North Carolina To Georgia
You don’t have to go far to find incredible southern comfort food restaurants in the Carolinas or Georgia. There are so many small town favorites, regional specialities and twists on traditional southern dishes that it’s hard to pick just a few favorites in each state. You’ll be hard pressed to find better bbq, desserts, and just down home goodness than in this region of the south.
Comfort Food in the Carolinas and Georgia: North Carolina
Comfort Food in the Carolinas and Georgia: NC Regional Dishes
North Carolina is our home sweet home and there are so many amazing restaurants to try that it was really hard to choose just a few for each of the destinations you see here. Home to Cheerwine and Krispy Kreme Donuts, we have a taste for sweets. Lexington style bbq, calabash shrimp, Carolina-style burgers and hotdogs, and livermush are just a few of the wonderful regional foods you’ll find in North Carolina.
Calabash Seafood
Calabash seafood is named for one of the best places to find fresh shrimp in NC. It’s not just the seafood, but the whole plate of food you get. Calabash seafood will have some kind of fried seafood (most often small shrimp that’s lightly breaded), cole slaw, hush puppies, tarter sauce and cocktail sauce.
You’ll find Calabash meals across the state in seafood shacks and fish camp restaurants that fry locally caught lake and river fish and seafood from the Carolina coast.Carolina Barbecue
Carolina Barbecue
Carolina (Lexington) BBQ is pork bbq dipped in a salty spicy vinegar based sauce. It has to hardwood smoked and sometimes you’ll find it served with both the vinegar sauce and a sweet sauce to give your tastebuds a real thrill. Almost any town in North Carolina will have a bbq joint and our personal favorites around home are BBQ King in Lincolnton, NC, BBQ Center in Lexington, NC and Kyle Fletcher’s in Gastonia, NC.
Carolina Dogs and Burgers
Carolina-style hotdogs and burgers are grilled and served on a bun with chili, cole slaw, mustard and onion. You’ll find that most places in the Carolinas call it “all the way” on their menu. Like a lot of flavor favorites here, sweet, salt, vinegar and char are a power punch of tastiness for your mouth.
Livermush
Livermush is definitely a regional thing and not something you’ll find in a lot of restaurants. It’s a breakfast meat that is sliced and fried in a hot skillet then served with eggs, grits and biscuits and gravy. The key to good livermush is asking for it to be fried crispy. Otherwise, you’ll get exactly what is says…mush.
Raleigh
Pam’s Farm House
Lyla’s Southern Kitchen
Beasley’s Chicken & Honey
Relish Craft Kitchen & Bourbon Bar
Dame’s Chicken & Waffles
Charlotte
Dish- This is my absolute favorite restaurant in Charlotte for good southern comfort food
Soul Central
Nana Morrison’s Soul Food
The King’s Kitchen
Haberdish
Wilmington
Rooster & The Crow
The Basics
Cast Iron Kitchen (breakfast/lunch)
Copper Penny
If you are heading to the Outer Banks, you can see all our favorite places to eat here.
Fun Foodie Things To Do In North Carolina
Hit up Raleigh for a tour and tasting of chocolate bars at Videri Chocolate Factory or take a trip to Mount Airy to grab lunch at Snappy Lunch. Spend a day in Lexington eating all the bbq you can stomach and then head over to Old Salem for some tasty Moravian cookies.
Blue crab festivals, bbq festivals, strawberry festivals, and county fairs all through the state host some of the best homemade foods you’ll find in the south and happen all year long. There are breweries, wineries and moonshine distilleries to tour and while you enjoy delectable tastings.
If you happen to be near Asheville, you can stop in at the Biltmore Estate for a winery tour. You can find more things to do in the mountains of North Carolina in our post on Unique things to do in the mountains.
Comfort Food in the Carolinas and Georgia: South Carolina
Comfort Food in the Carolinas and Georgia: SC Regional Dishes
Frogmore Stew (Lowcountry boil), Gullah Red Rice, She Crab Soup Pimento cheese, and Carolina Gold bbq sauce are just a few of the best things about South Carolina cuisine.
Frogmore Stew
Throw some shrimp, sausage, potatoes and corn in a giant pot, pour in some beer and season it with some spicy seafood seasonings and you’ve got yourself a Frogmore Stew. Traditionally, this low country boil is dumped out onto a newspaper lined tray and in many South Carolina restaurants, that’s exactly what you’ll find.
Beaufort County is the best place to find this heap of food and you’ll definitely want to share it because it’s never a small portion.
Gullah Red Rice
Gullah Red Rice is something you’ll often find as a side dish in Charleston. This dish has it’s roots in Gullah Geechee culture and you’ll find the best red rice in restaurants owned and operated by descendants of the African folks who brought this tomato based rice and sausage dish into existence.
She-crab Soup
She-crab soup is a velvety, sweet, cream and fish stock based soup with blue crab meat. It’s a dish I never forego when I’m out on the coast in South Carolina because it’s that good. I like it with saltines or oyster crackers to cut the sweetness just a touch and pairing it with a salad makes a perfect lunch anytime of year.
