Skip to content

Top Navigation

Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure
  • Trip Inspiration
  • Plan Your Trip
  • World's Best
  • Destination of the Year
  • A-List Travel Advisors
  • Cruises
  • Travel Tips
  • News
  • Food + Drink
  • Travel Accessories
  • Check-In

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Your Profile

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Help
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Travel + Leisure

Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure
  • Explore

    Explore

    • World's Best

      The greatest islands, cities, hotels, cruise lines, airports, and more — as voted by you. Read More Next
    • The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2020

      Whether you're traveling solo or planning a family vacation, here are the 50 best places to visit in 2020. Read More Next
    • Let's Go Together Podcast

      Start listening to T+L's brand new podcast, Let's Go Together! Hosted by Kellee Edwards. Read More Next
  • Trip Inspiration

    Trip Inspiration

    • Trip Ideas
    • Weekend Getaways
    • Spring Travel
    • Summer Travel
    • Fall Travel
    • Winter Travel
    • Solo Travel
    • Romantic Getaways
    • Luxury Travel
    • Beach Vacations
    • Adventure Travel
    • Road Trips
    • Family Travel
    • National Parks
    • Holiday Travel
    • Travel Photography
    • Photo of the Day
    • Culture and Design
  • Plan Your Trip

    Plan Your Trip

    • Travel Guides
    • Flight Deals
    • Travel Deals
    • Ways to Save
    • Hotels + Resorts
    • Attractions
    • Amusement Parks
    • Disney Vacations
    • Festivals + Events
    • Airlines + Airports
    • Buses + Trains
    • Ground Transportation
  • World's Best

    World's Best

    • Top Hotels
    • Top Cities
    • Top Islands
    • Domestic Airlines
    • International Airlines
    • Tours
    • Safaris
    • All World's Best
  • Destination of the Year
  • A-List Travel Advisors
  • Cruises

    Cruises

    • Find A Cruise
    • Caribbean Cruises
    • River Cruises
    • European Cruises
    • All-Inclusive Cruises
    • Family Cruises
    • Alaskan Cruises
    • Disney Cruises
    • See All Cruise Vacations
  • Travel Tips

    Travel Tips

    • Travel Trends
    • Packing Tips
    • Points + Miles
    • Budgeting + Currency
    • Customs + Immigration
    • Responsible Travel
    • Travel Etiquette
    • Travel Warnings
    • Weather
    • Mobile Apps
    • See All Travel Tips
  • News

    News

    • Wellness
    • Celebrity Travel
    • Animals
    • Jobs
    • Offbeat
    • See All News
  • Food + Drink

    Food + Drink

    • Restaurants
    • Wine
    • Beer
    • Cocktails + Spirits
    • Bars + Clubs
    • Celebrity Chefs
    • Cooking + Entertaining
    • Food Fairs + Festivals
    • World's Best Restaurants
    • See All Food + Drink
  • Travel Accessories

    Travel Accessories

    • Travel Bags
    • Shoes
    • Travel Tech
    • Shopping
    • Style
    • Gift Guides
    • See All Travel Accessories
  • Check-In

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Your Profile

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Help
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Food and Drink
  3. Restaurants
  4. Road-tripping Across the American South, One Restaurant at a Time

Road-tripping Across the American South, One Restaurant at a Time

By Amy McKeever
April 15, 2015
Skip gallery slides
Save Pin
Credit: Art Meripol
Over the last several years, no other American region has quite captivated culinary obsessives like the South. Charleston chef Sean Brock has skyrocketed to global fame with his explorations of Lowcountry cooking and heirloom ingredients, while cities like Atlanta and Nashville now brim with kitchen talent.

Related: America’s Best Road Trips

The interconnectedness of these southern cities also makes the region an ideal pathway for a food-centric road trip—spend no more than five or six hours in the car at a time and arrive in a new city with knockout fried chicken, gulf seafood, barbecue, and more. Follow this path through seven states and 10 cities to eat your way through the South:
Start Slideshow

1 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Credit: Lissa Gotwals

Each point of North Carolina’s Research Triangle is a worthy spot for dining thanks to the area’s glut of acclaimed chefs. Leading the way is James Beard Award-winning chef Andrea Reusing of Lantern in Chapel Hill (open for dinner Monday through Saturday), a restaurant whose dishes offer “a marriage of Asian flavors and North Carolina ingredients,” such as tea-smoked duck and pork-and-chive dumplings.

