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  3. 15 Southern Cities All Food Lovers Should Visit Now

15 Southern Cities All Food Lovers Should Visit Now

By Hannah Hayes
August 01, 2017
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Cleveland, Mississippi
Credit: Robbie Caponetto
If you’re the kind of person known to rattle off 40 restaurants when someone asks you for travel recommendations, this list is for you. From sprawling cities to tiny towns, these are the Southern destinations to visit on your next long weekend.
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Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham, Alabama
Credit: StyleBlueprint

Don’t Miss: Chez Fon Fon; Big Spoon Creamery (our Birmingham-based editors visit here perhaps too much); The Pizitz Food Hall, filled with a collection of globally influenced vendors plus a full-service, Italian spot, Fero; The Atomic Lounge for inventive, not pretentious, drinks; Johnny’s in the Homewood neighborhood; and Saw’s Soul Kitchen for Alabama White Sauce-covered barbecue.

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New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana
Credit: Courtesy of Cochon Butcher

Don’t Miss: The classics like Upperline and Dooky Chase’s Restaurant both run by pioneering women for decades; hidden French Quarter bistro, Angeline; lamb roti at Turkey and The Wolf; lunch at meat lover’s paradise Cochon Butcher; oysters at Casamento’s; and happy hour in the courtyard at Cure.

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Chapel Hill-Durham, North Carolina

Crook's Corner
Credit: via Yelp.com

Don’t Miss: Dinner at the new mid-century-modern hotel The Durham; shrimp and grits at the legendary Crook’s Corner; wildly fresh seafood at Saltbox Seafood Joint (don’t let the line scare you); Picnic for barbecue and seasonal sides; and locally loved Lantern.

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Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee
Credit: Photo: Robbie Caponetto

Don’t Miss: Wood-fired pizza at Hog and Hominy; hand-made pasta and cacio e pepe-style Brussels sprouts at Catherine and Mary’s; dive destination Ernestine and Hazel’s with their Soul Burgers and haunted jukebox; Loflin Yard's dressed-up chicken wings; ribs at Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous; a chopped pork sandwich at Payne’s Bar-B-Que; coffee and a cookie at Muddy’s Bake Shop in Midtown; and cocktails at The Beauty Shop, Priscilla Presley's former hair parlor.

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Oxford, Mississippi

Oxford, Mississippi
Credit: Stephen DeVries

Don’t Miss: Wood-fired Italian at Saint Leo, a 2017 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Restaurant; drinks on the porch overlooking the square at City Grocery; oysters and okra chaat from Chef Vishwesh Bhatt at Snackbar; and Smash Burgers at the newest outpost of Tupelo-based Neon Pig.

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Marfa, Texas

Marfa, Texas
Credit: Bar Nadar | Photographer Jennifer Boomer

Don’t Miss: Frosé at the Saint George Hotel’s new oasis Bar Nadar; gyros at Food Shark; Boyz2Men Taco Trailer; fresh Italian at Stellina; Do Your Thing Coffee; laundromat-gelateria hybrid Tumbleweed; and donuts at Buns N’ Roses.

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Lafayette, Louisiana

Lafayette, Louisiana
Credit: Facebook/Bread & Circus Provisions

Don’t Miss: Cajun classics at kitschy, taxidermy-heavy Prejean’s; house-made charcuterie and inventive pizza at Bread and Circus Provisions; drive-through delights at Daiquiri Depo; the Acadian Superette's lunch platters and Instagram-worthy signage; Johnson’s Boucaniere for boudin biscuits; brunch at The French Press; Red Beans and Sausage at Creole Lunch House.

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Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia
Credit: Photo: Robbie Caponetto

Don’t Miss: The imaginative and surprisingly affordable bar menu at Poor Hendrix; new food hall The Canteen with stalls for gourmet bagels, Middle-eastern snacks, and fresh-pressed juice; the veggie plate at Miller Union; coffee inside shipping container-constructed Brash in the Westside Provisions District; Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q; international food destination Buford Highway, especially Masterpiece and Pho Dai Loi 2; and of course Staplehouse (if you made your reservation earlier this year).

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Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia
Credit: Courtesy of Quirk Hotel

Don’t Miss: Maple + Pine in the Wes Anderson-ish, pink-accented lobby of the Quirk Hotel; locally sourced oysters at Rappahannock Restaurant; Sub Rosa Bakery’s wood-fired bread; Coconut Cream Pie at Proper Pie Co.; sister restaurants Comfort and Pasture; and Perly’s, the Southern answer to New York’s Russ & Daughters Cafe.

