The Dixie Freeze in South Pittsburgh, Tennessee, is a bit of a landmark. It’s fed generations of our family, from my grandpa, to my dad, to us. It’s a little out of the way, so we only ever visit for special occasions. This week, a special occasion came up: you can purchase gift certificates for it on Restaurant.Com! Gift cards in hand, we all hopped in the car to make the small journey.
You’ll know it when you see it- it still has the vintage neon sign with the words “Dixie Freeze” separated by an ice cream cone. When you walk in, you seat yourself at one of the few tables. It’s sparsely decorated, and the menus are laminated cardstock. There’s a counter for take-out orders, where you pay after dining, and window to the kitchen from outside for anyone craving a to-go milkshake.
Dixie Freeze is known for their Dagwood sandwich, so my dad couldn’t pass up the Dagwood burger when we visited. It was a giant burger with a bottom bun, a big patty, a piece of toast, another patty, and all the trimmings you’d expect on a burger that size. My brother ordered the “Giant Burger,” which is a normal burger, just bigger. Both the orders came with fries, which were “good,” but treated as an after-thought by the guys, who dug into their burgers as soon as they came out. Mom ordered the country fried steak with fried okra and macaroni. The country fried steak was covered in white gravy, and mom really enjoyed all her meal, although she didn’t eat too much as she was saving room for dessert. I had the barbecue pork with mashed potatoes, green beans, and coleslaw. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meals, and mom was the only one with anything left on her plate.
When it was time to order dessert, we saw why my mom had left a few bites. My brother, mom, and I split a banana split three ways, and we ordered a peanut butter shake to go. The banana split was the highlight of the meal, as we expected- my grandparents used to bring my cousin and I to Dixie Freeze for their signature desserts before we walked across the street and into the National Cornbread Festival, which is held every April in South Pittsburgh.
A whole banana, split in half and topped with vanilla ice cream, pineapple syrup, chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, whipped cream, cherries, and optional nuts makes up the banana split. It could be a whole meal for a single person, so it’s perfect to split for dessert. The peanut butter shake was “very peanut buttery,” according to my mom, which is a compliment. Most of my family loves peanut butter, so we’re always disappointed if a shake only has a hint of it. Dixie Freeze boasts “”triple thick” shakes, and they always live up to their claim. The shake was so thick I had to use a spoon to eat it!
Dixie Freeze offers burgers, sandwiches, and dinner plates, along with a variety of desserts and milkshakes. It’s a tradition and institution in South Pittsburgh, which is roughly 45 minutes out of Chattanooga, TN. If you’re ever visiting South Pittsburgh for the Cornbread Festival, or just for the history, be sure to check out Dixie Freeze while you’re there.
I am a member of the Restaurant.com review crew and received a gift card for my meal. All opinions are my own.
I love an old style place to eat like this, looks really wonderful. I am so hungry after reading this. I wish I was closer to check out something like that. Glad you enjoyed it!
One of my favorite things abut going on road trips with the family is finding little gems like this. Great find!
Chicken fried/Country fried steak is one of my favorite comfort meals. I love diners like this.
I really love places like this! Yummy, home cooked food. This post is making my hungry!
That sounds like a great restaurant to visit! The ice cream sundaes look and sound delicious!
If I lived near Dixie Freeze I’d rush right over for that banana split. I’m loving the old time feel of the place.
What a cool place to dine! I love little out of the way places like this. They serve the best food. Thanks for the drooling review.
I love old school diners type restaurants. Takes me back to a simpler time.
The food looks really good. The atmosphere looks even better, I love old timey places like that.
That looks like some seriously yummy eats. I love those little diner places, best part of any road trip!
I haven’t had a banana split in years. The food looks delicious!
The dessert does look good. What I like though, is the crinkle cut fries. Those are getting harder and harder to find.
I always love stopping in old timer restaurants like these! They always have the best milkshakes!
It looks like you all got stuffed with great food! And you made me crave for a giant burger and milkshake!
Ok, now I’m hungry. This all looks so good.
This is my kind of restaurant. The food looks delicious!
This food looks so delicious. I would love to eat here.
What a fun place to go to- I love old tried and true restaurants! I just finished dinner but I could totally go for one of those burgers!
I love the retro sign. I wish we had one of these around here in Texas. I’ll have to visit here while in TN visiting my family.
It’s these sort of places that make the BEST home cooked foods. Comfort foods, for sure! OH, and I would have dove head first into that peanut butter milkshake. I love that it was very “peanut buttery” too. Swoon!
I have to go cook supper now. All your fault. Hungry! Wish I was there right now.
Oh yum. I love travelling and finding little places like this. That food looks amazing!
Diners are some of my favorite types of restaurants. Everything you had looks amazing!
All I can say is YUM! I love going to small-town diners like this!! The food is always so delicious!
That’s so cool! I love old school diners like this. I’ve been to a couple and they never disappoint.
The food looks really good. I love Country Fried Steak, but only a couple of restaurants in my area have it on the menu. The peanut butter shake sounds really good.
I love places like this with all those classic comfort foods. Look at those mashed potatoes…NOM!
Love little road-side stops like this, you can generally find some great, hearty meals and this one certainly looks like it delivers a nice “home-made” touch!