O’Henry Barbeque

This small Southern food and BBQ joint has been around since the 50’s at least, because my Mom filled me in on the history at lunch today. It was originally a one room hot dog and ice cream stand, and it was the biggest treat in the world to walk a mile of there and get a cone.
Now it’s a mix of Southern classics in a meat and two format, with breakfast and a small sandwich menu.
Mom had a hot dog all the way and loved it, maybe more for the nostalgia than the taste because the dogs were just sitting on the steam table in a vat of water so can’t imagine it had much flavor. But she killed it while i was still getting the butter package open so it must have been decent. The rest of her lunch consisted of telling me the history and yammering on with locals she grew up with. So don’t take your Mom here if she grew up in Rankin and you want a peaceful lunch to quell your hangover.
I had just rolled out of bed around noon so I was more in a breakfast mood than lunch, so i opted for the country ham platter with 2 eggs over medium, grits and biscuit. The ham slice was large, cooked perfect, as in warmed up without cooking it into shoe leather like so many places. The eggs were a perfect medium with a bit of runny yolk. The grits were nice and thick which i prefer to the watery type, needed salt for my taste but easily remedied and mixed with some butter they were creamy and delicious. The biscuit was a bit dark for my taste, but it was very large and the layered type so i just took the top and bottom off and ate the fluffy insides with some butter and strawberry jam. Very satisfying breakfast for lunch.

This long time neighborohood eatery has new managment and new direction, and is re-​establishing the quality of food and service that made this a Rankin area favorite for years. The Holbrook family remains at the center of the operation (Ed’s still around), but it’s the younger generation providing most of the energy now. The name has changed too — this is now The O’Henry Restaurant.
The menu has been tweeked, new daily specials offered (try the Potato Pancakes), and breakfast remains excellent, and affordable. The chili dogs here are solid, the hamburgers are very good, and the CS Steak is available every day, or get Ed to fix you a Hamburger Steak if he’s at the grill.
Good folks here, stop in and say hello to DeAnn and crew. Bring cash, no cards or checks here.

This place has been here forever and serves the best breakfast I’ve ever had in my life! Most people refer to it as the Rankin Grill, and I don’t think that they’re really known for their bbq. My favorite food here is the country ham with eggs and a gravy biscuit. My husband and I usually eat here once a week, and for eleven bucks we can both get a huge breakfast. It’s good home style food, and the burgers are excellent.

I made it back to try the burgers (see earlier review) and can say my hopes were unfounded :(I got the burger plate with fries and mustard, onion and tomato on the burger (I got the cole slaw on the side). On my last visit I thought the way the burgers were prepared on the griddle would result in a tasty and interesting burger but it turned out to be a very ordinary diner-​like burger… nothing special at all. This makes two underwhelming visits so I doubt I’ll be back, even to try their breakfasts.
Oh, one more thing. O’Henry’s is one of those hold outs that don’t take credit and debit cards. Since I rarely carry cash these days, I was very lucky that I had cash on me during both visits. For NC bbq, you have many better choices in the area.