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The Ultimate American Foodie Road Trip (Map Included)

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Delicious food is one of the main reasons we all travel. & every region of the world has its own unique delicacies & flavor combinations. The United States is no different. If you’re itching for a great American foodie road trip, you’ve come to the right place.

I just finished eating & hiking through an epic 3-month long American road trip in my converted camper van.

And although vanlife is definitely not as glamorous as it’s made out to be, it’s undoubtedly the best way to see America ( & there are loads of other benefits of vanlife ). Just set your GPS to avoid highways & hit the road.

Don’t have a lot of cash to spare? Don’t fret. Every item on this list is under $23. It turns out the iconic American dishes don’t break the bank.

Let’s ditch the fast food on your road trip and travel better this year.

What Exactly is American Food?

Burgers & fries. Malted milkshakes. What else is America famous for? Turns out a lot more than I originally thought.

American food is regional. The Deep South and New England regions couldn’t be more different. From the climate to the foods they lay claim to…they might as well be completely different countries.

American food is also heavily influenced by immigrants . Many of the iconic dishes created here were developed by Italian, Jewish, or Russian immigrants and paid homage to their ‘home’ countries. Think Deep Dish Pizza (Italian) or a Traditional Fish Fry (Russian) .

If you’re up for an “American” foodie road trip expect it to be a very diverse, unhealthy, & delicious adventure.

The Ultimate American Foodie Road Trip

Here is a breakdown of all the iconic American eats we stumbled upon on our trip across America and a map to guide you on your foodie quest.

Burgers, burgers, & more burgers. Montana likes its meat. These were our favorites. I’ll save you some time right now, if you’re looking for a vegan foodie road trip….this isn’t gonna be the map for you.

Cowboy Burger at Mint Bar & Grill (Livingston)

The single best burger I’ve ever eaten. I can still taste the perfectly cooked juicy patty. Paired with PBR battered fries it’s truly an American staple on a foodie road trip.

Buffalo Burger with Habenero Huckleberry Jam at Cowboys Bar & Grill (Gardiner)

You won’t find a more Montana burger. A locally sourced buffalo patty topped with house-made sweet and spicy habanero huckleberry sauce (you’ll want extra to dip your fries in) & white cheddar cheese curds.

South Dakota

The Dakota’s food scene owes thanks to its original inhabitants. The Native Americans. You’ll find a lot of buffalo meat and traditional fry bread at local restaurants all over the state.

Be sure to thoroughly explore South Dakota during your trans-American road trip. It became one of my favorite US states.

Chislic at Buglin’ Bull (Custer)

Tender grilled chunks of buffalo served with house-made steak sauce.

Indian Taco at Cedar Pass Lodge (Badlands National Park)

Imagine the lightest fluffiest fry bread topped with ground buffalo, lettuce, tomato, cheese & hot sauce. Think taco salad sitting atop a savory doughnut.

This is technically an iconic drink stop. But it still makes the cut.

Root Beer Float at Schooney Malt Shop (Taylor Falls)

A good old fashioned root beer float. Served with any ice cream your heart desires. I’m not a big soda person but there’s just something about fresh-tapped root beer from a malt shop that really satisfies.

We didn’t get to delve into the Mid-West much on this trip but Wisconsin provided the perfect taste.

I know I said to forgo the fast food BUT Wisconsin is home to Culvers. The best fast food joint in the entire United States. (Sorry In & Out fans) They specialize in frozen custard, tasty fresh burgers, and cheese curds.

Cheese Curds at The Old Fashioned (Madison)

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Half a pound of piping hot, gooey, perfectly crispy fried cheese curds. These are regularly voted the very best in Wisconsin. For good reason.

Fish Fry with Potato Pancake at Lakefront Brewery (Milwaukee)

Beer-battered cod (or walleye/perch), that’s both light and satisfying paired with a pineapple juice coleslaw, & traditional potato pancake. You can even kayak straight up to this brewery and eat along the water.

Friday night Fish Frys are a tradition in Wisconsin. German and Czech influences, as well as the practice of avoiding meat on Fridays during Lent, made it widely popular.

Illinois (Chicago)

I say Illinois, but this is really just a list of places to eat in Chicago. & there are hundreds more. Chicago is one of the best foodie cities in the entire US. (Most likely because it was an immigration hotspot in the 1920s)

Chicago Dogs at Portillos.

The most basic (& delicious) Chicago dog. An all-beef dog wrapped in a steamed poppyseed bun topped with mustard, relish, tomato, onions, sport peppers, and a large dill pickle spear. You’ll want 2-3 to make it a meal.

These hotdogs rival the world-famous Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur dogs of Iceland.

Italian Roast Beef Sandwich at Al’s Italian Beef.

Dipped with hot peppers. It’s the only way to go. This un-assuming sandwich joint serves up a sopping wet flavorful beef masterpiece.

Deep Dish Pizza at Pequods.

If your thinking “I’m really more of a thin crust person”, let me change your mind. Pequod’s isn’t an over-touristed joint turning out mediocre pies. It’s the real deal. Thick fluffy crust topped with homemade Italian sausage and hand-cut pepperoni served in a black cast-iron dish. Pequods is unique because of their burnt layer of cheese covering the top.

Chicago was once a thin crust city itself. Neapolitan immigrants brought over their cheap working-class thin crust pizza just like New York. Then in 1943, Pizzeria Uno (which still exists today), created the Italian-American hybrid…deep dish pizza.

Vermont. It’s practically Canada. The states focus on small local farming and organic produce means tasty healthy food.

Poutine from Citizen Cider (Burlington)

Crispy fries covered in house made gravy and local Maplebrook cheese curds.

Apple Cider Doughnuts from Cold Hollow Cider Mill (Stowe)

Get there are peak hours and every doughnut will be piping hot & fresh. They only have one flavor, no-frills old-fashioned apple cider. & I’m not exaggerating when I claim it’s the best doughnut I’ve ever had.

Maple Syrup from Nebraska Knoll Sugar Farm(Stowe)

Everyone has heard of Vermont maple syrup. Syrup tastings (some with cheese pairings) are one of the top Vermont things to do.

Where the most important question is ‘hot with butter’ or ‘cold with mayo’? Either way, it’s a damn good lobster roll. If you don’t like seafood…you probably shouldn’t be in Maine.

Mussels, Clam Chowder, & Lobster Bisque at Galyn’s (Bar Harbor)

YUM. Hit Galyn’s for their epic Happy Hour & stay for the seafood.

Lobster Roll at The Highroller Lobster Co. (Portland)

Whether you’re a lobster fanatic or a slight skeptic you’ll LOVE their BYO Lobster Roll. Each roll is served on a toasted brioche (locally made) slice with 4 oz of chilled claw meat. The rest is up to you. Choose from ghee, drawn butter, jalapeno mayo, curried ketchup, or roasted pineapple mayo to spice up your sandwich.

Blackened Fish & Chips at Thirsty Whale Tavern (Bar Harbor)

A massive pile of fried cod covered in “blackened” seasoning. A dressed up Maine classic.

Fried Clams at Pilot House Restaurant (Kennebunkport)

Love them. Fresh clams, I’ll take them or leave them. But I could have eaten 3 baskets of these scrumptious little snacks.

Whoopie Pie from The Landing Store (Kennebunkport)

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It looks like a giant Oreo & it is the unofficial state dessert of Maine. It’s two circles of fluffy chocolate cake sandwiched around rich creamy frosting. Traditionally, it was made from the leftover cake batter. Waste not, want not.

