Village Dairy Bar & Griil

I stopped here on my way to Halifax County. Louisburg on a Sunday feels like a bit of a food desert, and I was happy to find something that wasn't a big chain fast food factory.

The menu was typical southern fare, and I opted for the hamburger steak, vegetable stew and beans. Caveat: I don't normally order this sort of thing, but I was going to rural North Carolina, it was a Sunday, I was driving a pickup truck with my dog riding shotgun, and the radio was tuned into country music.

Surprisingly, the food wasn't bad. I don't think they'll get a Michelin star anytime soon, but I cleaned my plate and couldn't find anything to object to.

Given the alternatives (McDonalds, Hardees and the like), I'd definitely come back.

I enjoy finding and experiencing small, casual, traditional roadside restaurants. One can look at a place and hopefully correctly determine that it has deeply established community roots that predate the slew of neighboring fast food Goliaths. Finding these gems feels so good !

Since this was my first visit, I'll keep this short and simple. This place is a simple, clean looking, white building with red trim. Park and walk inside and you will find a few tables and booths, a selection of foods in a steam table, and a counter where you place your order. Oh, there was no waiter, captain or Maitre de !

Their menu offers burgers, hot dogs, fries, hush puppies ( of course, it's NC), sandwiches and other sides and lots of ice cream. There are also daily specials. When I visited, they were serving turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings. Unfortunately, I discovered this only after I ordered a cheeseburger, hush puppies and a soda.

After a short wait, my order was up and I picked up my tray at the counter. I waited a moment while I took a photo for your delight and prepared to dig in. Ahh, the bun for the burger felt warm and moist so I assume it was steamed..nice. They remembered my ketchup mustard pickles and onion..pefect ! As I took my first bite I easily made my way through the bun but suddenly felt like an NHL goalie.  My biting progress was almost stopped dead in their tracks as I encountered a hockey puck!  They were performing miracles in the kitchen transforming beef patties into bite resistant discs. I'm really sorry to say this but they killed that burger.

The hush puppies were the frozen variety and fried to very well done state. I purposely did not order the fries because I saw another customer's order arrive with pale, crinkle cut fries which did not appeal to me.

For all of its exterior, nostalgic roadside charm, you can still receive 21st century disappointment.