It should be noted that there are two Greenbrier restaurants. One is closer to the Greenbrier Road and I-565 interchange. The other is further up Greenbrier Road and hidden back in the countryside. Both have the same great food, and those hush puppies keep me going back again and again.
The one nearer to the interstate is in an old doctor's office. The atmosphere is somewhat less appealing here than in the old one further north on Greenbrier, though it has more seating, which is useful to know if the original (smaller and northern one) is packed, which it often is.
Try the white sauce. It's certainly not ranch dressing. I frequently take bottles north with me when I visit college friends.
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Just a couple of miles off the bustling I-565 interchange between I-65 and Huntsville, Alabama sits a reminder of simpler times. There, deep in acres upon acres of fields devoted to cotton, is a place that specializes in delights worthy of any plantation table. For over 50 years now, Greenbrier Restaurant has been packing them in serving up deep-fried catfish and hickory-smoked barbecued pork and chicken.
Within moments of taking your seat, you get nearly a dozen of the most unique hush puppies you will likely ever see. Not round as if formed by an ice-cream scoop, they resemble the spoon-drop technique your grandfather probably used to fry them in a bubbling cauldron (a special machine does the trick here). The taste is miles better than anything you will find at a fish-and-chips fast food place.
I ordered the combination dinner with catfish and pork shoulder. Greenbrier breads their fish somewhat differently from their competitors, with a larger percentage of it wheat flour, instead of pure cornmeal, as some diehards insist on. Personally, I think this complements the tender, flaky fish, which has just enough “fishiness” to convince you that it is the real article. As for the pork, “inside” meat is the rule here, shredded, but not to death. Its character, like much barbecue in the Tennessee Valley, is more salty than smoky; this closed-pit product may take some getting used to by people accustomed to, say, Memphis-style meat, but give it a try.
Further, Greenbrier is a splendid place to get out of the vehicle, stretch your legs, and enjoy the fresh air and unparalleled scenery of one of the places where cotton never got dethroned as king, whether by the boll weevil, polyester, or anything else!
NOTES: Beware confusing this place with "Greenbrier Bar-B-Que," which is located on the access road off the Greenbrier Road exit on I-565; it has a similar menu but nowhere near the charm or spaciousness. Also, the owners of Greenbrier operate another restaurant on U.S. Highway 72 west of Athens, Alabama, the Catfish Inn, whose menu is identical to Greenbrier. Contact them at 256-729-8479 or www.catfish-inn.com.
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