Massachusetts (Boston)

With 15% Irish & nearly 10% Italian you know you’re getting good food in Boston.

Roast Beef Sandwich at Kelly’s.

Kelly’s was the original inspiration for the fast-food chain Arby’s. It’s been featured on the food Network numerous times & a 6-generation family-owned chain in Massachusetts.

Cannoli at Mike’s Pastry or Modern Pastry.

There’s a heated debate over which cannoli is better & everyone in Boston seems to have an opinion. For me, Modern Pastry took the cake with its traditional ricotta filling & pistachio sprinkle.

Classic Italian Sub from Monica’s Mercado.

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This is the best sandwich I have ever eaten. It was so good when we passed through Boston a second time it’s the only place we stopped. The Italian sub is stacked with 4 different cured meats, fresh provolone cheese, balsamic, and pickled veggies.

New York (New York City)

Is there a city that has a better food reputation? We stuck to budget food options (it is a road trip after all) but if you’re looking for a world-class high-end meal…this is the city to find it in.

Jewish Deli

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A New York staple. Matza Ball Soup or a pile of Pastrami on Rye. These delis have been thriving in New York since the late 1800s. Check out 2nd Ave Deli or Carnegie Deli for New York’s best.

A simple slice of Thin NY Pizza from Joe’s Pizza. Or Mama’s Too. Or Lombardi’s.

These are infinite good pizza options in New York City. But these three are the best. Joe’s is serving up the simple & iconic cheap slice. Mama’s Too has a slightly thicker crusted pepperoni square that will knock your socks off. & Lombardi’s is the oldest coal oven pizza joint left in the city creating a perfectly tasty charred crust.

NY Bagel from Murrays Bagels or Utopia Bagels.

It’s a sin to toast them. NYC bagels are perfectly steamed and require no additional toasting. It will make you question if those circular pucks you buy at the grocery store can even be called bagels.

If you’re looking to burn off those pizza calories there are plenty of hikes in New York State to keep you busy.

Pennsylvania

In the 19th century, Americans avoided food waste at all costs. So, What is there to do with leftovers and drying out bread? Out of resourcefulness and frugality, the sandwich trend began. & Pennslyvania has some of the best American sandwiches in the country.

Rueben at Hershel’s Eastside Deli at Reading Terminal Market (Philidelphia)

You simply cannot fit more meat on this sandwich.

Philly Cheesesteak at Johns Roast Pork. (Philidelphia)

This is the unanimous favorite for Philly cheesesteaks. Perfectly melty & a family recipe from 1930. Their Hot Pork Sandwich is equally as tasty.

Washington D.C.

The heart of America’s melting pot.

Asian Fusion at Copycat.

Why here? Because it’s an exceptional meld of classic Chinese street food & American techniques. & it’s an amazing cocktail bar to boot.

North Carolina

There are 4 styles of BBQ born out of the United States: Kansas City, Texas, Memphis, & North Carolina.

North Carolina BBQ from Luella’s Bar-B-Que. (Ashville)

Tasty succulent pork with southern sides. Don’t skip the pineapple upside down if it’s available.

Southern cooking is my favorite style of American food. Fried veggies coated in butter & pig chunks, perfectly crisp fried chicken, and fluffy biscuits with gravy. What could go wrong?

Fried Chicken from Mary Macs Tearoom. (Atlanta)

Mary Macs Tearoom is historic & for the past 75 years, everything has been made in-house fresh daily. You even get a pile of fresh-baked cinnamon rolls and bread if it’s your first visit.

& Waffles from Homegrown. (Atlanta)

Chicken & Waffles. A southern staple. Don’t forget to try their Comfy Chicken Biscuit since you’re there.

Southern Cooking from Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room. (Savannah)

This place made me fall in love with southern food. All you can eat home cooking served at a community dining room table. Fried chicken, Jambalaya, Sweet Potato Souffle, and Banana Pudding were our favorites. Don’t forget to drink your fill of sweet tea.

South Carolina

The true breakfast of champions.

Shrimp & Grits from Acme Low Country Kitchen (Isle of Palms)

From traditional to flavor-packed Acme has this South Carolina favorite all day long. Super rare since it’s technically a breakfast food. My favorite version had fried green tomatoes and rich polenta cheese grits.

The Southernmost point in the United States. Home to teeny endangered Key Deer and of course Key Limes. & the best state for van life.

Key Lime Pie from Kermits Key West Key Lime Shop. (Key West)

It looks touristy from the outside but they really know how to whip up a mean slice of Key Lime Pie.

Louisiana (New Orleans)

Everything in Louisiana is an 11/10 for taste. Here’s what made the short list of dishes you must try.

Shrimp Po’ Boy & Jambalaya from Parkway Bakery and Tavern.

Flash-fried perfectly seasoned Louisiana gulf shrimp. You’ll find Po’ Boys all over the state even in gas stations…but trust us, this one is the best.

Muffuletta from Central Grocery & Deli.

A Sicilian sandwich created right here in the ol’ USA. & at this very Deli! Back in 1906 a Sicilian immigrant threw together the classic Muffuletta round sesame roll & topped it with an olive spread, cured meats, and cheese. It’s pure magic & a New Orleans creation.

Beignets from Cafe Du Monde.

Serving coffee & beignets since 1862 in the French Quarter. Coated in powdered sugar these french treats create a line that wraps around the block every morning.

Catfish from Toast.

Fried catfish is most popular during lent but you can find. it year round in New Orleans.

Crawfish Boil at Schaefer Seafood.

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Perfectly boiled little crustaceans with all the fixings.

It’s not Mexican food. It’s New Mexican food. A combination of Northern Mexican influence & Pueblo Indian foods. The heaping mounds of green chile are a dead giveaway.

Carne Adobada from Perea’s New Mexican Restaurant. (Albuquerque)

Melt in your mouth pork chunks marinated in red chile sauce.

Frito Pie from Horseman’s Haven. (Santa Fe)

Texas & New Mexico have been in a long-standing feud over who created the sloppy dish. But either way, this pile of Fritos topped with taco meat, lettuce, & tomato are delicious.

USA Foodie Road Trip Map

Here’s a complete map of every destination on this list to make your foodie road trip even easier to plan.

America is a lot more than burgers. The US is blessed with one of the most diverse cuisines in the entire world and these iconic dishes are essential stops on your next foodie road trip.

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Further Reading...

5 Delicious Places to Eat in Rosarito, Mexico.

17 TASTY Traditional Egyptian Foods to Try (+ Where to Get Them!)

Slab City, California: The Last Free Place on Earth

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50 Embarrassing Travel Fails & Mishaps You Can Learn From

The ultimate florida road trip: 21 spectacular places you must-see, beyond_the_bucketlist.

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The 15 best foodie tours in the usa.

Savor fresh seafood, authentic Tex-Mex and more during one of these highly regarded outings.

(Getty Images) |

Consider these gourmand-approved excursions when visiting America's top culinary spots.

Savannah Taste Experience: Savannah, Georgia

Sonoma Food Tour: Sonoma, California

Austin Eats Food Tours: Austin, Texas

Bite San Diego: San Diego

Walk Eat Nashville: Nashville, Tennessee

Taste of Houston Food Tours: Houston

(Jamie Francis | Courtesy of TravelPortland.com)

Forktown Food Tours: Portland, Oregon

Savor Seattle Food Tours: Seattle

Charleston Culinary Tours: Charleston, South Carolina

Gourmet Food and Wine Tours: Napa Valley

Melting Pot Food Tours: Los Angeles

Foods of New York Tours: New York City

Chicago Food Planet: Chicago

Doctor Gumbo Tours: New Orleans

Local Tastes of the City Tours: San Francisco

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Gastro Travelogue

6 Of the best foodie road trips across America

With popular food shows such as Parts Unknown, Diners Drive-Ins & Dives, and Southern Fried Road Trip , vacation-planners now have more to think about than just hitting the local attractions. These are the ultimate foodie road trips that every foodie should add to their bucket list.

