Clary’s Cafe

Clary’s demands attention from seekers of Roadfood if only for its hoppel poppel — a crazy, mixed-up breakfast meal of eggs, potatoes, salami, peppers, and onions that is mostly found (and only rarely) in the upper Midwest. It’s a marvelous kitchen-sink meal, here served southern-style, with grits and a biscuit.

Even more compelling is corned beef hash, a dish that is common everywhere but all too often is mediocre. Clary’s is some of the best: crisp-edged and moist inside, packing intense briny beef flavor with peppery bite. Corned beef exalted!

An extensive breakfast menu also features honey pecan waffles, stuffed French toast, crab cakes Benedict, bagel and lox, and caramel sticky buns big enough to split among two, three, or four. Breakfast and weekend brunch are what draw crowds to Clary’s, but customers also pack the vintage diner for lunch: sandwiches, salads, soups, and burgers.

Clary’s popularity is due not only to good square meals but to its appearance in the Savannah-focused film, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Tourists attracted by the restaurant’s pop-culture fame have done nothing to diminish the downhome hospitality of a professional and truly helpful waitstaff.