Meanwhile, in Raleigh, about 30 miles away, Reusing’s former acolyte Ashley Christensen—a James Beard Award winner herself—dominates the dining scene with a small constellation of restaurants, a bar, and a coffee shop. Her flagship, Poole’s Diner (open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday), offers a constantly changing menu of American comfort food, while her more casual Beasley’s Chicken + Honey (open daily for lunch and dinner) specializes in fried chicken and other southern staples. Finally, Durham is a great stop on your way out of town for coffee and a pie from Scratch Bakery (open for breakfast and lunch Tuesday through Sunday).

1 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Charleston, South Carolina

Credit: Adam Goldberg

Travel time: 4.5 hours

Charleston is one of America’s top-rated dining cities—and for good reason. Pull in for lunch and head straight to Hominy Grill (open all day Monday through Saturday and for brunch on Sunday), where chef Robert Stehling has been serving traditional Lowcountry cooking for nearly two decades. Meals start with boiled peanuts and continue with options such as shrimp and grits and the restaurant’s famous “Big Nasty” sandwich of fried chicken, cheddar, and sausage gravy on a biscuit.

Move on to dinner at either one of international superstar chef Sean Brock’s many restaurants—such as the upscale McCrady’s (open daily for dinner) or the wildly popular Husk (pictured; open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday and for brunch on Sunday)—or grab a seat at the bar at Charleston stalwart Cypress (open daily for dinner), which is a sure bet for charcuterie, crisp wasabi tuna, and a three-story wine wall. Before heading back out on the highway, make a stop for lunch at trendy newcomer Leon’s Oyster Shop (open daily for lunch and dinner) for oysters, fried chicken, or an absolutely killer fish sandwich.

2 of 9

3 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Atlanta

Credit: Beall + Thomas Photography

Travel time: 5 hours

Arrive in Atlanta just in time for dinner at Holeman & Finch (open for dinner Monday through Saturday and for lunch on Sunday) for a drink, charcuterie, or offal such as fried honeycomb tripe or veal brains from legendary chef Linton Hopkins. Equally legendary is the restaurant’s double-patty burger, which comes with cheese, onions, pickles, and fries. For breakfast or lunch the next day, head to the General Muir (open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on weekdays; brunch and dinner on weekends) near the Emory campus for delicatessen staples such as a bagel with a schmear and lox, pastrami, latkes, and more.

Then start off dinner at chef Steven Satterfield’s Miller Union (open for lunch Tuesday-Saturday; dinner Monday through Saturday) with a runny farm egg baked in celery cream before moving onto entrées like lemon ravioli, snapper, or braised rabbit. Then either rise early the next morning for coffee and pastries from Cakes & Ale (lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday; breakfast at the café, open Tuesday through Sunday), or extend your stay for a lunch of quiche, an apple and cheddar sandwich, and maybe a glass of wine.

3 of 9

Advertisement

4 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Birmingham, Alabama

Credit: Christopher Hirsheimer

Travel time: 2.5 hours

Barbecue is pretty much a requirement of any southern road trip, so make a stop at Saw’s BBQ (open lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday) upon arrival in Birmingham. Pulled pork comes on a sandwich, a platter, or stuffed into a baked potato slathered with barbecue sauce. The tiny restaurant also offers a northern Alabama specialty: smoked chicken with a white, mayonnaise-based barbecue sauce. For dinner, find out why Frank Stitt’s cooking continues to draw diners from across America after more than 30 years at Highlands Bar and Grill (open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday). The “French-inspired Southern” menu draws on ingredients like guinea hen from Stitt’s favorite breeder or greens that come from his own garden.

