Pappy's

Step into the way-back machine for a meal at Pappy's, where the air is tobacco-tinged, the tile is terrazzo, the jukebox tuned to Hank Williams Jr. and the food is, well, pretty darn good.

Pappy's has been around since 1985 or so, though it seems much longer. Like the growth rings used for dating trees, one might guess the restaurant's age by checking the tar-stained ceiling tiles. Hey, the restaurant's 24-hour a day/7-day a week schedule isn't for the weary.

That said, Pappy's nature is owed to its appearance, as much as it is to the blue-collar folks filling up the booths, roundtables and communal seating. They know the deal: decent food at a decent price. Likely, Pappy's wouldn't have it any other way.

The restaurant serves breakfast all day, a pair of biscuits arriving beneath a mantle of gravy. Then arriving fresh from the griddle are bacon, ham, hot links or patty sausage, corned beef hash and country ham.

The lunchtime buffet ($8) brings a bounty with fried chicken, fried catfish, barbecue, potato salad and cabbage. The hush puppies are tasty, light, little spheres, the red rice savory, and the fried chicken is crispy and hot.

One caveat: The buffet requests that customers take only "one serving of meat, please." No telling if Pappy and crew might actually shake down wayward diners, but we dared not disobey.

The cheeseburger ($3.10) is of the quintessential diner variety: from the flat griddle top, and loaded with mustard, mayonnaise, white onions, lettuce and tomato.

As dinners go, Pappy's cooks up liver and onions ($6.25), hamburger steak ($6.95) and pork chops ($7.75). All are classics, and like Pappy's, worth trying.

Address: 5804 Carolyn St., North Charleston

Phone: 554-7447

Hours: Open 24 hours daily