Roxie’s Cottage Restaurant

Well into her 90s now, Roxie shows little evidence of slowing down after 28 years of serving meals at her little house by the side of the road. She has curtailed meal service to breakfast only (until about 9:30) simply because it is hard to find help willing to work as enthusiastically as she does, especially before the crack of dawn. Like her customers, she is an early bird, starting coffee and heating up the stove about 4am, then turning on the OPEN sign at 4:30. She is chipper as can be at that hour, inviting guests to pour their own coffee while she cooks and serves the meals.

The menu is no-surprises Southern Breakfast: pancakes, French toast, eggs, including handsome omelets, served along with bacon, sausage, or well-muscled country ham. Toast is available, but biscuits are the breadstuff of choice. They’ve got delectable buttermilk tang and are just chewy enough. What a pleasure it is to push some of this biscuit through Roxie’s gravy, which is mild stuff with consistency that makes me think of warm pork custard.

The dining room is minuscule, seating no more than a couple dozen people at 6 close-together tables. House etiquette says that when you get up to refill your own coffee mug, you take the pot to anyone else in the room who looks like they need a top-off.