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North Carolina is a state the place foodies can actually unbutton their waistbands. You can be standing in line at a smokehouse ready for a NC State BBQ sandwich ready by pitmasters tending to hogs the identical method their grandparents did, otherwise you could be consuming farm-to-table meals by a chef who forages for his personal produce within the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Though North Carolina isn’t generally known as a foodie state, that is about to alter. Right here you can find barbecue heroes, five-star shrimp for 50 cents a bit, and biscuits that might rival the French in a contest for the best pastry.
If you happen to’re on the lookout for a vacation spot to sink your fork into, then you definately’re in luck. On this information, we share a few of our high foodie locations in North Carolina that we’ve found, from coastal fish shacks to Appalachian farm kitchens and all the things in between.
North Carolina’s meals scene isn’t pretentious. It’s not about white desk cloths and what number of stars are subsequent to your title — it’s grounded in neighborhood, parts are beneficiant, and flavors burst quietly and confidently.
Come hungry, and allow us to information you, as a result of a few of the greatest meals aren’t discovered on Yelp, however handed alongside by locals who know precisely the place you need to be consuming subsequent, and as North Carolina residents, we’ve obtained our ears to the bottom.
1. Asheville
Hitting the #15 spot on the leaderboard for high meals locations within the U.S. within the 2026 TripAdvisor Selection Awards, Asheville is North Carolina’s greatest foodie vacation spot, identified for its modern, domestically pushed culinary scene the place each chunk is supporting native and sustainable agriculture.
Mixing Appalachian and Southern flavors, this mountain city is all about profiting from seasonal produce and supporting its homegrown neighborhood. With 17 farmers’ markets, every restaurant has a menu that’s curated by cooks who know their growers by title.
What units Asheville aside is how tightly meals is woven into day by day life. Festivals like Chow Chow and Asheville Meals & Wine convey cooks, brewers, and eaters throughout the state to prepare dinner collectively in a distinctly unpretentious method.
Though extra well-known as a beer metropolis, and infrequently dubbed “Beer Metropolis, USA”, Asheville has some award-winning and inventive eating places tucked between microbreweries (15 of them maintain a Michelin-Star — not unhealthy for a city of lower than 100,000 folks). For daring flavors, head to Cúrate Bar de Tapas, a Michelin-star Spanish tapas bar that serves small plates which might be large on taste, whereas for unfussy road meals, Chai Pani, a James Beard Award-winning Indian restaurant has rewritten the foundations for Indian road meals to mix the flavors of the American South.
For one thing distinctive, search for menus serving up Appalachian foraging elements equivalent to wild mushrooms or ramps, and paired with Western NC delicacies like trout or livermush.
Right here’s our 48 hour itinerary information to Asheville
2. Raleigh
We are able to’t miss our residence of Raleigh, which was by no means identified for its meals scene – and to be sincere, once we first moved there, we didn’t suppose it was that nice. Right this moment, that’s all modified. We’ve seen a dynamic meals scene open up throughout the Metropolis of Oaks, providing a various array of choices — from upscale eating to traditional Southern consolation.
As a part of the Analysis Triangle, the town attracts cooks, farmers, and meals thinkers who aren’t afraid to experiment, and it reveals on the plate. Raleigh’s central location is just not solely nice for politics, but it surely additionally permits cooks to get entry to a few of North Carolina’s greatest elements. Candy potatoes, nation ham, pasture-raised pork, and even coastal seafood arrive day by day from throughout the state to convey farm-to-table eating to the town.
Maybe the very best place to have a good time Raleigh’s farm-fresh ethos is at neighborhood occasions such because the Bought to Be NC Pageant, a 3-day meals pageant hosted by the NC Division of Agriculture, in addition to smaller occasions equivalent to FoodeesFest, Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Pageant in close by Cary, and Raleigh Meals Truck Rodeo.
Relating to eating places, we all the time advocate Crawford and Son for a complicated and refined style of Southern cooking, whereas for one thing quintessentially Raleigh, you will get pit-smoked NC State BBQ completed the standard method from The Pit Genuine BBQ and Sam Jones BBQ (Michelin Bib Gourmand Award & #2 USA Right this moment 10Best Readers’ Selection Awards for Finest Carolina-style BBQ,).
You can too discover distinctive eating places equivalent to Brewery Bhavana, which pairs house-made dim sum, craft beer, a flower store, and a library – solely in Raleigh. Our latest favorites are Brodeto from Scott Crawford (Adriatic Sea flavors), Figulina (Italian), and the 5-Star Herons on the Umstead Lodge. (Ought to have gotten a Michelin Star – #nothappy) Listed below are a few of Raleigh’s should strive eating places.