Foodies everywhere are upping the ante on travel plans and combining their passion for cuisine with their passion for food as they design entire itineraries around a food tour or culinary style. Known as “food trails,” each of these unique foodie holidays is sure to help expand your discerning palette.

The powerful emergence of food tourism is not surprising. After all, Americans love food, and with many alternative diets embraced by millennials, the possibilities for food-touring are endless. Think vegan restaurants, the best barbecue, or an amazing variety of deep-fried selections — even cheese!  Not a foodie yet? Prepare to be inspired!

THE ULTIMATE FOODIE ROAD TRIPS

The tamale trail, mississippi.

When you think of Mississippi, you’re most likely to think of the blues, catfish, and cotton. Nevertheless, the tamale culture in Mississippi is stronger than ever. The Hot Tamale Trail is nestled in the Mississippi Delta region and stretches from Vicksburg to Tunica. How tamales came to be in this region is a bit of a mystery, but as the story goes, tamales appeared alongside an influx of migrant workers about a century ago. Here are some of our favourite pit stops:

• Abe’s Hot Tamales : Situated at the crossroads of highway 61 and 49, enjoy succulent barbecued pork with your tamales.
• Hick’s Tamales & BBQ Shop : Sampling these tamales is a dream and it’s no wonder — they take three days to make and have earned rave reviews.
• Ground Zero Blues Club : Fried tamales? Why not!

Here’s why the Hot Tamale Trail should be at the top of your list: no two tamales are made quite the same. Each recipe has its own unique story and history. The Southern Foodways Alliance (SFA) has designed their very own SFA Stories app which provides oral histories along the tour. With nearly 30 venues featured on the app, you can sample a little or a lot as you meander from one end of the trail to the other.

The Barbecue Tour, North Carolina

  This tour has been dubbed the “Cradle of ‘Cue” and it’s no wonder why. With 23 well-reviewed stops, prepare to learn the difference between Lexington-style and Eastern-style barbecue. In North Carolina, the reference to barbecue actually means pulled pork and lots of it . Lexington-style barbecue uses only the pork shoulder accompanied by a redder sauce seasoned with ketchup, vinegar, and pepper. Eastern-style uses more of the hog, coated with a vinegar-based sauce.

Try everything on the side of your plate from pickles to slaw and even hush puppies as you ponder who has the best sauce to offer. Make new friends as you stand in line for a plate of culinary bliss at one of these amazing locales.

• B’s Barbecue: For a classic return to the good ol’ days, begin your tour with a stop at the famous Eastern-style shop known as B’s. Come two hours early if you want to be first in line!
• Wilbur’s: For the whole-hog affair.
• Stephenson’s: If you love smokey.

Make your way to other establishments on the list and you won’t be disappointed. Many of them have been in business for decades and each has their own unique story. Be prepared to visit early in the day as the informal rule of the land is that closing time is when the pork sells out. Oh, and if you happen to plan your trip in October, make sure you check out this unique Barbecue festival!

Sample the Tastes of the Taconic State Highway, New York State

If you’re headed to New York City, do as the locals do. Then head upstate for a change of pace and some uniquely authentic treats along the way. The Taconic State Highway offers 104 miles of great views along the Appalachian Mountain Range of the same name. This narrow roadway doesn’t seem like a foodie hotspot at first glance, but it does allow for a few unexpected and delicious exits. Stunning views of the Catskills and the Hudson Highlands don’t hurt either.

• Bread Alone Baker y : Begin your drive and make a stop in Rhinebeck, just off-route on a midway point between NYC and Albany. Sample wood-fired bread made to perfection and hop back in the car when you’re done.
• The Bear Café: Now make your way toward Woodstock. Sure, it’s known for the festival that happened some 60 miles away, but this little town is actually a food lover’s dream.
• Taconic Orchards: Have a quick snack at this century-old farm.

There are a plethora of other noteworthy foodie stops located just a few miles of the Taconic. It’s a bit unexpected since most of the highway seems narrow and embraced by the surrounding forest. With Instagram-worthy sunsets and winding roads, make sure you have your GPS or a classic roadmap on hand so you don’t miss that quick exit!

Bayou Bounty, Louisiana

The Bayou Bounty trail is not for those who shy away from spice and complex flavours. Expand your palette beyond New Orleans and explore the history and culture of Acadiana. This food trail winds its way from Lafayette to Morgan City, with 15 delectable restaurants and famous stops in between. From catfish to Cajun, seafood and spice-lovers are sure to get their fill. Try these southern delights:

• Abears Café: Located in Houma, this stop is famous for catfish.
• Café JoJo’s: Love crab cakes? Head to Café JoJo’s in Morgan City.
• Avery Island: If you love spice, or Tabasco Sauce, head to Avery Island — birthplace of Tabasco Sauce. Make a day of it with a tour, a museum visit, and a cooking class.

You definitely won’t be bored on this trip! For an alternate route travel via Nashville if you love country music.

The Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail, New Mexico

What’s more American than a cheeseburger? Think outside the box and get ready for a bit of a twist. New Mexico has placed its own signature on the classic burger and now you can reap the benefits. The Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail has quite a large following and with over 100 burgers on the trail, it’s hard to know where to start. Let us help you out.

• Owl Bar and Café: A local staple, the earliest customers at the Owl Bar were scientists working on the Manhattan Project. Enjoy your green burger and pin a dollar to the wall.
• Santa Fe Bite: There’s a reason this one has earned several awards of recognition. Santa Fe Bite offers possibly the “best burgers in the nation.” Topped with a blend of Swiss and American cheese, this simple yet drool-worthy burger is superb.
• Sparky’s: With weekly music events and tourist-friendly fare, we recommend a shot of espresso on the side with your green burger.

With simple ingredients part of the allure of the green chile cheeseburger is relishing in the authenticity and uniqueness of local ingredients and spicy flavours.

The Great Wisconsin Cheese Trail

The nation’s self-proclaimed “Dairy State” offers more than quirky Cheeseheads for entertainment. Wisconsin’s cheesemakers take their art seriously. The state is in the midst of an “eat local” movement that isn’t showing signs of slowing down any time soon. Think organic, small batch, hand-made, farmer’s markets and hand-to-table. Although you’ll find some amazing cheese stops across the state, here are the top stops in the Milwaukee-area that centre around local dairy fare.

• Wisconsin Cheese Mart: In the heart of Milwaukee, you’ll find 150 cheese varieties and a claim that the Wisconsin Cheese Mart stocks “the world’s largest selection of Wisconsin cheese.”
• Widmer’s Cheese Cellars: This family business located in Theresa has used the same bricks to weight down new cheese for three generations. During the week, Widmer’s offers a guided tour of traditional methods.
• Beechwood Cheese: Nestled in the Kettle Moraine area, the Beechwood Cheese Factory in Adell is a century-old business. Check out the observation window and make sure you hit this spot on the first Saturday of the month so you can sample jalapeno curds fresh out of the vat.

Beyond Milwaukee, there is some great cheese finds in Madison, Prairie du Sac, Sauk City, and Green County. Pair your cheese with some local wine or brews, and you’ll see why Wisconsinites take so much pride in their local cheese and foodie culture.

