Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room

Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room started as a boarding house offering rooms and meals for working class laborers and middle class merchants. You no longer have to stay at the boarding house to eat lunch, rated as one of the Top Meals in the South. You can still stay there but they're not simple rooms anymore.

The Wilkes House is located at 107 West Jones Street.

Lines form every day for their famous buffet lunches, served from 11 am-2 pm. I wasn't sure I wanted to wait in line but on the day we visited, the line wasn't too long so we decided to try it out.

Enter through the side doors

into a large dining room. You're seated at communal tables in groups of 10.

Before you are seated, the food is placed on the table. Pass the plates family style. If you run out, just ask for more. The dishes change daily.

Fried chicken is always on the menu and it was delicious. The other meats on offer during our visit were beef tip--too tough and BBQ beef--also not good. The sides were all good: black eyed peas, green beans, okra, butter beans, creamed corn, stuffing, mac n cheese, cabbage, squash, mashed potatoes, red rice, baked beans, sweet potatoes, collard greens and cucumber. The biscuits were flaky and tender.

You have a choice of peach cobbler or banana pudding for dessert.

Lunch is $22 for all you can eat, iced tea and tax--no credit cards. You leave very full and probably don't need another meal for the day.



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