This restaurant review is of The Dixie, a cheeseburger joint that has been a Greenwood landmark for 50 years. The Dixie used to be a true drive-in diner, with carhops zooming to your window on roller skates. It was the place to be on Friday and Saturday nights says one patron who grew up here. Now patrons eat at the counter and order from the menu on the wall. Today's meal would be another Cheeseburger special with half onion rings, half fries and drink. Total $7.24, including tax.
Cheeseburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, floats, malts, fries and homemade cherry Cokes oh my. The Dixie remains a throwback to the 1950's. And I will mention a beverage known as "the Pickle Coke" that can be made for you upon request. A pickle Coke contains regular coca-cola, cherry juice and a healthy serving of dill pickles. I had been warned about this drink and was eager to give it a try. When I told the waitress what I wanted, she mumbled something like, "Come again? I haven't had a request for one of those in a long time!!" But sure enough she went back to the soda station and returned with my Pickle Coke, a salty sweet elixir blended with pickles, Cherry Coke and served over ice. This is one new drink that I will order again and again
And The Dixie is still an institution is this town drawing in Lander University students, CPW and Embarq workers and quite a few married couples who remember the diner from the good old days.
Eating my cheeseburger special was an adventure for several reasons. One, the waitress recalls nearly every patron's name and order who walks into the place on any given day. Two, it's kind of like family because customers tend to talk over each other, share juicy gossip, and find their way into your business. More than one person saw me taking notes and pictures and asked, "Are you a writer for the Index-Journal(Greenwood's hometown paper)?" "No, I laughed. Just an ordinary customer doing a review for personal reasons."
Page tagged along with me and took notes for this post. She wrote: "Crinkle cut fries are good!~they also need extra salt, but I like salt. The cherry Coke is good, but no pickles in mine. It's sweet, not syrupy sweet, without any pickles." Page did taste my Pickle Coke, but decided it was a weird taste for her. "Burger is really good; a very large burger and I couldn't finish it all. The burger is messy, but not too greasy like some places. Food came fast and service was great. the onion rings are breaded differently, not salty enough but not overly greasy!"
I like that The Dixie has celebrated it's 50th anniversary in G-wood. My Pickle Coke was outstanding. The hamburger patty was large, but on the thin side and probably frozen, not fresh. I noticed many couples eating lunch together which I thought was romantic or something. My onion rings were too crunchy, but not bad. My drink was refilled three times or more and our friendly waitress was great about checking back with us. Page's insurance salesman sat on the stool next to us and snapped our picture. The woman to my left regaled me with stories about the diner's heyday and she told me which specials were her favorites.
So there you have it, a positive review and yes, after sitting at the counter for over an hour, it did feel a lot like a family gathering.
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