3. Charlotte
As NC’s greatest metropolis, Charlotte is a significant hub for Southern delicacies. The meals scene right here is formidable, fast-growing, and more and more assured.
Lengthy generally known as a banking hub, the Queen Metropolis has a various neighborhood that has influenced its eating scene. Communities have formed a meals panorama wealthy in Vietnamese, Latin American and Caribbean flavors, paired with native elements like Carolina Gold rice, regional grains and pasture-raised meats and cooked by highly-driven cooks.
Occasions equivalent to Charlotte SHOUT! Pageant in April and Style of Charlotte in June convey pop-up eating places and road meals cooks, exhibiting the hungry and open-minded foodies that Charlotte is to not be contended with.
To pattern a few of Charlotte’s greatest dishes, head to Leah & Louise (presently transferring location), who have been listed as one of many high 20 eating places within the USA by Meals and Wine Journal in 2024, and put soulful, story-driven cooking on each plate. Or for one thing that’s not simply in regards to the meals however the setting, head to Supperland, a former historic church was a fire-led eating expertise.
4. Lexington
Referred to as the “Barbecue Capital of the World,” Lexington is to not be missed for anybody trying to strive traditional North Carolina pork barbecue smoked the genuine method. Time your go to for the annual Lexington Barbecue Pageant in October to pattern the very best of the very best.
The city sits on the coronary heart of North Carolina’s Piedmont area, identified for its hardwood timber that make the proper smoke to place a pork shoulder on high. Paired with a tangy vinegar-and-ketchup “dip,” that is the place the place you’ll be able to actually style BBQ delight.
Outdoors of the Lexington Barbecue Pageant, establishments like Lexington Barbecue (the Honey Monk), Speedy’s BBQ, and Babecue Heart, is the place you could find conventional BBQ the place pork is cooked low and sluggish over stay coals, served with purple slaw, hushpuppies, and nil pretension.
Past the pits, native farms provide pork, corn, and recent year-round produce that hold the meals scene easy and seasonal.
Right here’s all the things you have to find out about North Carolina Barbecue
5. Outer Banks
After all, the place to go for wonderful seafood is the Outer Banks. Right here shrimp and oysters are an area specialty, however what makes the Outer Banks particular is that the majority eating places form their menu by the tides, the place what’s on the desk will depend on what got here in with the boats.
This lengthy chain of barrier islands has a refreshing meals scene that’s all in regards to the oceans. Eating places like O’Neal’s Sea Harvest permit diners to choose their fish, whereas Fish Heads Bar & Grill on the Outer Banks Fishing Pier in Nags Head serves up shrimp at simply 15 cents apiece.
The Paper Canoe in Duck is a standout. Their American connoisseur delicacies focuses on recent and uncomplicated but flavorful dishes starting from domestically sourced Outer Banks seafood, handcrafted pasta, and mouthwatering wooden oven specialties. The shrimp and scallop risotto I had was scrumptious with the meaty and tender scallops the very best I’ve had in America and jogged my memory of residence. And the sunsets from listed here are divine! It was the proper meal for my solo wellness retreat on the Sanderling Resort.
Additionally don’t miss the Mexican poutine at NC Coast Grill, additionally in Duck. If you wish to persist with seafood, the fish road tacos are a winner! Once more in Duck, candy treats dominate the market. Duck Donuts have gained nationwide reputation, which has areas as far West as California.
What makes the Outer Banks stand out as a foodie vacation spot is its give attention to wild-caught fish, serving up recent day-after-day. Search for regional staples on the menu equivalent to Hatteras clam chowder, native candy potatoes, oysters, and fish equivalent to bluefish, Mahi, speckled trout, and yellowfin tuna. Uncover a few of the greatest eating places within the Outer Banks.
6. Durham
One other metropolis within the Triangle area, Durham’s meals scene is progressively climbing. As soon as a tobacco city, Durham has reinvented itself into this kitschy, bohemian place the place kitchens worth creative aptitude and technical craft, and the place neighborhood, and eco-conscience are as vital as taste.
Now we have visited Durham many occasions to catch a Durham Balls Baseball recreation, and love exploring the culinary scene pre-match. Now we have loved consuming at Little Bull, an acclaimed restaurant that provides Latin-inspired delicacies – James Beard nominated, owner-chef Oscar Diaz is presently competing on Bravos Prime Chef: Carolinas (Feb 2026). Mateo Bar de Tapas is a James Beard-nominated restaurant that blends Spanish flavors with conventional Southern elements and dishes right into a rotating menu of small-plate meals.
