Brightwood Inn, Whitsett

What a gem this place is! From busy US70, it looks intimidating with the broken pick-ups in the front lot, and the hilarious sign on the "couples" entrance ("no entrance, no shirt, if locked, knock hard"), however, step inside and you are truly in the 1950's. The dining room is formica/linolium/naugahyde genre to the max! The tables and booths have not been updated since Eisenhower, so when you sit in a booth, you almost disappear. The owner (Jack?) and his wife (I think) couldn't be nicer and are waiting to unload endless stories about the place - and there are many, some of questionable accuracy, most about the shenanigans that went on since the place was built. The menu features "sizzling steaks" so we went with that. Jack's wife (?) took all four orders without writing a thing down and was right on. Food was excellent as was the service. All over the walls and tables are time-worn momentos of the old days when this place was really jumping and who knows what went on here! But the crown jewel of the old Brightwood is in the back room, of course. Here, Jack, led us to a secluded little booth in a corner where the king, himself, ate burgers, fries, and washed it down with milk. Elvis and his boys stopped here when passing through from one county fair to the next. Jack treats the booth like divers treat the sunken Titanic, and well he should. Anyway, it's a shame this place is not on everyone's must see list in the Triad. It's a hoot, and when we're back in town, we're headed to the Brightwood for a sizzling steak and another great evening. You won't be sorry on this one!