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Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas
Credit: Photo: Julie Soefer

Don’t Miss: Chef Ryan Pera’s thoughtful, vegetable-driven dishes at Coltivaré (tiny, but worth fighting for a table); the new seafood-focused menu at Chef Chris Shepherd’s Underbelly and Shepherd’s ambitious One-Fifth, which will morph into five different restaurants between now and 2021; Tacos al Carbon at the OG of Tex-Mex, Ninfa’s on Navigation; fruit-forward cocktails at Alba Huerta’s Julep; Crawfish and Noodles in the city’s massive Chinatown area; the seasonal Pimm’s Cup at Better Luck Tomorrow; and Anvil Bar and Refuge.

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Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville, NC
Credit: Photo: Johnny Autry

Don’t Miss: Chef Justin Burdett’s produce-packed menu at Local Provisions; trout and eggs for breakfast at Early Girl Eatery; the mountain-style cooking opus known as Rhubarb; The Admiral; tapas at Cúrate; whole-hog barbecue and a rotating cast of pies at Buxton Hall; White Duck Taco Shop; the Iron Rail IPA at Wedge Brewing Company; Almond-Rose Croissants at Owl Bakery; and a basement filled with Belgian brews at Thirsty Monk Brewery and Pub.

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Cleveland, Mississippi

Cleveland, Mississippi
Credit: Robbie Caponetto

Don’t Miss: Butcher shop and farm-to-table cafe, Delta Meat Market; burgers and live music at Hey Joe’s run by unofficial mayor Weejy Rogeers; hand-made tamales at gas station Delta Fast Food; food truck Levee Break Grill; and real-deal soul food at The Senator’s Place.

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Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee
Credit: Photo: Art Meripol

Don’t Miss: Arnold’s Country Kitchen; dinner at Rolf & Daughters (don’t skip the sourdough and seaweed butter); beer with artful cheese and charcuterie boards at Tennessee Brew Works; turbo-powered coffee at Barista Parlor in Germantown; Henrietta Red's buzzy oyster bar; cocktails in the backyard of house-turned-lounge Rosemary and Beauty Queen; hot chicken at Bolton’s; izakaya Two Ten Jack; musician-favorite dive Santa’s Pub; and Chef Tandy Wilson’s City House.

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Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas
Credit: Photo: Nancy Nolan

Don’t Miss: Pork Dumplings at Three Fold Noodles and Dumpling Co.; freshened-up bar food staples and beer at Lost Forty Brewing; lunch at The Root; a scoop of buttermilk in a cone at Loblolly Creamery; refined Southern staples at the historic Capital Hotel’s Bar and Grill; South on Main for dinner and literary readings, live music, and a jazz series curated by the staff of the Oxford American; and The Fold, tropical fare in a colorful remake of a former filling station.

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San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio
Credit: Robbie Caponetto

Don’t Miss: The Pearl Plaza, a massive compound of restaurants, like La Gloria and Cured, and shopping, housed in the stone buildings of a former brewery and bottling plant (Book a stay at Hotel Emma and you could spend the whole weekend here.); Ocho, the glass conservatory-like restaurant at Liz Lambert’s Cuba-influenced Hotel Havana (don’t miss the candlelit bar downstairs); cozy cocktail lounge The Brooklynite; shipping container counter-service at The Luxury; and Mixtli, where the planning to grab a seat at their 12-customers-only, 10-course dinners exploring different Mexican cooking traditions is well worth it.

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    1 of 15 Birmingham, Alabama
    2 of 15 New Orleans, Louisiana
    3 of 15 Chapel Hill-Durham, North Carolina
    4 of 15 Memphis, Tennessee
    5 of 15 Oxford, Mississippi
    6 of 15 Marfa, Texas
    7 of 15 Lafayette, Louisiana
    8 of 15 Atlanta, Georgia
    9 of 15 Richmond, Virginia
    10 of 15 Houston, Texas
    11 of 15 Asheville, North Carolina
    12 of 15 Cleveland, Mississippi
    13 of 15 Nashville, Tennessee
    14 of 15 Little Rock, Arkansas
    15 of 15 San Antonio, Texas

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