Buckle up and prepare to eat your way across America on these ultimate foodie road trips. Great for a long weekend getaway or a longer expedition, these they have something for all food lovers from coast to coast. Ready to book your next epicurean destination and check one more item off your bucket list? Grab your roadmap (or the latest app) and get ready to hit the road.

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More to read.

• FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FOR MOUTH-WATERING SHOTS
• DELICIOUS FOODIE POSTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
• THE BEST GUIDE ON HOW TO PLAN A ROAD TRIP
• A MUST READ BEFORE YOU BOOK A EUROPE CAR RENTAL

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As a foodie and traveller, let me share with you my passion for exploring new destinations and discovering their culinary delights. Food plays a big part in my travels, and I believe that it is a great way to learn about a destination's culture and history. With my first-hand travel tips and destination guides, I hope to inspire others to embark on their own adventures and create unforgettable experiences

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Food Road Trip Planner: 6 Culinary Regions In America To Visit

• Activities and Interests
• Destinations
• Food and Drink
• Types of Travel
• United States

Exploring the culinary regions of America on a road trip is an immersive experience that helps you connect with an area. Food is a universal language; it rises above borders, social standing, and ethnicity and brings people together.

Planning a road trip around culinary regions will allow you to taste various distinctive and enticing dishes specific to the region. You’ll also learn about the history and culture behind them.

You can meet local chefs and farmers, visit markets, and attend food festivals, all while enjoying scenic drives through beautiful landscapes. A culinary road trip is not just about the food but the journey and the memories you create along the way.

Make your culinary trip to one of these cities, then drive to the surrounding countryside to find the source of the food you savor.

1. San Francisco, California

San Francisco is a city known for its outstanding foodie scene. It is a melting pot of different cultures, which is evident in its food. San Francisco has a long culinary history. It dates to the Gold Rush era when immigrants worldwide came to California in search of fortune.

The city is famous for its sourdough bread, a staple since the Gold Rush. Seafood is also a big part of the city’s culinary traditions, with fresh fish and shellfish caught from the Pacific Ocean being served in many restaurants. Additionally, San Francisco is home to Chinatown, the largest outside of Asia, and offers a range of authentic Chinese cuisine.

2. New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a city unlike any other, and its food is no exception. The cuisine of New Orleans is a fusion of French, Spanish, African, and Caribbean flavors, resulting in a unique and delicious culinary experience.

Some of the most popular dishes from the city include gumbo, jambalaya, red beans, rice, and po’boys. Seafood is also on every menu, with fresh oysters, shrimp, and crawfish served in restaurants, food stands, and food trucks. Try the famous beignets, a deep-fried doughnut covered in powdered sugar, for dessert. In New Orleans, you’ll never go hungry.

3. Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore is a city with a long and varied culinary history. The food is shaped by its location near the Chesapeake Bay, making seafood a staple in many dishes. Crab cakes, soft-shell crabs, and oysters are just a few examples of the seafood delicacies that Baltimore is known for.

But the city’s food history is not limited to seafood alone. Baltimore is famous for pit beef. This local specialty involves marinating beef and cooking it over a charcoal fire. Other popular dishes in Baltimore include Old Bay seasoning, Berger cookies, and Natty Boh beer.

4. Kansas City, Missouri And Kansas

Kansas City is often associated with world-famous barbecue. The barbecue culture in Kansas City is deeply ingrained in its history. It has become a significant part of the city’s identity. The city features over 100 barbecue restaurants, each with a unique style and flavor.

The most popular barbecued meats in Kansas City are pork ribs, burnt ends, brisket, and pulled pork. The barbecue sauce in Kansas City is a sweet and tangy tomato-based sauce used to baste the meat while it cooks. A visit to Kansas City is incomplete without trying its mouth-watering barbecue.

5. Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe has a distinct cuisine that reflects the region’s cultural legacy. The food in Santa Fe is deeply influenced by the Native American and Hispanic cultures, offering a blend of flavors and spices individual to the region.

Some of the most popular dishes in Santa Fe include green chile stew, enchiladas, tamales, and posole. The city is famous for its chilies, used in many dishes, and can be found in varying degrees of spiciness. Santa Fe’s food is just right for anyone who wants to explore new flavors, especially chilies.

6. Chicago, Illinois

Chicago has a distinct food history. It is a melting pot of different ethnicities; you can see it in the cuisine. The Windy City’s food scene has been shaped by the influence of immigrants worldwide, including European, African American, Mexican, and Asian communities.

Some of the most popular dishes in Chicago are the savory deep-dish pizzas, Chicago-style hot dogs, and Italian beef sandwiches. The city is also known for its love of street food, with food trucks and stands offering a variety of delicious eats. Chicago’s food scene is a testament to its vibrant and multicultural community.

If you’re planning a culinary road trip, there are a few things to consider. First, determine the destinations you want to visit and research the local cuisine. Look for unique and authentic dishes that are specific to each region.

You can check out food blogs, travel guides, and apps to find the best places to eat, visit markets, and attend food festivals. Plan your route to include scenic drives through beautiful landscapes and consider staying at local bed and breakfasts or inns to fully immerse yourself in the local culture. Remember to try the local specialties and meet local chefs and farmers along the way.

Covering 'off-the-beaten path,' 'not well-known,’ and 'in the shadow of' locations is Mary’s passion. She delves into art, music, food, libations, architecture, museums, parks, well-curated tours, history, agriculture, and the unexpected in micro-towns and big cities, both domestic and international.

As a lifelong traveler, her nomadic mother often handed her the map and asked her to choose the destination and route, granting her the nickname, Mary Go.

Today she travels by train, plane, bus, boat, shoe sole, and her Honda, Patty. Mary digs into culture, people, and history wherever she goes, sharing her experiences through words, photos, and video.

Fabulous cooking vacations and foodie tours right here in the U.S.A.!

The United States is the world’s melting pot, and nowhere is that more evident than in the varied cuisine one finds from coast to coast. From Vietnamese to Mexican, from soul food to Modern American, from Chinatown to Little Italy, the U.S. has a food scene that rivals anywhere else in the world.

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The food scene in the United States has evolved drastically in the last 20 years, with American chefs now considered among the best in the world. You don’t have to head to large metropolises to find amazing food, you can now find gastronomic wonders in small towns and large cities, from north to south, from coast to coast. And increasingly chefs are putting an emphasis on locally grown, regional ingredients for a true farm-to-table experience.

At The International Kitchen we’re happy to add this latest destination to our international offerings. Whether you’re a domestic traveler looking to experience the U.S. in a new way, or an international traveler taking your first trip to America, we look forward to showing you the culinary delights we have to offer!

Our domestic cooking vacations include accommodations, cooking classes, and foodie visits, and they can be 100% customized to suit your needs.

Regions we visit:

• Midwest: From the Windy City to the idyllic countryside, the Midwest is home of diverse farms growing some of America’s best food.
• West Coast: Explore the west coast to discover incredible wines, bountiful farmers markets, and world-renowned restaurants.
• The Caribbean: Discover the Caribbean flavors of Puerto Rico on a culinary tour.

Please contact us for a custom trip itinerary and quote!

A proud budding chef after a culinary vacation with The International Kitchen.

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Travelspirations

The Ultimate Foodie Road Trip Across America

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Last updated 6 months ago

Imagine this : you’re strapped into the driver’s seat of your trusty ride, a road map of America’s finest food destinations spread out before you. The sun peeks over the horizon as you kickstart this gastronomic journey.

