North Carolina

Broken spaghetti was the last thing I expected to find next to the coffee sugar, but that tiny…

By David Reed · Oct 10

Frost on the windshield is the best excuse I know for a road trip to a barbecue joint…

By David Reed · Oct 10

Frosting swirls behind a little glass case were the last thing I expected to set my alarm for,…

By Emily Brooks · Oct 10

A cup of coffee for five cents, paid on the honor system, was the first clue that this…

By David Reed · Oct 9

Grits were the last thing I expected to remember from a mountain weekend in North Carolina, yet here…

By David Reed · Oct 9

Vanilla wafers gone soft in custard can steal the spotlight from a plate of hickory-smoked pork, and that…

By Emily Brooks · Oct 9

A gas station parking lot was the last place I expected to find the best bowl of grits…

By David Reed · Oct 8

Mashed potatoes are the secret hiding inside one of the sweetest breakfasts in North Carolina, and most first-timers…

By David Reed · Oct 8

Honey butter melting into a hot cornmeal ball is a surprisingly good reason to pull off a two-lane…

By Emily Brooks · Oct 8

A pancake the size of the whole plate costs less than a dollar when you add it to…

By David Reed · Oct 7

A steaming bowl of chicken and dumplings can turn a plain weekday lunch into the best part of…

By David Reed · Oct 7

A silver dome perched on a small brick barbecue joint was the last thing I expected to see…

By Emily Brooks · Oct 7

Chili soaked into a soft steamed bun, cool slaw piled on top, and a counter stool that has…

By David Reed · Oct 6

Biscuit steam fogging a diner window is the kind of welcome you never forget, and North Carolina has…

By David Reed · Oct 6

A brick building with hand-painted signs and a gravel-and-asphalt lot does not look like the end of a…

By Emily Brooks · Oct 6

Road signs rarely tell you where to eat lunch, but one country road in eastern North Carolina is…

By David Reed · Oct 5

A whole ribeye carried out to the table and sliced right in front of you is the kind…

By David Reed · Oct 5

Grape Nehi in a glass bottle was not what I expected to find at a sandwich counter, but…

By Emily Brooks · Oct 5

Salt water steaming in a big pot by the roadside can stop a car faster than any billboard…

By David Reed · Oct 4

This is one of those places where the view deserves your attention. So do the next three feet…

By Gideon Hartwell · Oct 4

Strip-mall glass doors rarely promise much, yet some of the best cake in North Carolina waits behind them…

By David Reed · Oct 4

Breakfast here arrives on a paper plate, costs less than ten dollars, and somehow tastes like a Saturday…

By Emily Brooks · Oct 4

Retirement sounds simple until the house hunt starts asking follow-up questions. What does healthcare look like nearby? Can…

By Renata Holcombe · Oct 3

Smoke drifting over a highway exit was the only clue that lunch was about to become a memory.…

By David Reed · Oct 3

Crackling. That is the sound a basket of pork skins makes when it lands on the table straight…

By David Reed · Oct 3

Marsh grass, crab pots, and a long flat road are about all you see before the craving for…

By Emily Brooks · Oct 3

Smoke curling off a creekside grill was the only sign that a plain little building on a mountain…

By David Reed · Oct 2

You know the moment. You sit down convinced you want one thing, then somebody mentions fried okra and…

By Gideon Hartwell · Oct 2

Fishing boats drifted past my table while a basket of hushpuppies vanished faster than I care to admit.…

By David Reed · Oct 2

Corn, lima beans, and smoky pork all crowded into one thick spoonful was not what I expected from…

By Emily Brooks · Oct 2

You get two side dishes. Choose carefully. This is where friendships with mashed potatoes get tested. The main…

By Eliza Thornton · Oct 2

Okra was the last thing on my mind when I pulled off a quiet North Carolina road for…

By David Reed · Oct 1

Four pounds of rainbow trout fillets, cut fresh and bagged on ice, can turn a so-so fishing day…

By David Reed · Oct 1

Wooden pilings, salty air, and a dining room floating right over the water make a strong first impression…

By Emily Brooks · Oct 1

Wild turkeys, a cannon that launches apples, and a slushy made from frozen cider all live on the…

By David Reed · Sep 30

A wedge of pale, waxy-rinded cheese wrapped in butcher paper can turn a plain gas-and-snack stop into the…

By David Reed · Sep 30

A chrome counter, a squeaky vinyl seat, and a mug that somehow never gets empty can turn an…

By Emily Brooks · Sep 30

If I hand you a bib before dinner, trust me, there is a reason. This is not the…

By Eliza Thornton · Sep 30

Servers in paper hats and crisp white shirts were the last thing I expected to see after pulling…

By David Reed · Sep 29