Adam & Eats: Bulldog Diner

To those of you out there who keep track of such things, this will be our 100th restaurant together. Don’t start getting all gushy on me. I need you to be level headed and focused on our mission. For we are about to go where we’ve never gone before. And it’s called Greenwood.

After receiving a tip off about a kickass chicken fried steak being served by one of our neighbors to the south, I figured maybe after two years of eating around these parts we should finally pay them a visit. So, Don Oliver, thanks for the heads up.

Located a stones throw away from the county courthouse on Main Street in Greenwood, is the home of the Bulldog Diner. If you’ve ever had to pay a fine for say, fishing without a license, you know right where I’m talking.

Ahem, moving on.

For those of you sheltered (possibly under a rock) from local high school football, the diner is named after the Greenwood High School mascot. And believe you me, they are decked out in school spirit. It is everything you’d expect from a small town diner. Ads on the tabletops and coffee cups, everybody knows everybody, and there is more bulldog paraphernalia than you can shake a milk bone at. They’ve even put tennis balls on the feet of every table and chair to dampen their din so your conversation doesn’t have to elevate to yelling.

The waitstaff is as sweet as pecan pie and don’t hesitate to call you “Hon” or “Darlin” either.

Now let’s get down to the business of eating.

I’d like to start by mentioning a few interesting specials that occur during a normal week. On Wednesday nights they offer all you can eat sirloins for a hair under ten bucks. On my last visit, a Tuesday night, I missed steak night, but arrived just in time for catfish night. If you make the same mistake, don’t worry they won’t let you leave disappointed. The catfish is excellent. They make their tartar sauce fresh in the back and I have a sneaking suspicion that one of their secret ingredients is herbes de Hidden Valley, which is never a bad thing ‘round these parts.

The fish dinner wouldn’t be complete without cole slaw, fresh cut fries, and hushpuppies. The combination of these four dishes creates a rocking quartet of delicious dinnertime satisfaction.

But we didn’t drive all the way to Greenwood to eat catfish. We came in search of a beef steak hammered flat, breaded, deep fat fried, and drowned in friggin’ homemade peppered gravy. Is it worth the drive? You bet your keister it is. Every single penny. It is near perfection.

What sides should you get with yours? I recommend the mashed potatoes with more of their awesome homemade gravy, the fried squash, and fried okra. Normally, I would recommend corn to accompany this dish, but I felt that might make it too starchy and not enough deep fried. If they start offering fried corn nuggets, then I’d recommend those as well.

Overall, the Bulldog Diner offers good food, good friends, and more good food. If you haven’t eaten there, I suggest making the trip. You won’t regret it.

Also, please remember that the fine for fishing without a license is about 15 times more expensive than buying a fishing license.

Until next week, good eating to you and yours.

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When he’s not beating his eggs, Adam makes time to respond to e-mails that get past his hard-ass spam filter. You can try to reach him at [email protected]

Adam also has this thing called Sandwich Control.