This isn’t your everyday drive through the fast-food lane, but the ultimate foodie road trip across America .

With each stop on this remarkable voyage, you’ll encounter a smorgasbord of culinary treats , each carrying its unique tale steeped in local tradition and flavor. The thought is enough to make your taste buds tingle with anticipation, isn’t it?

Table of Contents

East Coast Delights – New York City and Beyond

Philadelphia, new england, deep south delicacies – comfort food like no other, new orleans, the tex-mex fusion – flavors from texas, 1. texas barbecue, 3. chili con carne, the fresh tastes of the west coast, los angeles, san francisco, wrapping up the epicurean journey.

But remember, this journey calls for more than just an adventurous spirit. It demands an open mind and palate.

Whether it’s the tangy barbecue ribs of the South or the creamy clam chowder of the East Coast, every dish tells a story. Yet, to truly appreciate each morsel, to savor the labor of love that goes into creating these delights , it’s essential to embrace the unfamiliar.

After all, isn’t discovery what travel is all about?

So, set aside those preconceptions about what good food ‘should’ be. Instead, buckle up and let your palate guide you through the twists and turns of this edible adventure.

I guarantee that, by the end of it, you’ll have tasted a bit of the diversity that makes America’s food scene truly incredible.

And as you steer your way through this gastronomic landscape, remember to relish the journey just as much as the destination.

Because, my friend, the flavors we’re about to uncover promise to be just as exciting as the miles we’ll traverse.

Ready to hit the road ? Let’s begin our epicurean expedition on the bustling, food-packed streets of the East Coast .

First stop, the “ City That Never Sleeps ,” the cultural melting pot known as New York City . Here, food is as diverse as the people themselves. From sizzling street food carts offering mouth-watering hot dogs to high-end eateries serving exquisitely crafted delicacies, the Big Apple ensures every palate is catered to.

Be sure to indulge in a New York-style pizza slice. Just remember, it’s all in the fold!

Now, as we venture further, we land in Philadelphia , the birthplace of the iconic Philly cheesesteak . It’s a simple yet delicious concoction of thinly sliced beefsteak , gooey melted cheese , all nestled perfectly within a crusty roll.

Trust me, this sandwich alone is worth the drive.

Moving on, New England calls us with the irresistible aroma of its famous seafood . Maine lobsters , anyone?

These coastal states offer a seafood bounty like no other. Whether it’s the creamy clam chowder or the butter-soaked lobster rolls , the freshness of their catch will leave you yearning for more.

And let’s not forget the charm of the small, family-run diners scattered throughout this region. Here, you can expect dishes made with heart, using recipes passed down from generations.

If you’re lucky, you might just get a taste of the renowned Boston cream pie !

So, after indulging in the delights of the East Coast , you might find yourself asking, “What’s next?” Well, prepare your appetite, as we’re about to venture into the heart of comfort food country.

The mouthwatering flavors of the Deep South await!

Also in United States

Ready to dive into hearty flavors and soul-warming dishes ? Welcome to the Deep South, where every bite is a comforting hug to your taste buds.

The states here have an unrivaled reputation for crafting food that speaks directly to the soul.

First up, we touch down in New Orleans , a city known for its vibrant music, unique culture, and, of course, its distinctive Creole and Cajun cuisine . Be prepared to surrender to the spicy allure of the jambalaya , or the savory seduction of the shrimp and grits .

And who could overlook the beignets , sugar-dusted and perfect with a cup of café au lait ?

Next, let’s mosey on to Memphis , the home of blues, and more importantly, barbecues ! Sink your teeth into slow- smoked ribs slathered in a tangy, sweet sauce.

Or perhaps try the Memphis-style pulled pork sandwich , a succulent treat that’s more than worth the sticky fingers.

Our final pitstop in the South is the music city of Nashville . Beyond its famous hot chicken , Nashville boasts a culinary landscape as rich as its country music heritage.

From fluffy, made-from-scratch biscuits to the iconic meat-and-three platter , Nashville’s cuisine offers an intriguing blend of Southern traditions and innovative culinary trends.

Now, once you’ve indulged in the Southern delights and wiped the last of the BBQ sauce from your chin, where to? Fear not, fellow food adventurer, for our next destination lies just beyond the horizon.

As we follow the setting sun, the unique fusion of Texan and Mexican flavors awaits. So, put your cowboy boots on and get ready to lasso some Tex-Mex treats!

Welcome to Texas , where the flavors are as big as the state itself!

This is where Texan cuisine and Mexican flavors meet in a delicious, spicy dance, resulting in what we lovingly call “ Tex-Mex .” It’s a culinary fusion that brings together the best of both worlds, creating dishes that are nothing short of spectacular.

Start off with the iconic Texas barbecue .

Unlike its Southern counterpart, Texas BBQ focuses on beef, primarily brisket, cooked slowly over indirect heat until it’s fall-apart tender. Pair it with some coleslaw, pickles, and a slice of white bread, and you’ll experience what can only be described as a Texas-style symphony of flavors.

And we can’t talk about Tex-Mex without mentioning tacos . But these aren’t your average tacos.

In Texas, you can enjoy breakfast tacos filled with eggs, cheese, and sometimes, potatoes and bacon. There’s also the carnitas and barbacoa tacos for lunch or dinner, topped with fresh salsa, and cilantro. Each bite is an explosion of flavors that will make you want to come back for more.

Of course, let’s not forget the beloved chili con carne , the Texas chili.

It’s a spicy, meaty stew that’s often served over rice or inside a fluffy baked potato. And if you’re feeling daring, why not wash it all down with a swig of Texas bourbon?

Now, as we move on from Texas , it’s time to set our sights to the setting sun . The West Coast beckons , promising a palate of fresh flavors and innovative cuisine.

Get ready to savor the bounty of the Pacific, my food-loving friend, because our next stop is the gastronomic wonderland of the West Coast !

As we venture to the western edge of our culinary map , we encounter the vibrant and fresh flavors of the West Coast .

This is where innovation meets tradition, where the farm-to-table concept isn’t a trendy gimmick, but a way of life.

First, we find ourselves in sunny Los Angeles , a city famous for more than just Hollywood. Here, every corner reveals a different culinary wonder, from food trucks selling gourmet tacos to high-end restaurants offering fusion cuisine that’s as glamorous as the city itself.

Make sure to sample the sushi while you’re here, as L.A. boasts some of the best in the country!

Northbound, we hit the culinary gold mine that is San Francisco . Home to a thriving farm-to-table movement, the city is a paradise for foodies who appreciate fresh, locally sourced ingredients.

Don’t miss the clam chowder served in a sourdough bread bowl , or the Dungeness crab , fresh from the Pacific waters.

Our final stop on the West Coast food tour is the coffee capital, Seattle . With its abundant seafood and a strong commitment to sustainability, this city promises a culinary experience that is both delicious and conscientious.

Try the wild salmon or the Pacific Northwest clam chowder , and of course, a cup of locally brewed coffee is a must!

So, as our epic foodie road trip comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on the amazing journey we’ve had. From the bustling streets of New York City to the spicy landscapes of Texas, and finally, to the fresh, innovative flavors of the West Coast, we’ve truly experienced the diverse culinary soul of America.

But remember, the beauty of this foodie road trip is that it’s yours to customize. There are countless more food havens waiting to be discovered, each with its own unique flavor and story to tell.

As we put our forks down and dust off our road maps, we look back on the culinary journey we’ve just undertaken. What a ride it’s been!

