Zada Jane’s in Charlotte

by Chrissie
Off the Eaten Path
offtheeatenpathblog.com
@chrissie_beth

Zada Jane’s is a breakfast joint. They serve lunch and dinner too but serve breakfast all day. I went there once for dinner right after I moved to Charlotte, and I ordered breakfast. If you’re looking for good breakfast, at any hour of the day, you need to go to Zada Jane’s.

Zada Jane’s really embodies what I think to be a true Plaza Midwood vibe–it’s casual, eclectic, and has a lot of character (any diner that’s in an old dry cleaning building with bright purple and yellow walls brings a ton of character to the table).

There are two crowds that go to Zada Janes, with a little sprinkling of random folks in between. One is the 9 am crowd–groups of young families or weekend go-getters, starting their day off on the right foot with some strong coffee and delicious sustenance to tackle their day. Around 11am or noon, another crowd starts to infiltrate–young people who may have stayed out too late the night before and the Plaza Midwood hipsters–who like the weekend go-getters, love the strong coffee, but also are nursing a Bloody Mary (with delightful, slightly spicy housemade mix) and possibly a hangover. I love the dichotomy of the two groups at Zada Jane’s; it provides brunch with a side of excellent people watching.

If you don’t want to wait, you need to get to Zada Jane’s early with the weekend go-getters in order to avoid a wait (which can be up to an hour on sunny Sundays when everyone is jonesing for a sweet patio table). AJ and I went sometime this Spring around 9:30, and the wait for a first available was only about 15 minutes (compared to the time I took Mom in late June and the wait was 30-45, so we ended up grabbing some stools at the bar). The good news is you can order coffee while you wait–they serve Dilworth Fair Trade coffee and have a barista making a variety of different specialty drinks (there are tea, juice, and soda too). You also can take in a game of shuffleboard or cornhole too, but both times we opted to sit on the yellow wall and wait for them to holler our names.

{Click to read more about Zada Jane’s here and see lots of yummy photos}

About Chrissie

I love food. I love sushi, pizza, cheeseburgers, ice cream, pasta, cheesecake, and more pizza.

Off the Eaten Path is my creative outlet; it combines two of my favorite interests—writing and eating (and my third favorite interest, taking photos of the food I’m eating while annoying my family, friends and fellow dining companions.) Off the Eaten Path started as a project to chronicle my adventures exploring Charlotte, learning about Charlotte and eating my way through Charlotte. I go everywhere, from new restaurants to Charlotte institutions; dive bars, to coffee shops, to upscale restaurants, even local events; and I eat and I write what I think.