Every region of the country has its own unique fast food chains, yet to me, it seems like the South has the most. You’re not going to find a Cook Out in California, or a Waffle House in Maine, or a Bojangles in Kansas. Coming from a medium-sized city in South Carolina, I was absolutely baffled when I got to college and found out that there were people who had never heard of these restaurants. However, there was one Southern-looking restaurant that I had never heard of before college that caught my eye: Biscuitville.
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Biscuitville is a southern chain known for its biscuits and other breakfast food with just about 60 locations in North Carolina and southern Virginia. They are primarily located in and around the Piedmont Triad. I first tasted Biscuitville back in September, and I fell in love. I especially loved how they make the biscuits right in front of you. Alas, I discovered it was only open until 2 pm, so unless I wanted to wake up early before class, I could only go on the weekends. That got me thinking, if I loved it so much, how would people from other parts of the country like it? Would it compare to any restaurants back home?
I decided to get different perspectives on Biscuitville and found one representative from the South, one from the North, one from the Midwest, and one from the West to hit every major region. This is not to say that their opinion represents EVERYBODY's opinion from that region, but each of the people I've interviewed is proud of where they come from and give a unique perspective on Biscuitville. Another article was written by a previous Wake Forest student on a specifically Northern perspective of Southern food, which many non-Southerners reading this could relate too.
I asked them a series of questions to determine their feelings about Biscuitville and then compared the responses based on their region. Everybody got a biscuit, but I allowed them to choose different types of biscuits to not restrict their dietary preferences. Each of these people consented to me using their name in this article. I conducted interviews in a question-and-answer style.
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West Coast Perspective
My West Coast representative was Oakland, CA native Cole Binder, a junior at Wake Forest studying Biology. He claims not to be a fan of breakfast food. He had never heard of Biscuitville before beginning college (Californians are somehow content with just their In N' Out) but thought Biscuitville was fairly good, especially the salt level of the biscuit. He appreciated the Southern hospitality aspect of Biscuitville and said that he'd go back but would probably get something different.
Q: Are you a fan of breakfast food in general?A: Not generally, the breakfast food that I would have when I have time is usually an omelet that I would make or maybe cinnamon sugar toast.
Q: How many days out of the week would you say you eat a full breakfast?
A: Zero.
Q: Are biscuits a common breakfast food where you are from?
A: No.
Q: Had you heard of Biscuitville before coming to Wake Forest?
A: No.
Q: How do you feel about Biscuitville only being open until 2pm?
A: That’s just stupid. That’s just a dumb business model.
Q: On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate the biscuit you just ate?
A: I’d say a 6.
Q: Is there anything that stood out to you about it?
A: It wasn't too salty, the salt level was good.
Q: What would you rate the service?
A: It’s Southern hospitality.
Q: How does this compare to other restaurants where you’ve eaten biscuits, such as Bojangles, Popeyes, Church’s Chicken, etc.?
A: Bojangles is a little dry, Popeyes is kinda dry too, honestly Church’s is probably the best because of that honey glaze.
Q: Are there any restaurants back home that Biscuitville is comparable to, in terms of food they offer and price?
A: No.
Q: Do you think you will be going back in the future?
A: I’d try something else that they have.
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Midwest Perspective
My Midwest representative was Plymouth, MN native Zak Klaiman, junior at Wake Forest studying history. He, much like Cole, is not a big fan of breakfast food, and also had never heard of Biscuitville before coming to Wake Forest. However, since starting college, he has been to Biscuitville a few times and has tried a plethora of different items. He says that of the fast food places, it has the best biscuits, and he will definitely be coming back.
Q: Are you a fan of breakfast food in general? How many days out of the week would you say you eat a full breakfast?
A: Out of the three meals, it’s a hard third. Zero.
Q: Are biscuits a common breakfast food where you are from?
A: Obviously not, we just eat pancakes and waffles.
Q: Had you heard of Biscuitville before coming to Wake Forest?
A: No.
Q: How do you feel about Biscuitville only being open until 2pm?
A: Travesty, this place would be so much better 12 hours from now.