Our senses have traveled through the aromatic kitchens of New York City, savored the comforting embrace of Deep South cuisine, wrangled with the robust Tex-Mex flavors, and feasted on the innovative, fresh offerings of the West Coast. Each dish, each bite, each flavor, has been an integral part of our epicurean adventure.

But let’s remember, this journey is about more than just food. It’s about discovering the diverse cultures that come together to form the culinary mosaic of America.

It’s about the stories behind the dishes, the traditions passed down through generations, and the love and care put into preparing each meal.

As we conclude our gastronomic road trip, it’s impossible to shake the feeling that we’ve only just scratched the surface of America’s rich culinary tapestry.

Each state, each city, even each neighborhood has its own unique food story to tell.

So, fellow food adventurers, I invite you to embark on your own epicurean journey.

Whether it’s in the hustle and bustle of a city you’ve never visited, the quiet charm of a small town diner, or the comfort of your own kitchen, there are countless flavors waiting to be discovered.

Remember, the joy of food lies in the experience – the people you share it with, the places it takes you, and the stories it helps you create. And who knows?

Perhaps your next meal will be the start of a whole new adventure.

Here’s to the open road and the many meals it has to offer. Happy eating!

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Go on the ultimate foodie road trip in the USA with this map

Sep 12, 2018 • 2 min read

What’s a road trip without good food? While driving is definitely a major part of any road trip, so is deciding what you’re going to eat and where. And to solve whatever doubt you might have, Orbitz has just crafted the perfect map.

The Ultimate U.S. Foodie Trip is a new interactive map compiled by Orbitz that shows the best each continental U.S. state has to offer in terms of regional dishes and specialities. The route is essentially a big circle across 48 states, so you can start wherever you want and drive wherever your heart desires— and be sure that good food will be there waiting for you at your destination.

The map is interactive and you can scroll through the states in alphabetical order or type one in the search box. Orbitz determined which restaurant serves the state’s local delicacy and has also planned the shortest route to bring you there. You can start in the state of New York by having pizza and bagel on the streets of the Big Apple and finish in California , enjoying some fish tacos in Venice.

Between the two oceans, though, there are many more culinary wonders waiting to be discovered and tasted— pepperoni rolls in Clarksburg, West Virginia , or gumbo and jambalaya in Louisiana ’s biggest city, New Orleans ; you can stop in Denver , Colorado , for some Chile Verde and then in Seattle , Washington , for short ribs.

The 70 restaurants across the country were determined with data from FourSquare, while Orbitz compiled the shortest route between each of them thanks to Google. The travel fare aggregator company isn’t new to compiling maps bringing you to delicious food , and it has even created a compilation of city sounds in the past.

If you want to take this epic road trip across the “land of the free and home of delicious dishes,” as Orbitz puts it, you can check out their website here .

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7 Exquisite Must-Try Dishes on a Culinary Road Trip Across America

Usa wanderers presents: must-try dishes on a culinary road trip across america.

I’m a foodie, and I love traveling. I just love trying different meals from several cuisines around the world because I can taste the culture and the aromas and have a peek at the locals’ lives. But in today’s article, we’re going home. Our country is huge, and our food is exceptional. Too bad not everyone knows about this.

If you love traveling and tasting several meals as much as I do, you’re going to love today’s discussion. It’s time to make plans for your next vacation because these are the must-try dishes on your next culinary road trip across America. You taste exquisite meals, you visit our incredible country, you snap fabulous photos, and you have the best time ever. Are you ready for an old-school adventure? Let’s begin!

Culinary road trip across America – pack your bags and let’s go!

1. The Finger Lakes Wine Trails

We can’t talk about a culinary road trip across America without drinking a glass of wine, am I right? The Finger Lakes region of New York State is home to over 100 wineries, thanks to the region’s slopes, vines, and lakes. These produce a microclimate ideal for Rieslings, which is just great for grape lovers.

The breathtaking scenery is even prettier thanks to the vivid fall foliage, and trust me, you’ll want to take pictures. Seneca Lake, Cayuga Lake, and Keuka Lake are three wine paths that have a similar appeal, but you’ll love it there. The views are stunning, the wines are exceptional, and the memories will be long-cherished.

2. North Carolina’s Historic Barbecue Trail

We continue our culinary road trip across America with North Carolina’s Historic Barbecue Trail. Each one of these 24 stops has to respect strict requirements, including operating for at least 15 years, cooking over wood or charcoal pits, making their sauces, and developing a solid reputation in the local community.

While the majority of the action takes place in the vicinity of Lexington, there are several stops along the way, starting in Ayden and going all the way to Murphy. Most rail restaurants serve incredible smoked pulled pork sandwiches as a traditional meal, with sauce options ranging from vinegar-based blends to tomato-based ones. Definitely a place to check out!

3. Alabama’s Northern Trail

Have you ever been on a culinary trip across America? If not, take this article as a sign to go on this adventure, because Alabama isn’t going to disappoint you. In response to the launch of the book “100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die,”  this pretty state unveiled an incredible food map.

Each restaurant receives a vote from a panel with modern menus that showcase some of Alabama’s most delicious and popular foods, like fried catfish and Southern tomato pie. If you’re more into contemporary dishes, don’t worry; you’ll find lots of amazing things there.

Let’s suppose this culinary road trip across America sounds appealing to you. In that case, I recommend you check out Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, which is a landmark that opened in 1925 and is a must-see location for travelers on the Northern Trail.

Another thing you could do is take the Northern Trail and merge it with the Magic City Trail to find the Irondale Café. This served as inspiration for the book and movie “Fried Green Tomatoes,”   written by Fannie Flagg, and is also a delicacy that will impress everyone. You can find it cooked to perfection at several locations on the trail.

4. Great Wisconsin Cheese Tour

Wisconsin has been in love with cheese for 175 years. If you also love this delicious dairy product, this cheesy culinary road trip across America will be the time of your life. Experts say that this state loves cheese so much that they consider it an art form that manifests in more than 600 different forms.

With so many possibilities available, Travel Wisconsin designed the Great Wisconsin Cheese Tour, a three-day itinerary that starts in Madison and combines experiential learning with tastings and some of the greatest beer Wisconsin has to offer. This one might sound crazy (and delicious, of course), but according to sources, the state produces 2.8 billion pounds of cheese annually.

You can start the day with seminars (this is available for bigger groups) and samples of regional artisan cheese at Fromagination, or visit the Emmi Roth Cheese Factory in Monroe to see the production process in action.

5. New Hampshire Ice Cream Trail

Dear food lovers, we can’t continue with this culinary road trip across America without including the most delicious ice cream in our article. There are several ice cream markets in New Hampshire, serving classic Northeastern flavors like maple walnut and moose tracks. If you want to check out where the milk comes from, you can visit Brookford Farm and Connolly Brother’s Dairy Farm.

A favorite among the state’s charming ice cream parlors is Dewey’s Ice Cream Parlor and Café, which is situated close to some of New Hampshire’s most picturesque natural landmarks, including Lake Winnipesaukee. Trust me, this culinary road trip across America is the perfect vacation for all food lovers!

Keep reading to discover other impressive destinations for your culinary road trip across America!

6. Kentucky Bourbon Trail

Did you know that Kentucky is responsible for producing more than 90% of the world’s bourbon? This liquor is so good and popular that the Congress says it’s America’s only native spirit.

In 1999, people passionate about this drink wanted to impart knowledge on the science of bourbon production, so they opened the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, which is becoming more and more popular every year, drawing millions of tourists from all over the world.

