Best Breakfast in Charlotte

[hazardnc]

After bemoaning the plethora of mediocre restaurants in Charlotte, I decided it was time for me to highlight one of our city's greatest: The Coffee Cup.

I have lived in Charlotte for 12 years and have tried many breakfast establishments. To me, a good breakfast is a place where you can get good bisuits, good grits (I like mine on the firm side -- not runny), excellent bacon/country ham/sausage and hash browns or homefries.

We have tried John's Country Kitchen on Central, Andersons, Athens, The Landmark, Eddie's Place and countless others. We mourned the demise of the Cupboard on South, which had really good biscuits and country ham, not to mention a deadly coconut pie. My husband almost cried when Rogers Barbecue closed - meaning the end of their deadly breafast "casserole" of scarmbled eggs topped with onions, bell peppers, potatoes, cheese and sausage gravy. We have missed the country ham and red eye gravy at Nashville's Loveless Motel since we left that city in 1991.

We have been to the Coffee Cup before. After yesterday's breakfast, my family decided it was the ONLY place worth going to in Charlotte for a traditional country breakfast. They make real biscuits that don't have flecks of the yellow butter-flavored Crisco used by so many restaurants. You can order chicken and waffles, salmon patties, steak - even fried chicken with the fixin's for breakfast.

I devoured my bacon - which was really more like fried side meat - fatty, crispy, melt-in-your mouth bits of salty bacon. Their smoked sausage and potatoes with bits of onion are excellent. Their sweet tea willl throw you into a diabetic coma if you're not careful. And the service - while a tad slow - is friendly and efficient.

To all who visit - go here for breakfast. To all who live here - keep this place alive!

[Gifted Gourmet]

Thanks for the uplifting take on Charlotte, hazardnc! I will most definitely try the Coffee Cup when I come to visit Charlotte! but only for a truly southern breakfast, which I long for ...

[munchymom]

Does the Coffee Cup have good hash browns? I've yet to find a decent hash brown or home fry in Charlotte. Potatoes that come with breakfast are always soggy or undercooked, not crisp. I figured it was because in this part of the world, the default breakfast carbohydrate is grits, but I really like hash browns better!

[Gifted Gourmet]

Does the Coffee Cup have good hash browns?  I've yet to find a decent hash brown or home fry in Charlotte.  Potatoes that come with breakfast are always soggy or undercooked, not crisp.

←

For some odd reason, I will just bet on the fact that either they already have crispy hash browns or will shortly after reading this! Doesn't everyone in Charlotte read eG's Southeast forum?

[hazardnc]

Does the Coffee Cup have good hash browns? I've yet to find a decent hash brown or home fry in Charlotte. Potatoes that come with breakfast are always soggy or undercooked, not crisp. I figured it was because in this part of the world, the default breakfast carbohydrate is grits, but I really like hash browns better

Hash browns - to me - are shredded potatoes cooked until nice and crispy-crunchy on the outside. The Coffee Cup serves what many call "homefries." These are chunks of potatoes cooked with onions. The are not especially crispy, but they are very flavorful.

Eddie's Place makes pretty decent potatoes, though it is rare they are delivered to the table hot. Eddie's are diced (small dice) and cooked with onions until they are fairly brown and crispy.

By-the-by, I usually order grits because it is so hard to find decent hash browns, but I prefer the later - unless the place has cheese or stone ground grits. The grits at the Coffee Cup are VERY good. They have plenty of bite to them.

What does not exist in Charlotte is a decent country-style breakfast establishment that also has good coffee. All of the places here have coffee that tastes as if it has been filtered through a paper towel. I skip the coffee and go even more southern by ordering a Coke!

[Holly Moore]

I think there's a state law that folks breakfasts must be served with grits. If not there should be.

It is great news that the Coffee Cup is still going strong. It went through an ownership change or two and, I believe some downtime, so I was worried it might had suffered some during the transition. The Coffee Cup isn't just for breakfast, by the way. Some excellent fried chicken and other southern staples.

[Schielke]

When I was in Charlotte on business, I ate every breakfast at the Coffee Cup, it is stupendous...the coffee does suck though.

I had lunch there one day and Holly is right. Dont miss their mac and cheese.

Ben

[phaelon56]

Ben... ya should PM'd me for a coffee recommendation! There's a new place in the lobby of the Charlotte Design Center about 3 or 4 blocks from the Coffee Cup. They have excellent coffee and the best espresso in Charlotte (correction - the only really good and consistent espresso in Charlotte). I imagine the Coffee Cup would let ya sneak in a paper cup from somewhere else.

I plan to go there for breakfast in late December when I'm in Charlotte again. And who need has browns when you've got good crisoy almost burnt home fries with onions? Not me. I don't need no stinkin' hash browns.

[kpurvis]

If you want the real Coffee Cup breakfast experience, go really early and get either salmon cakes or country ham. Also, if you're a grits novice, remember that grits are simply a delivery vehicle for the yolk from your eggs over easy. Preferably mopped up with biscuit.

[BrentKulman]

There's a poster today on Chowhound who says that he used to frequent the Coffee Cup for breakfast all the time, but since it has changed hands, he feels the quality has declined and the prices have risen.

I haven't been there since the ownership change.

Anybody have any perspective on this?

[hazardnc]

I have not noticed a significant change in quality. The biscuits and country ham and grits are still good and the prices are certainly reasonable.

I want to know where they get their bacon? I tried frying up some side meat this weekend, and while it had the same texture, it did not have the same flavor. The bacon at the Cup is thick and fatty and it really melts in your mouth. Yum!

[phaelon56]

Also, if you're a grits novice, remember that grits are simply a delivery vehicle for the yolk from your eggs over easy. Preferably mopped up with biscuit.

I agree in regards to the typical white grits that restaurants serve but the steel cut grits I use at home have a distinct yet subtle flavor from the corn. Do any restaurants in Charlotte serve that style of grits? I'll still use 'em for the yolks but I like the flavor more.

[kpurvis]

Also, if you're a grits novice, remember that grits are simply a delivery vehicle for the yolk from your eggs over easy. Preferably mopped up with biscuit.

I agree in regards to the typical white grits that restaurants serve but the steel cut grits I use at home have a distinct yet subtle flavor from the corn. Do any restaurants in Charlotte serve that style of grits? I'll still use 'em for the yolks but I like the flavor more.

←

Sounds like you've got yourself some phain-see grits, son. Go find a breakfast served on a white tablecloth.