When we asked readers to tell us about their favorite North Carolina breakfast spots, there was one standout among the 254 responses — the Dan’l Boone Inn. Many of those responses came from readers who echoed the comments of Rhyne Garris: “Man, do they ever bring you some food. If you’re looking for a fruit-and-yogurt plate, this may not be the place to come.”

For anyone who hasn’t bellied up to the inn’s family-style, all-you-can-eat country breakfast, Garris, who lives on Beech Mountain, fills you in on exactly what you can expect. “They come pushing a cart loaded down with steaming bowls of scrambled eggs, grits, country apples, sausage gravy, hot biscuits and jelly, toast, platters of country ham, sausage, bacon, and more country ham with redeye gravy,” he says.

The inn’s country ham, locally cured by Watauga farmers, is a can’t-miss. And make sure you get some of the homemade black cherry preserves. “My dad absolutely has to purchase a pint or two of black cherry preserves to take back home to Onslow County to share with his breakfast buddies,” Garris says.

Now that Garris’s twin sons are seniors at Appalachian State University, the extended Garris family meets at the restaurant often for special gatherings. “When we get together for a good breakfast, it takes us back to a simpler time,” Garris says, “and the conversation takes us to loved ones who are no longer with us.”