Savannah
The line gets long (for a reason) but tables turn quickly at this family-owned breakfast favorite. Staples such as omelets are prepared with fresh…
Must-see restaurants in Southern USA
Savannah
Sleek, dimly lit throwback restaurant and bar in a speakeasy style serves upmarket small plates, hearty comfort-food-style mains and bespoke cocktails for…
Charleston
Inside a cavernous 1927 bank building, this buzzy seafood hall and oyster bar feels like the best party in town. The menu is short, but the savory fare is…
Mississippi
Wood-fired pizzas are the specialty at this intimate but easy-going spot that works equally well for a date night or a chatty happy hour with a friend…
Birmingham
Excellent tacos – simple, delicious, cheap and...look, we have to stress: delicious. These guys will accommodate vegetarians, work hard and pull in huge…
Charlotte
Down at street level, beneath Uptown’s soaring skyscrapers, this cozy, homely diner buzzes with bankers and bohos alike. Its Lowcountry classics include…
Downtown & the Gulch
Glittering jewels of creamy, delicious goodness are served in giant glass jars with extra wide straws. The signature shakes are a gravity-defying mess of…
Louisiana
The Magnolia Café was once a health-food store and VW-bus repair shop. Today it's the nucleus of what's happening in St Francisville – it's where people…
Savannah
A range of internationally inspired dishes get plant-based treatments at this charming cafe. Try the seared Southern seitan (wheat gluten) with French…
Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken
Memphis
Fried-chicken connoisseurs across the globe twitch in their sleep as they dream about the gossamer-light offerings at this downtown concrete bunker, with…
Chattanooga
Perfection? The medium-rare guacamole cheeseburger slathered with a fine chipotle aioli and topped with bacon. And hey, fried chickpeas, why you got to…
Charleston
A long-standing, down-home, greasy-spoon kinda place, with harbor views and Southern hospitality as warm as the buttermilk biscuits. Thumbs up to the…
Birmingham
Fresh, well-executed Mexican food with a gourmet flair is served up in a stylish space. The tostadas, piled high with chicken or beans and topped with a…
Atlanta
At this airy Italian spot with a great outdoor seating area you can have a grappa, then tuck into some homemade tagliatelle Bolognese or grilled shrimp…
Blue Pacific at Hoover Food Mart
Birmingham
It may look like a convenience store but this tiny building serves up some of the best Thai food in Birmingham. As you'd expect, the place ain't fancy but…
Faubourg Marigny & Bywater
This convenience store is run by Vietnamese immigrants who know how to make some of the best, most overstuffed shrimp po’boys in New Orleans. Pass on…
New Orleans
At this bustling neighborhood spot, simple bayou and delta dishes – fried catfish, BBQ shrimp and slow-roasted pork – are served with a hint of style…
Savannah
Lovers of soul food, seafood and breakfast food will get their fill with the simple, hearty plates at this humble hole in the wall. The French toast and…
Savannah
Casual pub serving locally sourced and housemade fare (right down to the ketchup). Its burgers are the best in town – we love the Trailer Park, adorned…
Charleston
Hands down the best restaurant for getting all done up, squeezing in at the bar and ordering a sizable, rare cut of steak with several glasses of Napa…
Mississippi Delta
This big-windowed bistro may be famous for its enormous cupcakes, but the sandwiches, salads and soups are quite good too. Order at the counter.
Downtown & the Gulch
This good-time Gulch addition serves affordable old-school Memphis-style barbecue. It's pretty much pork ribs (wet with sauce or dry-rubbed) and succulent…
Nashville
The famous 100-layer doughnut (it's actually 144, but who's counting?) is a sight to behold. Part doughnut, part croissant, this $4.50 beauty is rolled in…
Nashville
Chef Daniel Lindley sent the Nashville scene abuzz when he announced plans to build a restaurant in the chic Germantown neighborhood. Housed in a sweeping…
Charlotte
This new, shiny and very big outlet of a much-loved local bakery chain is the perfect spot to rest your feet or meet friends Uptown. The sandwiches and…
Nashville
Just a few miles from Downtown, but light years away from traditional Tennessee food, this vegan restaurant is an unexpected but welcome addition to the…
Five Daughters Bakery – Franklin
Tennessee
Franklin residents Isaac and Stephanie Meek own this popular doughnut and cupcake shop, which is named for their five adorable young daughters. The house…
Atlanta
Slinging old-school Southern soul food, Lowcountry cuisine and Cajun/creole staples for six decades, Paschal's touts bone-in fried-chicken sandwiches,…
Birmingham
The Southern biscuit gets the organic ingredient treatment here, in a pretty, minimalist setting filled with upcycled wood furnishings. Signature biscuits…
Savannah
This classic American ice-cream parlor has been scooping up its creamy Greek recipes since 1919. Tutti Frutti was invented here, but we dig coconut,…
East Nashville
Incinerate your palate on fiery deep-fried poultry or fish at Bolton’s, where the heat quotient hits twofold: a dry rub is dusted on before serving and a…
Atlanta
Presidents have dined here (George W Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama), movies have been filmed here (We Are Marshall), millions have eaten here: this…
Big Shake’s Hot Chicken & Fish
Tennessee
Fans of the fiery fowl can get a fix at Franklin's Big Shake’s, where the bird takes the prize for the most flavorful meat – its yellow-green tint…
East Nashville
Mas Tacos started out as a roving taco dispensary in a 1974 Winnebago, but in 2010 it became one of East Nashville’s most beloved brick-and-mortar…
New Orleans
It’s hard not to feel like you’ve stepped into the pages of the J Crew catalog during Sunday brunch at Dante’s, a country cottage on the Mississippi levee…
Tremé-Lafitte
Ray Charles wrote ‘Early in the Morning’ about Dooky’s; civil rights leaders used it as informal headquarters in the 1960s; and Barack Obama ate here…
Lexington
Blueberry lime cheesecake, blackberry and buttermilk, bourbon and honey – Crank & Boom invents flavors you didn’t even know you craved. Flights are…
New Orleans
If you're looking for a place to relax, sip wine and watch the world go by, Delachaise is a great choice. It's just steps from the St Charles Avenue…
French Quarter
Muriel's has a ghost (they set a table nightly for him!), a fascinating history, and it's one of the main stops on the Haunted History tours. The food is…
Lexington
Down-home dishes made with Kentucky ingredients is Zim’s way. Locals fill the sunny, folk art-adorned room, forking into gingerbread pancakes and biscuits…
