Order Up: The Best Diners In North Carolina And South Carolina

Having grown up in the Northeast, I have fond memories of eating and hanging out in diners. After moving to Charlotte in 2000, I became a huge fan of the old Coffee Cup back when it was on Clarkson Street near Bank of America Stadium. Sadly, it's one of the many classic Charlotte eateries that are now just memories.

Charlotte seems to be known more for its higher-end restaurants these days. While it's nice to occasionally get dressed up and go out for a meal worthy of a Michelin star or two, sometimes it's nice to simply slide into a booth at your local greasy spoon and tuck into some non-nonsense comfort food. Especially when you get the check!

The great thing about diners is that they always seem to have the perfect food at just the right time. No matter when you go to a diner, early in the morning, lunchtime, or late at night, you can fill up something cheap, hot, and delicious. That is, if they know what they're doing.

Diner aficionados love to tell you why their favorite spot is the best. It could be the breakfasts, sandwiches, burgers, salads, milkshakes, or pies. Of course, the quality of the coffee is always key. Some might even tell you that it's all about "booth comfort." The folks at Reader's Digest decided to dissect all of those opinions to find the best diner in each state. They sifted through customer ratings, TripAdvisor scores, and even local gossip to come up with their answers. Let's take a look at their top picks in the Carolinas.

When diners first became popular in America, many of them were simply built inside repurposed train cars. For decades, diner design remained reminiscent of trains. Midnight Diner never was a train but it has certainly moved around like one. In 2010, the building was moved from Kings Mountain to the corner of South Tryon Street and East Carson Boulevard in Charlotte. After 12 years, the diner move again to its current uptown location at 420 East Trade Street, where it's open 24/7. Despite Midnight Diner's many geographical changes, the checkerboard floors and red vinyl booths are still inside, and the food remains just as satisfying. Reader's Digest recommends the fried chicken and waffles, as well as Midnight Diner's big buttermilk biscuits dipped in sausage gravy. I say, don't skip the grits. They're the best I've ever eaten.

You can't have a reasonable conversation about America's great food cities without mentioning Charleston, South Carolina. Apparently, even the greasy spoons in Chucktown are first-rate. Someone at Reader's Digest clearly has a thing for chicken and waffles because it gets another mention on the best diners list. Open since 2008, the Early Bird Diner (1644 Savannah Hwy) tops their chicken and waffles with either mushroom sage gravy or lavender honey. Their daily and Sunday brunch menus feature plenty of Lowcountry flavor and the decor highlights artwork from Charleston artists.

People love to knock chain restaurants, especially the fast food variety, but we all have our favorites. Call it a "guilty pleasure," but sometimes you just get an overwhelming urge to pull into a drive-thru and order up a sack full of greasy goodness. Sure, your doctor wouldn't approve but it's not like you this every day. Or maybe you do. I'm not here to judge.

So what are your favorite chain restaurants? Money talks, right? The Top 500 Countdown has just come out from Nation’s Restaurant News, revealing the top chain restaurants in the country based on their sales performance last year. They compiled sales figures of the 500 largest restaurant chains in the U.S. for 2022.

Say what you will about the Golden Arches, but they still bring it. McDonald’s was America's top restaurant chain in 2022 with $48.67 billion in U.S. sales last year. Mickey D's has been on top for years and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Starbucks, its next closest competitor, only did $ 27.5 billion in sales for 2022. Chick-fil-A comes in third with $18.81 billion, Taco Bell is fourth with $12.92 billion, and Wendy's rounds out the top-five with $11.69 billion in sales.

As for the pizza wars, Domino’s continues to dominate and had $8.57 billion in sales in 2022. It’s also the 10th highest-earning chain overall. Pizza Hut is 13th overall with $5.27 billion in sales, Little Caesars is 16th with $4.72 billion, and Papa John’s is 26th with $3.71 billion.

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $8.57 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $8.63 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $9.19 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $10.28 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $11.28 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $11.69 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $12.92 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $18.81 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $27.5 Billion

2022 U.S. Systemwide Sales: $48.67 Billion