Pimento Cheese
Pimento cheese in South Carolina is an appetizer, condiment, or sandwich depending on where you go. I’ve seen it in grits, as a pretzel dip, and even in a savory shortbread type cookie. It goes on everything from fried green tomatoes to biscuits or chicken sandwiches and you will find it almost anywhere you go in this state.
Carolina Gold Sauce
Last but not last is the Carolina Gold bbq sauce. This is probably the most controversial bbq sauce out there because it is a mustard based sweet bbq sauce. I happen to love it and think it’s got just enough twang to make it perfect for ribs. If you find yourself in a bbq restaurant in South Carolina, be sure to ask to try a little gold sauce.
Greenville
Southern Culture Kitchen & Bar
Sassafrass Southern Bistro
Southern Fried Green Tomatoes
Smoke On the Water
Charleston
Poogan’s Porch
Magnolias
Page’s Okra Grill
Hannibal’s Kitchen
Henry’s On The Market
Columbia
Von’s Southern Diner
Alleana’s Southern Kitchen
Seasoned with Soul
Hilton Head Island
Annie O’s Kitchen
A Lowcountry Backyard Restaurant
One Hot Mama’s American Grill
Rock Hill
Jennie Mae’s Southern Cuisine
The Flipside Restaurant
Taylor’s Soul Food
Foodie Things To Do In South Carolina
Tour Charleston for ghosts, culinary delights or just to grab a bowl of she-crab soup. On Friday or Saturday, look for signs on the side of the road near small towns for a church fish fry for some of the best home fried fish you’ll find anywhere.
Small town “in the park” concerts and food festivals offer an excellent chance to try local food trucks. Grab a bag of boiled peanuts or spicy pork rinds on your way to a drive in theater or order frozen custard from Whit’s in Fort Mill. Although Whit’s wasn’t born in the south, it has all the lovely components of a good southern company.
Comfort Food in the Carolinas and Georgia: Georgia
Comfort Food in the Carolinas and Georgia: GA Regional Dishes
Sweet Georgia peaches and cornbread cake are just a couple of the delicacies you’ll find in this iconic southern state. Fried chicken, chicken n’ dumplings, pecan pie and good old corn on the cob are favorites in the state as well.
All Things Peach
If you’re in Georgia, you’ll find peach pie, cobbler, ice cream, cake, or tarts in almost all the best southern comfort food restaurants in the state. No matter where go, fresh peaches are part of the cuisine. You’ll find peach barbecue glazes, peach salsa and peach chutney in some entrees.
Cornbread Cake
Cornbread cake is a hard to find regional favorite available in bbq restaurants like Sweet Auburn BBQ in Atlanta or Geneva’s Famous Chicken and Cornbread Co. in Savannah. Add a little whip cream or a drizzle of Tupelo honey to the top and you’ve got yourself a Georgia treat!
Atlanta
Mary Mac’s Tea Room
Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours
Busy Bee Cafe (James Beard Award Winner)
The Colonnade
Columbus
Minnie’s Uptown Restaurant
Suggas
Ed’s Southern Cooking
Athens
Weaver D’s Delicious Fine Foods (James Beard Award Winner)
The Place
Augusta
The SolFood Kitchen
Savannah
Alligator Soul Restaurant
Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room (Jame’s Beard Award Winner)
Geneva’s Famous Chicken and Cornbread Co.
Foodie Things To Do In Georgia
Georgia, Lawd have mercy, there’s so much to do. Go to Atlanta and get a hotdog from the Varsity. Catch a show at the iconic Fox Theater and grab dinner at any restaurant in town. Tour the Coca Cola headquarters, go to a Braves game, and walk around downtown listening to street musicians for a day of fun in the Big A.
Comfort Food in the Carolinas and Georgia: GA’s Unique Experience
Head to a peach farm for a tour or to pick your own peaches if you want to try your hand at cobbler. Pub hop along the river or try Paula Deen’s Lady & Son’s restaurant for a homestyle eating experience. Myron Mixon offers a wonderful bbq class at his home and that is an amazing experience we’ll share in an upcoming article!
Comfort Food in the Carolinas and Georgia: GA’s Unique Views
Enjoy views from the vineyards and wineries of northern Georgia while taste sweet muscadine wines from this area. Check out the craft beers and moonshine options in swanky bars in any Georgia city and find intriguing flavors of fruit wines while dining at a rooftop bar. Georgia is full of amazing places to explore and foods to try from all over the south.
Comfort Food in the Carolinas and Georgia Wrap Up
Atlantic seafood, farm to table ingredients and unique flavor profiles for otherwise traditional southern foods make this area of the south an incredible find for foodies. Small plates, desserts and full blown Sunday dinners all get their time to shine in the Carolinas and Georgia. We might be a little bias, but we feel like some of the best the south has to offer can be found here.
When you’re heading a little further inland or a little further north, check out our Southern Comfort Food Restaurants Part I. You’ll find all the good eats in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia there. Keep an eye out for our next edition for Florida…yes, it gets a post all to itself because of the wild variety of eclectic tasty treats and diverse cuisine culture.
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