This drinking and not-so-culinary road trip across America will take three days to finish, and tours include transportation, so you won’t have to worry about driving after a demanding day of tastings. The trail features well-known brands like Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark, and it can be coupled with the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour to find lesser-known distilleries. If you love souvenirs, you’ll like what I’m about to tell you: anyone who obtains all nine stamps on a free Bourbon Trail passport will receive a t-shirt.

7. Denver Beer Trail

If you’re a beer lover, say “I love beer” in the comments below. This is one of the most popular beverages in the world, dating back to ancient times. It comes in several varieties and colors, and since each of them is special and has its taste, everybody can find one they like.

The Denver Beer Trail is a terrific place to start, with so many dispersed across such a broad area. This incredible path has more than 20 breweries, and they’re frequently paired with food trucks for a delightful experience you won’t forget.

While the Denver Beer Company’s Platte Street Taproom is in an old garage, it features one of the largest outdoor seating areas in the city along with great beers on tap, such as Incredible Pedal IPA and Graham Cracker Porter.

This culinary road trip across America can be the adventure of a lifetime, especially since the Fiction Beer Company offers literary-themed beer events such as book clubs and author signings. You can also enjoy specialty beers such as Beat Cowboys, which is a pale ale influenced by Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, and Old Bums. Pack your bags, and let’s go! It’s going to be fun!

What do you think about our culinary road trip across America? Would you consider visiting any of these places? This will be an adventure to remember! Have you ever been on a culinary road trip across America before? If you have any tips or recommendations for us, feel free to share them with us!

If you enjoyed reading this article and you want to check out something else from USA Wanderers, here’s a good post for you: 10 US National Park Road Trips With Breathtaking Stops

A real foodie by heart, Andreea loves to find the most Instagrammable travel gems in the world. The years spent in Wisconsin made her fall in love with cheese curds and IHOP pancakes. Now, Andreea is embracing a new chapter in her life as a wanderer. Join her on this adventure to discover top eating locations and unforgettable views!

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Are you ready for a Road Trip? Explore these eleven incredible cross-country road trip routes across the U.S.!

Pacific Coast

Border to Border

The Road to Nowhere

The Great River Road

Appalachian Trail

Atlantic Coast

The Great Northern

The Oregon Trail

The Loneliest Road

Southern Pacific

Home / Southern Pacific

Following old US-80 and its contemporary equivalents across the nation’s southern tier takes you through more varied cultural and physical landscapes than you’ll find along any other cross-country route. Throughout this roughly 3,000-mile (4,828 km) journey, you can shift from one world to another in the time it takes to play a baseball game. Heading east from the golden sands of San Diego, within a few hours you reach the harshly beautiful Southwestern deserts, their trademark saguaro cacti creating a backdrop straight out of a Road Runner cartoon. The route’s central segment crosses the thousand-mile “you can see it for two days” plains of New Mexico and West Texas , where pump jacks jig for oil and cattle graze beneath a limitless sky. To the east spreads yet another land, starting at the cotton-rich Mississippi Delta and continuing along the foot of the Appalachians to the bayous and sea islands surrounding the country’s grandest little city, Savannah.

Especially memorable is the diversity of people and prevailing customs along the route, all highlighted by a range of accents and lingos. For travelers, this cultural diversity is perhaps most accessible in the food. Many regional American cuisines—Tex-Mex, Cajun, Creole, and barbecue, to name a few—were originally developed somewhere along this route, and roadside restaurants continue to serve up local specialties that lend new meaning to the word “authentic.” Along the open borders between Texas and New and old Mexico, in unselfconscious adobe sheds with corrugated metal roofs, chili-powered salsa accompanies roast-steak fajitas; in Louisiana, entrées featuring catfish fillets or bright-red boiled shrimp grace most menus; and everywhere you turn, roadside stands dish out reputedly the best barbecue in the universe. We’ve noted favorite places along the route, but all you need to do is follow your nose, or look for a line of pickup trucks, and you’ll find yourself in culinary heaven.

On an equal footing with the fine food is the incredible variety of music you’ll hear, whether it’s in a Texas honky-tonk or in the juke joints and gospel-spreading churches of Mississippi and Alabama. Along the Mexican border, from San Diego well past El Paso, radio stations blast out an anarchic mix of multilingual music, part country-western, part traditional Mexican, with accordions and guitars and lyrics flowing seamlessly from one language to the other and back—often in a single line of a song. Along the way, you can visit the hometowns of Buddy Holly, Little Richard, and Otis Redding, or pay your respects at the final resting places of Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, and Duane Allman. After dark, listen to the current and next generation making music in roadside bars and clubs.

A wealth of distinctive literature has grown out of these regions, and you can visit dozens of characteristic literary scenes, live and in the flesh: Carson McCullers’s “Ballad of the Sad Café” and other tales, which capture 1920s life in Columbus, Georgia; Cormac McCarthy’s wide-open tales of the Texas frontier; the diner from Fried Green Tomatoes; and the original God’s Little Acre and Tobacco Road. But there’s also sober history, from Wild West Tombstone and Bonnie and Clyde’s death site, to the Dallas intersection where JFK was assassinated, to the streets of Selma, where the civil rights movement burst forth onto the nation’s front pages. Best of all, many of the most fascinating places along the way remain refreshingly free of the slick promotion that greets you in more established tourist destinations. The relatively low profile of tourism here, and the fact that only a few big cities lie in wait to swallow your vacation dollars, help make this part of the country relatively inexpensive for visitors—but even at twice the price, it would be well worth experiencing.

Highlights along the Southern Pacific

For more insight into each stop along the Southern Pacific road trip, our content is arranged by state. Here are some major sights along the route:

• Jacumba, California – Southern gateway to the splendid 600,000-acre Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, one of the largest and wildest desert parks in the country
• Tombstone, Arizona – The rough-and-ready mining town of Tombstone has kept itself looking pretty much as it did back in the 1880s
• Roswell, New Mexico – Home to the International UFO Museum and Research Center and the only UFO-themed McDonald’s in the world
• Civil Rights Movement National Historic Trail, Alabama – Dozens of sites in Selma and Montgomery, and the entire 50-some-mile length of US-80 between them, are being documented, preserved, and protected
• Tybee Island, Georgia – This funky old family-oriented resort at the eastern end of US-80 has four blocks of burger stands, taverns, and broad clean sands

Southern Pacific Road Trip Maps

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Ultimate Foodie Road Trip: East Coast Maps!

Hit the road with our Ultimate Foodie Road Trip: East Coast Maps! Explore the best eats from Maine to Georgia, including seafood, burgers, and local favorites. Perfect for travelers craving delicious adventures.

The East Coast of the U.S.A, is home to many foodies & food lovers! Many thanks to the diverse cultures & history of the cities along the East Coast. From Philadelphias Philly Cheesesteaks to Maines seafood and NYC's Italian & Mexican culinary Highlights!

In this post, Town & Tourist will give you the run down of the most epic food halls, food festivals, Burger Joints and traditional restaurants on the East. The ideal way to sample these is via an epic food hall road trip!

1. Portland, Maine:

Starting of our East Coast Foodie Road Trip in Portland, Maine is ideal. Located bang on the east coast, head down to Portlands old port area, which is a popular attraction.

Here you can find a vast selection of eateries, due to Maines prime coastal location expect a variety of seafood! From Lobsters to fresh crabs & oysters!

Fun Fact:  Portland has one of the most number of restaurants per person out of ant city in the U.S.A. It's population is just 67,000 people yet there are over 220 restaurants.