Different common Durham foodie eating places, embrace Nikos, who serves up flavors distilled from Greece and the encompassing areas and Saltbox Seafood Joint, whose chef, Ricky Moore, has earned two James Beard nominees and gained the award for Finest Chef Southeast in 2022.
Like Raleigh, Durham’s foodie scene is all about pushing boundaries and creating one thing modern and unseen earlier than, however with a core worth of protecting it native, seasonal and recent.
7. Boone
Nestled within the Excessive Nation, Boone is a small city with a giant character, and channels Appalachian elements into its inventive foodie scene.
A neighborhood dish you have to strive is sonker, a deep-dish fruit-based dessert originating from close by Surry County, in addition to dishes that includes heirloom apples, grass-fed beef, artisan cheeses, and mountain trout.
A restaurant to not drive previous is Gamekeeper’s Farm-to-Desk Kitchen, which sits between Blowing Rock and Boone, and is known for providing dishes made with domestically foraged mushrooms, trout, and heritage pork.
Because the title suggests, The Native is one other downtown farm to desk restaurant fork up over. Highlights have been the Thai beef tidbits – sliced NY strip in soy, curry, and butter sauce and Brazilian char-grilled steak with candy plantains, roasted asparagus, ancho chile black beans topped with selfmade chimichurri.
Surrounding Boone are farms, orchards, and creameries, feeding menus with seasonal produce that’s as recent because it will get.
Learn extra: Cool Eating places And Bars In Boone, NC for Native Flavors
8. Hendersonville
Simply south of Asheville is Hendersonville, an NC small city with a budding meals scene. Nestled within the Blue Ridge foothills, it thrives on farm-to-table ideas, with eating places serving up dishes made with domestically grown apples, heirloom greens, and pasture-raised meats.
One among our favourite eateries in Hendersonville is McFarlan Bakery, a historic bakery that has all the things made-from-scratch and has been working for over 90 years. It’s well-known for its conventional donuts, bearclaws, and truffles, and makes over 160 genuine gadgets. One other institution we love is Postero, an award-winning restaurant with an open kitchen sitting middle stage within the restaurant.
Hendersonville additionally hosts the annual North Carolina Apple Pageant, which turns Predominant Avenue right into a feast of pies, ciders, and apple-related treats!
9. Winston-Salem
Winston‑Salem won’t be the primary title that options on each foodie’s NC bucket record, however this Piedmont gem shouldn’t be pushed by way of with out stopping for a slice of Moravian hen pie, a easy but soulful double‑crusted pie stuffed with savory hen and gravy — a consolation dish that’s as timeless as the town’s cobblestone streets.
Bursting proudly with Moravian heritage, Winston-Salem gives dishes you gained’t discover wherever else in NC. One other irresistible dish to strive is Moravian sugar cake, a pillowy, candy deal with and a beloved breakfast staple that’s embedded within the city’s culinary DNA.
Outdoors of the Moravian historical past, Winston‑Salem’s eating panorama is reworked within the Summer season when the Foodees Meals & Tradition Pageant involves city – a free three‑day feast of native meals vans, candy treats, and world eats. In September, the Worldwide Village Meals & Music Pageant highlights world cuisines alongside stay music, whereas the smaller festivals like WS Meals Truck Pageant pairs collectively a love of meals and neighborhood. Winston Salem can also be the birthplace of Krispy Kreme – my favourite donuts!
10. Highlands
Highlands is one other mountain city that has a foodie scene as elevated as its views. It’s a small city within the Nantahala Nationwide Forest which has a repute for providing subtle, ingredient-driven delicacies rooted within the Southern Appalachian traditions.
What makes Highlands distinctive is its surrounding highlands are stuffed with farms, creameries, and mountain orchards that provide the city with recent provides of heirloom apples, grass-fed meats, foraged mushrooms, and delicate herbs.
Each November, Highlands attracts foodies from everywhere in the nation for the Highlands Meals & Wine Pageant, which celebrates the abundance of recent produce on the finish of a harvest season.
Outdoors of November, you could find recent farm-to-table eating at Madison’s, who’ve a comfortable but subtle eating area and a menu filled with seasonal elements, whereas informal gems like Wild Thymes Gourmand supply Asian and American delicacies in a heat and pleasant surroundings.
What foodie locations in North Carolina do you’re keen on? Any restaurant, cafe, or road meals you advocate?
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