Over Yonder gets Southern food right

Over Yonder | Southern comfort food inside a Boone motor lodge — don't let the setting fool you

If someone told you to go to a motor lodge for dinner, you'd probably hesitate. Go anyway. Over Yonder, which moved from its original Valle Crucis farmhouse to its current spot inside Rhode's Motor Lodge after Hurricane Helene, is serving some of the more satisfying Southern food you'll find in Boone. It’s a dining room with a modern feel. It has been at this location since spring 2025.

The basics: Southern comfort food with Appalachian roots. Full bar. Lunch and dinner, closed Mondays. Reservations available for inside tables; the front porch is first-come, first-served.

What it is: The menu leans into Southern staples done carefully — trout ($28), meatloaf ($26), fried chicken ($25), shrimp and grits ($27), seasonal sides. Out front, Adirondack chairs make for a decent spot to have a drink before or after, which goes a long way toward setting the right mood.

The bar area is modern and well-done, with TVs but not in an aggressively sports-bar way. On a Saturday night, $3 Modelo beers and $6 ginger lemonade cocktails were on special — which tells you something about the attitude of the place.

What to order: The grilled meatloaf with mashed potatoes is a good call. The trout is also a standout — pan-fried, done right. It’s hard to go wrong with “chicken fried chicken,” too. If frog legs are on the menu, they're worth trying once: breaded, fried, finished in a citrusy sauce, closer in spirit to a good chicken wing than anything exotic. The sweet fried potatoes that come alongside the trout are very good.

Good to know: This place originally built its reputation at a farmhouse in Valle Crucis, and some longtime fans prefer that setting. The Boone location is more practical, less atmospheric. But the kitchen is the reason people keep coming back, and that part hasn't changed.

The move: Go for dinner. Sit outside on the porch if the weather cooperates. Order the trout or meatloaf, get whatever the vegetable special is, and don't skip the cobbler if it's on the menu. You might also explore the brunch menu Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m., with a selection of salads and sandwiches and Southern classics like fried okra and biscuits and gravy.