we have tried and is not pictured on this post is their corned beef. They season it in house and it is soft... melts in your mouth soft. I do not order it all of the time because it is a huge portion, but it is fabulous.      Plus you get to pick sides with it!

When we go for breakfast, my husband almost always gets the same thing: corned beef hash, scrambled eggs, and rye toast. In my opinion, the rye toast is the best part of his choice. It is thick, and has been toasted on the grill. It has also already been buttered, so it's nice and melted when it gets to your table.

I love their pancakes. They are thick and flavorful. They are the type that when you pour syrup over the entire piece, that by the time you get to the second half, it has already been absorbed. Time to pour more! They are also huge, so you can order them a la carte, or however many you think you might be able to eat.

One menu item that is not my favorite is their omlettes. I ordered a three cheese one once, and it had parmesean cheese was not melted in the middle. Another time I ordered the  Salute to Pork omelette, with ham, bacon, and sausage. Although it was tasty, it was frustrating to eat because they did not put enough cheese on it to hold it together. All those little pieces scattered the second I cut into it, and I had to poke diced meat with my fork or use my toast to scoop it onto the fork. 

For lunch, one time I had the patty melt. I ordered it cooked to medium and it came medium! So often they come over done. The juices from the burger soaked into my beloved rye toast and it tasted delectable. The potatoes that I chose as my side should also be noted. These are their garlic hash brown potatoes. They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Each piece is a perfect size, and the garlic taste is phenomenal. Perhaps not the best first date food, but I would take someone here just for the rye toast and the garlic potatoes.

Honey Butter's also has excellent fried catfish. We ordered a lunch portion once, and it could have served as a dinner portion. My husband ordered it with hush puppies that were thickly crusted and soft on the inside. We also had onion rings that were fresh and crunchy with a soft inside. In general, they do deep fried food very well.

If you have a love of diner food with southern favorites, you need to go here. Period. End of story. Go. Now.