4 of 9

5 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

New Orleans

Credit: Chris Granger

Travel time: 5.5 hours

Make sure to arrive in New Orleans in time for lunch because Cochon Butcher (lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday; lunch Sunday) is so insanely good that people stand in line out the door even hours after the height of lunch rush. Pick up some charcuterie and sausage, or try the muffaletta, pastrami, and other sandwiches made with the butcher shop’s own meats. Then make the day a Donald Link doubleheader with dinner at Cochon Butcher’s seafood-focused sister restaurant, Peche (lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday), last year’s James Beard Award winner for best new restaurant and best chef in the South, Ryan Prewitt. Split a bunch of appetizers, small plates, and entrées like oysters, grilled lamb skewers, or a whole grilled fish.

Then take a walk to the edge of the French Quarter for tiki cocktails from the obsessive Jeff “Beachbum” Berry at Latitude 29. End your time in New Orleans with brunch at one of the city’s classic breakfast-and-lunch spots, such as Brennan’s (open daily for breakfast, lunch, dinner; check website for hours from January 1 to March 31). The nearly 70-year-old Creole restaurant reopened to high praise last year and serves dishes like crispy veal cheek grillades over cheddar grits with a runny egg, turtle soup, and a Cajun Bloody Mary.

5 of 9

6 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Oxford, Mississippi

Credit: Christopher Churchill

Travel time: 5.5 hours

Mississippi makes up much of the road between New Orleans and Nashville, the next destination. Fortunately, Oxford is a perfect place for a pit-stop meal. James Beard Award through winning chef John Currence has blanketed the city with strong restaurant options, such as his flagship, City Grocery (open for lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday; brunch on Sunday). A classic dish here is the shrimp and grits, while servers also extol the Scotch eggs at brunch.

6 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Nashville

Credit: Rick Poon

Travel time: 4 hours

If you didn’t make it to one of Sean Brock’s restaurants in Charleston, make a point to hit up Husk Nashville in the Music City (lunch and dinner daily). The menu here is a bit different from its Charleston counterpart and offers several insta-classics such as Brock’s secret, spicy fried chicken recipe, deviled ham deviled eggs, and Husk’s nationally beloved cheeseburger. Nashville is also home to two very important culinary concepts: hot chicken and meat-and-three. Brace yourself for the heat on the fried chicken over at Hattie B’s (open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday; lunch on Sunday), or get in line early for lunch at Arnold’s Country Kitchen (open for lunch on weekdays) for your choice of traditional southern meats and sides such as roast beef, country-fried steak, mac and cheese, black-eyed peas, fried green tomatoes, and desserts like bread pudding.

Celebrate the end of your time in Nashville with dinner at Pinewood Social (open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner), from the restaurateurs behind the upscale Catbird Seat, which offers bowling, karaoke, a pool, and bocce in addition to its menu of fried catfish, pot roast, and stellar cocktails.

7 of 9

8 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Asheville, NC

Credit: Art Meripol

Travel time: 4.5 hours

Travel back through North Carolina on your way north and make sure to stop for lunch at Curate in Asheville (open for lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday). This tapas bar is run by Katie Button, whose time working at Spain’s famous El Bulli restaurant was immortalized in the book The Sorcerer’s Apprentices and whom Food & Wine named to its 2015 class of best new chefs. The expansive menu offers a number of tapas classics such as jamón, tortilla española, and patatas bravas as well as lamb skewers and a tender octopus dish seasoned with sea salt, olive oil, and paprika.

8 of 9

9 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Credit: Art Meripol

Subscribe to Travel + Leisure Magazine

9 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Amy McKeever

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 9 Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, North Carolina
2 of 9 Charleston, South Carolina
3 of 9 Atlanta
4 of 9 Birmingham, Alabama
5 of 9 New Orleans
6 of 9 Oxford, Mississippi
7 of 9 Nashville
8 of 9 Asheville, NC
9 of 9

Share options

Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message
Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • Sitemap
  • Travel Guide Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletters
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
Travel + Leisure is part of the Travel + Leisure Group. Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. Travel + Leisure is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation Travel + Leisure Group All Rights Reserved, registered in the United States and other countries. Travel + Leisure may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.travelandleisure.com

View image

Road-tripping Across the American South, One Restaurant at a Time
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.