Secrets of the South's Best Diners

Call them meat-and-threes, cafeterias, mom-and-pops, or diners. Whatever the name, these local spots keep it delicious by serving great Southern food. Here are our favorites―and their signature dishes―from Maryland to Texas.

Southern Diner Restaurants: Celebration Restaurant, Dallas, TX

Photo by Kenny Brown, Article by James T. Black

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Celebration Restaurant, Dallas, TX

These days, Dallas’s West Lovers Lane area is better known for upscale boutiques than down-home cooking. But long-time residents know some of the city’s tastiest pot roast and freshest vegetables wait down the road at Celebration. Since 1971, the laid-back eatery has served classic Southern cuisine with a Texas flair. Diners sitting inside the fieldstone restaurant or outside on the patio dig into plates of spiced-just-right meatloaf and squash casserole topped with garlic and Cheddar cheese. Best of all, there’s no charge for second helpings.

Don’t Miss: The slightly lumpy (so you know they’re definitely homemade) mashed potatoes

4503 West Lovers Lane;celebrationrestaurant.comor 214-351-5681