Q: On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate the biscuit you just ate?
A: You know, after watching that lady make the biscuits with so much love and care, I’d have to give at least a 6.
Q: Is there anything that stood out to you about it?
A: The apple jam butter thing.
Q: What would you rate the service?
A: Great, except for the fact that they tried to scam me. They handed me my receipt and then said “sir your card didn’t go through.”
Q: Are there any restaurants back home that Biscuitville is comparable to, in terms of food they offer and price?
A: Definitely not.
Q: Do you think you will be going back in the future?
A: Yeah probably.
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Northern Perspective
My northern representative was New York City native Jacob Schaffer, a junior at Wake Forest studying political science. Jacob, unlike Cole and Zak, loves breakfast food and typically cooks himself breakfast every day. However, NYC is not known for its biscuits, and eating biscuits was a completely foreign idea to Jacob before coming down South. He was particularly surprised at the moisture level of the biscuit, although he said it was somewhat "boring." Despite this, he claims he will be coming back.
Q: Are you a fan of breakfast food in general?
A: Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.
Q: How many days out of the week would you say you eat a full breakfast?
A: Every single day.
Q: Are biscuits a common breakfast food where you are from?
A: No.
Q: Had you heard of Biscuitville before coming to Wake Forest?
A: No.
Q: How do you feel about Biscuitville only being open until 2pm?
A: That’s some BS, that’s pretty stupid.
Q: On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate the biscuit you just ate?
A: I’d give it a 7.
Q: Is there anything that stood out to you about it?
A: Well, I was surprised at the softness of the biscuit, I anticipated it to be cheap and dry but it was decently moist, even after I heated it back up in an oven. It was a little boring, it was just chicken and a biscuit and could have used a little more.
Q: What would you rate the service?
A: Probably a 5.
Q: Are there any restaurants back home that Biscuitville is comparable to, in terms of food they offer and price?
A: Nothing that comes to mind. I guess I could say Popeyes but I don’t go to Popeyes.
Q: Do you think you will be going back in the future?
A: Absolutely.
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Southern Perspective
My Southern representative was Clemmons, NC native Nathan Whitener, a junior at Wake Forest studying computer science and mathematical statistics. Nathan is the only person here where biscuits are a common breakfast food back home. And that's probably because home is 20 minutes away. He has always been a fan and says growing up he practically lived at Biscuitville. He appreciates the service and the genuineness of the people working there and says he will definitely return.
Q: Are you a fan of breakfast food in general?
A: In general, yes.
Q: How many days out of the week would you say you eat a full breakfast?
A: Only the two days I spend with [my roommate] together.
Q: Are biscuits a common breakfast food where you are from?
A: I think they are a very common food.
Q: Had you heard of Biscuitville before coming to Wake Forest?
A: Of course, I practically lived at Biscuitville.
Q: How do you feel about Biscuitville only being open until 2pm?
A: I love it. It’s a Michelin star restaurant, so if they don’t restrict their hours, commoners will just come in.
Q: On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate the biscuityou just ate?
A: Like a 7 ½ out of 10.
Q: Is there anything that stood out to you about it?
A: The soft flaky buttermilk of the biscuit with the finely sliced hand-pressed cheese and the deep-fried egg.
Q: What would you rate the service?
A: 100% a 10, the lady was very nice, she spelled my name wrong but that’s ok.
Q: Are there any restaurants back home that Biscuitville is comparable to, in terms of food they offer and price?
A: So I’m from here but if you go out to Clemmons you can go to Pete’s and it’s cheaper and homemade.
Q: Do you think you will be going back in the future?
A: Of course.So, after looking at all of these answers, it seems like everybody appreciates Biscuitville and the Southern hospitality associated with it. Everybody I interviewed liked the biscuits, at least moderately. My representatives from other parts of the country outside the South said that biscuits are not as common where they are from, and that very few restaurants back home compare. If you’re looking for new breakfast food to try, head to your nearest Biscuitville and try any one of their tens of biscuits with the new apple butter glaze. Just make sure it is before 2 pm.