Cedric Vale

Miami and Fort Lauderdale may grab the headlines, but one South Florida shoreline has a talent for stealing…

By Cedric Vale · Aug 5

Some barbecue menus need a table of contents. This Kentucky landmark needs smoke, toasted bread, and a sauce…

By Cedric Vale · Aug 3

Choo-choose your day trip carefully, because Michigan has stops ready to pull you off the couch and onto…

By Cedric Vale · Aug 3

Your trunk is about to discover what “just browsing” really means. At this North Georgia shopping center, a…

By Cedric Vale · Aug 2

Garlic rolls have ended more sensible dinner plans than anyone cares to admit. In Gatlinburg, one longtime Italian…

By Cedric Vale · Aug 2

Dinner gets complicated quickly when every course gives you another reason to stay at the table. In Wilmington,…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 29

Theme-park traffic is not the only thing capable of rerouting a Central Florida road trip. In Apopka, a…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 29

Give into the pier pressure! Florida will certainly reward you for it. If you usually pass over smaller…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 28

Getting this table requires good timing and quick fingers. It pays off, though. Prime-time reservations disappear with the…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 27

Gluten-free dining should never feel like the less exciting option. These places prove that pastries, ramen, pasta, tacos,…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 27

Pennsylvania is ready to shell out some surprisingly good seafood. Yes, the coast is elsewhere. Your appetite does…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 26

“What we remember, what we forget, what we bury, and what we leave behind,” as Louise Erdrich put…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 26

Maryland seafood is ready to get crabby, and your clean shirt… Well, you can always wash it. The…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 25

Here is a little Florida dining tip you will be glad I shared: save an evening for this…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 24

Keep Friday open the next time you are near Northampton. This Massachusetts diner serves the kind of fried…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 24

Up, up, and away goes your ordinary road-trip plan once you see this giant superhero in Illinois. One…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 23

Shrimply put, Georgia knows how to turn a small seafood stop into a very large argument about who…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 23

Some restaurants get old. These ones get busier. Michigan has dining rooms where grandparents once ordered dinner and…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 22

The food is competing with the Atlantic. I have no idea who’s winning. Florida has turned beachfront dining…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 21

Retail therapy just found a treasure map, and the cart is already acting super confident. Inside this Pennsylvania…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 21

Let’s branch out: Michigan turns a simple question about courage into a full-body argument with gravity. Your brain…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 20

In West Virginia, a quiet Mennonite market turns one quick stop into a basket with serious ambition. The…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 20

How much fun can a shopping trip cause before the cart begins to look too expensive? Here, a…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 19

Whoever says they don’t get excited about the cool item that costs less than a fancy coffee is…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 18

Some bakeries quietly sell pastries. This North Carolina stop seems determined to turn baked goods into a full…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 18

A quick stop sounds wonderfully responsible until this place gets involved. Then five minutes develops ambitions. The shopping…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 17

A small budget can feel downright fancy when a tiny town knows how to treat it. In Iowa,…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 17

Furniture shopping can turn confidence into calculator anxiety, especially when every decent option seems determined to pick a…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 16

When in New York do as the New Yorkers do. Enjoy donuts galore. That sounds less like advice…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 16

California dining has never been great at acting regular. That is exactly why it keeps getting interesting. A…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 15

A highway break in Iowa can be so much better than a quick stretch and a bland snack.…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 15

People usually plan their trips around vacations. This one gets planned around prime rib cravings. That may sound…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 14

Water you waiting for? Montana has dining spots where the view makes a strong case for ordering a…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 14

Pennsylvania takes sandwiches seriously. This tiny shop takes a step further. It treats them like a competitive sport.…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 13

Some restaurants spend years chasing reinvention, while this place has built its reputation by knowing when to leave…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 13

Every so often, you discover a spot that lives rent-free in your lobster-loving heart. Well, don’t waste any…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 12

Virginia locals have a delicious little problem: their favorite tables keep becoming everyone else’s business. These ten restaurants…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 11

Here’s a quick tip right off the bat: treat this list as proof of what magic happens when…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 11

Utah food can make a simple order sound like a local password. Ask for any of these, and…

By Cedric Vale · Jul 10