New Orleans
Chef Nina Compton became a household name via the TV show Top Chef, but her New Orleans restaurant is anything but a celebrity flash in the pan. This is…
Must-see restaurants in Southern USA
Nashville
For an inviting and delicious respite from exploring the shops of 12South, pop into this bright and sparkling Lebanese bistro. The highlight at lunch? The…
Nashville
In a joint that's just a cow's tail bigger than a shack, the hard-working Gabby's crew cranks out grass-fed-beef burgers, which many say are Nashville's…
Downtown & the Gulch
Well-known Nashville chef Deb Paquette's Etch serves some of the city's most inventive cuisine – comfort food whose flavors and textures have been…
North Carolina Mountains
This cozy, lodge-like bistro, in a Prohibition-era building just off Main St, serves upscale New American cuisine – lobster or pork-belly mac and cheese,…
Alabama
Also known as Nick's in the Sticks, this rickety back-road joint is a Tuscaloosa classic. Nestled in the trees about 5 miles out of town, with a flock of…
Charleston
Housed in a former gas station, with exposed brick walls and concrete floor, this casual but stylish eatery hits the hipster high marks. But the food? Now…
Arkansas
Little Rock boasts a genuinely innovative dining scene, and even then, the Root is where local diners look for boundary breakers. The menu is exhaustively…
Coastal North Carolina
Each table at this fun fondue restaurant comes with a burner at which to melt a pot of cheesy goodness. Choose from different combos – the classic cheddar…
Knoxville
Carnivores, welcome to your happy place. The locally sourced and all-natural burgers here groan under decadent toppings such as fried eggs, pimiento…
Cajun Country
This 70-year-old smoker business turns out detour-worthy boudin (Cajun-style pork-and-rice sausage), an unstoppable smoked-pork-brisket sandwich topped…
Mississippi Delta
For a dining experience that takes you back in time, head to this eatery where you can enjoy rib-sticking, down-home Southern food elbow to elbow, family…
Arkansas
This wonderful spot is a gastronomic pet project of The Oxford American, the South's seminal quarterly literary magazine. It embraces the foodways of the…
Cajun Country
The Shade Tree is a diner, sure. But it's so much more. It's the concept of a diner – with comfort food like catfish and rib eyes and fried chicken –…
The Triangle
While it can’t claim to have invented chicken and waffles – it’s been a ‘thing’ for a couple of centuries – Dame’s has raised the ultimate comfort food to…
Charleston
With dishes like avo toast, fresh sesame kale and rainbow bowls (which come with sweet-potato noodles, veggies, herbs and Thai peanut sauce), this healthy…
Atlanta
Ria's makes a big deal about being the kind of business that accepts people of all races, religions and sexual orientations, and supports causes that…
Alabama
A soft-lit, rustic chic atmosphere pervades this romantic restaurant, which specializes in thoughtfully prepared Southern cuisine. The menu shifts, but…
Cajun Country
This French Cajun hybrid is one of the best culinary things going in Lafayette. Breakfast is mind-blowing, with a sinful Cajun Benedict (boudin instead of…
North Carolina
At lunchtime, Old Salem visitors wait patiently in line for waitstaff in old Moravian dress to serve old-time favorites, including pot roast, grilled…
Outer Banks
Yowza, this place is good. It's also historic – the entrance is a 1939 dining car that's listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Pub grub and…
New Orleans
Avo is a new kid on the Magazine St block, serving pastas cooked to perfection – as one would expect, with the owner-chef hailing from Sicily. It's clean,…
Memphis
Served in a simmering hug of chili-garlic butter, spinach and Parmesan, the grilled oysters are an oh-so-delicious introduction to this newcomer, where…
Atlanta
Credit to Miller Union – it takes its farm-to-table locavore ethos seriously. The result is exceedingly delicious Southern-inspired fare: farm egg baked…
Coastal Georgia
Chef Dave Snyder's classy, sustainable, seasonal seafood consistently hogs best-of-everything awards on St Simons, and for good reason. The menu changes…
Mississippi
Any place with an Elvis tapestry is gonna be good. This busy spot is no exception, serving hearty gourmet Southern breakfasts to appreciative hordes. From…
New Orleans
Do not be skeptical of the 'bacos' ($3), as odd as they sound. These pillowy bundles of deliciousness – a banh bao crossed with a taco – successfully…
Alabama
Sometimes, you need a burger. Just, like, a big, juicy, messy burger. Enter Locals, which has a grand menu where you can pick your meat (beef, lamb, bison…
French Quarter
Coop’s is an authentic Cajun dive, but more rocked out. Make no mistake: it can be grotty and chaotic, the servers have attitude and the layout is…
Faubourg Marigny & Bywater
The thin-crust pies here are done New York–style and taste great. The preparation is simple, but the ingredients are fresh and consistently top-notch. An…
Lexington
Follow your nose to this small smokehouse marked by a bright blue door where the buttery-tender brisket is the meat to beat. Arrive early to get a juicy…
Mississippi Delta
Locals know that some of the best food in the Delta is served inside gas stations. Open since 1941, Fratesi Bros is a fine example, where pick-up trucks…
New Orleans
You may get a no-nonsense 'what?' when you step up to the counter, but it's just part of the schtick at this scruffy deli. For quality sandwiches, cheese…
Kentucky
Chef Sara Bradley has converted an old railroad depot into a rustic venue for her modern Southern farm-to-table dishes. The menu changes with the season,…
The Triangle
This much-loved French bakery is hard to find, halfway to Chapel Hill and inconspicuous even once you spot the right strip mall. Its breads and pastries…
Faubourg Marigny & Bywater
On weekend mornings the line quite literally extends out the door here. Biscuits and gravy (topped with andouille – smoked pork sausage), fried oysters…
Louisville
Each dish has the chef’s signature biscuit as its base – a big, square, butter-brushed beauty – that’s then loaded with something comforting and delicious…
Ozark Mountains
This little cafe has a small menu, but what a menu: chicken, walnut and cranberry salad, prosciutto sandwiches and fresh quiche. This is bright, breezy…
Louisiana
Everything at this Vietnamese institution is great, but have a slurp of the pho and you may whisper a prayer to the kitchen gods for favoring you with a…
Charleston
In a converted old body shop reimagined as an industrial-chic eatery, Leon's is a Charleston favorite for three distinct and delicious items: oysters,…
