Restaurant Review: Meadow Village Restaurant (Meadow, NC)

Restaurant: Meadow Village Restaurant (Meadow, NC)

Type of Food: Southern comfort food (fried chicken & seafood, seasoned vegetables, and homemade desserts)

Location: 7400 N.C. Hwy 50 S; Meadow, NC 27504 (I-40 exit 334) Take NC 96 S for 1 mi., then turn left onto NC 50. The restaurant will be on your right just after you turn.

Phone: (919) 894-5430‎

Date Visited: Many times! (most recently July 15, 2010)

The Meadow Village Restaurant is the main attraction in a little crossroads town called Meadow, NC just off I-40 close to Benson, NC. Locals call the town Meh-duh. The Meadow Village Restaurant seems to be popular with both locals and passers-by (those who have heard about it anyway). It’s not visible from the interstate and doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the country comfort food is great, and the waitresses (the kind that call you “Honey”) are friendly.

Food: Food is served buffet-style, with freshly fried chicken and seafood, a variety of other meats and main dishes like country-style steak and spaghetti, and well-seasoned vegetables. We’ve seen collard greens or mustard greens, black-eyed peas, greens beans, cabbage, fried apples, and corn. There’s a basic salad bar, plus some prepared items like carrot-and-raisin salad.

Meadow is only 90 minutes from the coast of North Carolina, and seafood lovers enjoy the fresh fried seafood. You’ll find Calabash-style fried fish, popcorn shrimp, peeled boiled shrimp, stuffed crab, and sometimes fried oysters.

But the real reason for going to Meadow is the dessert buffet. A hodge-podge of homemade cakes, pies, and puddings awaits you, along with 6-8 flavors of scoop-your-own ice cream. I always joke that someone’s grandma must work in the back, baking all day, because all of the pies and cakes are so tasty. The chocolate pie with a mile-high meringue is one of the best, especially if you can catch it when they bring one out still hot from the oven. The coconut and strawberry cakes are great too.

Atmosphere: The ambience is very simple and a bit dated, but the food more than makes up for it. They also decorate for each season. On our most recent visit, wreaths and garlands covered with flowers and butterflies festooned the walls. The place has an old-fashioned, homey feel, from the pitchers of water and tea on the tables to the sink for washing your hands right in the middle of the waiting room.

Kid Friendliness: The Meadow Village Restaurant is a great place to bring children. It’s not super quiet, so kids can make noise and not be a bother. Kids also like the desserts, especially the scoop your own ice cream with rainbow sprinkles and gummy bears to top it off. Individually packaged animal crackers at the ice cream bar area are another hit with kids.