Auburn students are fortunate to have many dining options that are unique to the Loveliest Village. And though dining hot spots like Momma Goldberg’s and Toomer’s Drugs will always be crowd favorites, many local restaurants thrive under the radar thanks to their word of watering-mouth reputation for comfort food.
Go down Sandhill Road a ways and you’ll find Good Ol’ Boys, a place Auburn University senior Cody Sanders calls “the restaurant in the rodeo field.”
“You can’t go wrong with any of their steaks,” Sanders says. “They have delicious food for an extremely good price. It’s affordable for any college student to eat a good, hearty meal for around $10-$12.”
Sanders also raved about Sara Jay’s, located on 2nd Avenue in downtown Opelika. “When I was working on a political campaign we would eat breakfast at Sara Jay’s. Everything on their breakfast menu is good, but my favorite is the bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit.”
Located on South College Street just before you reach the interstate, Pannie George’s Kitchen is considered another southern-style sensation among Auburn students. Junior Aubrey Etheredge heard about Pannie George’s from a member of her social sorority during her freshman year.
“Pannie George’s is known for their home cooking-style meat and vegetables,” Etheredge says. “The menu changes daily, but it’s always something delicious. I usually opt for fried chicken and vegetables with a roll and their perfect sweet tea.”
Auburn students’ taste buds are also regularly hopping at The Whispering Oaks Bed and Breakfast in downtown Opelika.
According to Kelsey Gallagher, a junior from Austin, Texas, Whispering Oaks’ banana pudding “is to die for!”
“If my grandma could bake, I would say it’s as good as hers,” Gallagher says. “They also have every type of southern style cooking: fried chicken, okra, green beans, rolls, mashed potatoes. It’s a great place to take your family when they are in town, especially if they aren’t from the south, because it captures southern charm perfectly!”
Gallagher described the atmosphere of The Whispering Oaks as “very charming and relaxed.”
“The restaurant is basically an old white Southern mansion and it almost feels like you’re taking a step back into the past,” she says. “Guests eat in the main parlor and dining room of the house. There is also seating outside on the front porch.”
But Don’t let words like “mansion” and “parlor” scare you—Whispering Oaks won’t break a student budget. The buffet is only $8.50 with a student ID.
If you ever want to swap those Momma Goldberg’s nachos for something a little closer to what Mom would fix for you, you’ve got four great options right around the corner.
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All four are awesome, but I don’t know that I would call Sara Jay’s “downtown Opelika.” It’s between the hospital and downtown.
Another addition to the homegrown crew should be Kitchen 3810, in the old Durango’s. Great home cooked food, and now they are serving breakfast too.
I would add Vegetables to Go on College St. Love their fresh veggies, chkn and dressing and fried pork chops.
Man I miss Whispering Oaks. Spent many a Friday lunches there to kick off the weekend