Southbury, CT Dining: Laurel Diner

Southbury, CT may not be a popular destination on most people's travel itineraries, but it's my hometown, so it will get a little attention here. It's also located on I-84 in between exits 15 and 14, so it's an easy on-off spot if you're driving between New York and Boston and want to get a bite to eat.

The Laurel Diner is your typical greasy-spoon -- a stand alone diner along Southbury's Main Street that's open just for breakfast and lunch (it closes at 2 p.m. daily). It is popular with local residents looking for delicious, affordable breakfasts and lunches, but it is probably most famous for its homemade corned beef hash. Many people (including my husband) claim not to like corned beef hash, but the Laurel Diner's version just might make you a convert (as it did to Dan). The deliciously salty corned beef hash is cooked on the griddle forming a crisp exterior for the moist chopped corned beef mixed with tender potato chunks. I love having my over-easy eggs broken over it and sopping up the runny yolks with the hash.

As a kid, I thought my parents were always trying to trick me into going to some dumpy place for breakfast when they took me to the Laurel Diner. But my tastes have changed, and now nearly every time I am home in Southbury I try to make the trip to have some hash and eggs. My parents will be moving away this summer, but I'm sure any time I find myself along I-84 before 2 p.m. I'll make an excuse to swing by for some.

Laurel Diner
544 Main St. South
Southbury, CT 06488
203-264-8218