The White Barn Inn

The  White Barn Inn Restaurant  is a historic fine dining restaurant in Kennebunks, Maine. The Menu is a emphasises a modern twist on New England classics. Chef Matthew Padilla is a world renowned culinary magician.

Popular dishes include : Signature Lobster accompanied with a Sherry Cream sauce.

There is also live music via a talented Piano Player, if you want fine dining & all the formalities then this is a classy restaurant to attend.

White Barn Inn Maine Foodie Road Trip. Source: White Barn Inn. (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)

Harmon’s Lunch

When driving into Maine, be sure to grab a tasty roadside burger from  Harmons lunch  in Falmouth.

The double cheeseburgers, with everything on (Grilled Onions, melted cheese, sweet chilli relish) is a favourite!

Eventide Oyster Co

If you want a trendy restaurant with you tasty oysters, creative cocktails and of course Maines famed lobster roll, then head down to  Eventide Oyster Co .

Eventide Oyster Co Maine - East Coast Foodie Road trip 1. Source:  Knack Factory. (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)

2. Connecticut:

With an abundance of fresh seafood from the Long Island Sound and a range of high quality local farms, Connecticut is no longer shadowed by NYC in the culinary scene.

The Place Seafood - Guilford

The Place , is the place to be! This is a unique outdoor seafood restaurant in Guilford. Here visitors can take a seat on the tree stump chairs and watch the chef grill that fresh seafood on an open air fire pit!

The menu here is simple, fresh but effective, Smoked Lobsters, Savoury clams, Sizzling Shrimp, grilled corn. For those who aren't sea food lovers try the grilled chicken or steaks.

the place seafood restaurant connecticut. Source: foodgps.com. (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)

Insider Tip:

The littleneck clams are a favourite, these are placed on the open air fire until the crack open. Then they are smothered in a delicious cocktail & thick butter sauce.

the place seafood restaurant connecticut. Source:theplaceguilford. (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)

GoldBurgers – Newington

As you drive out of Connecticut, swing by  Goldburgers  in Newington. The signature "Gold Burger" is a double cheese burger with all the toppings and the smothered in the Goldburgers secret sauce.

Get your burger  here medium rare, it will melt in your mouth and the flavours will burst out.

3. Boston, Massachusetts:

As your head into Boston, you will be astonished by the Pleathora of local, fresh eateries on offer. From local delis to farmers markets & food halls each take the fresh ingredients from the cities surrounding farms to create something truly special! Boston is also famous for it's local breweries, so be sure to wash down that Clam Chowder with a nice ale.

Famed Boston Dishes:

Clam chowder:.

Famous Boston dishes include the Clam chowder, a tasty seafood soup with onion, carrots and cream. You have to accompany this dish with a pale ale.

Boston Clam Chowder East coast foodie road trip. Source: reluctantentertainer.com. (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)

Boston Cream Pie:

For desert, dive head first into a Boston Cream pie, which is a type of butter cake smothered with vanilla custard and a chocolate glazing! In the summer, be sure to get the fresh berries on top.

Cape Cod and the Islands

A popular restaurant to try the above Boston dishes is Cape Cod and the islands!

Boston Seafood Festival

If you are taking this east coast road trip during early august, you have to attend the  Boston Seafood Festival.

This is an epic event which offers cooking demonstrations, and modern twists on contemporary Boston dishes. The atmosphere here is electric and of course the food is mouth watering!

Boston Seafood Festival. Source: www.thebostonattitude.com. (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)

Quincy Market

The  Quincy Market  food hall offers a festival like atmosphere,  but is open all year round.  Quincy Market offers a vast selection of 36 international food eateries, making it the largest food hall in New England.

Located at Faneuil Hall Marketplace expect to try superb dishes such as creamy “MMMAc ’n Cheese BBQ Chicken” or the special cup cake delights courtesy of  Wicked Good Cupcakes.

Quincy Food Market. (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)

4 South Market St, Boston, MA 02109.

Alden & Harlow

For something a little more low key, head to  Alden & Harlow   a rustic style restaurant which offers an mouth watering selection of Burgers, ribs and Beef Briskets. The secret burger here is one of the most tender in Boston & has limited availability each day.

4. New York City:

"I want to be a part of it, New York, New York". New York City is a vibrant, diverse city which has a large immigrant history from Italian, to Jewish and Hispanic neighbourhoods.

This variety of influences have created a culinary melting pot of the most delicious dishes on the East Coast!

Driving into a city like New York can be overwhelming. You will ask yourself questions like Where to start? Which Restaurant? Which foods to try? If your on Town & Tourists, East Coast Foodie Road Trip you will want to get as many dishes under your belt as you can. So it's  best to start at one of the great Food Halls/Markets in NYC.

Gansevoort Market:

Gansevoort Market  is a industrial food market which offers 24 vendors in a well lit dining area. Located in the Meatpacking District you have to swing by this place!

Great dishes include top notch seafood from Donotia and David Boudana’s Sushi Doji.

Gansevoort market food hall New York City. (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)

If your in a hurry grab a delight from Dana’s Bakery. Expect to see, Franch Macarons in smooth All american flavours such as red velvet, s’mores and key lime pie.

Pizza Loves Emily — Brooklyn

Pizza Loves Emily , is a cozy, gourmet eatery which serves wood-fired  pizzas , rustic small plates, pasta and the ever popular Emmy Burger!

Get down early to try The Emmy Burger, as it has limited availability each night. The dry aged beef patty is stacked with aged Grafton Cheddar cheese, caramelized onions and a Korean Chilli Sauce.

The unique thing about this burger is it's actually inside a pretzel bun!

Ninja - Unique Restaurant:

Ninja , is one of the most Unique Restaurants in NYC, an underground ninja village which offers a vast selection of tasty Japanese dishes.

But watch out for the nunchucks and surprise attacks by the Ninjas! This is definitely a restaurant full of surprises!

Chelsea Market/Food Hall

The ever popular Chelsea Market is a food hall, shopping mall, office building and even a television production facility all rolled into one!

Situated in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, in New York City. At 13,000 square feet, this is one hell of a facility.

Bringing in approximately  6 million national and international visitors  every year, it is one of the most magnetising destinations in New York City!  Overall,  Chelsea Market is a neighborhood market with a global perspective.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chelsea Market (@chelseamarketny)  on 2019-02-28T22:57:00.000+06:00

For food enthusiasts, it is possible to enter the Market at one end in the morning and not exit the other until lunchtime, without ever getting bored and definitely without ever going hungry!

Then even offer fun one of events like “buon’Italia” Cheese tasting! With over  35 vendors  purveying everything from soup to nuts, cheese to cheesecake. Wash it down with the finest wines or coffees from around the world.

The Food here will have you drooling with desire and we truly admire it’s creativity!

White Manna – Hackensack, New Jersey

Take a drive out to this New Jersey Institution,  that is  White Manna.   Try their famed burgers with a delicious shake and some crinkle cut fries. This place was established in 1946!

5. Philadelphia, PN

The home of Philly Cheesesteaks, a long breaded roll stuffed with steak and covered with melted american cheese! Philadelphia is also famed for its street food which included stone baked pizza, pretzels and a variety of internationals dishes.

Best place for a Philly Cheesesteak:

For a Philly Cheesesteak you have alot of options which will depend on your budget and the quality your after! But here is a couple epic spots:   Pat’s King of Steaks  and  Geno’s Steaks .

Reading Terminal Market

This is one of the most historic food halls on our list, originally started back in 1892, this vintage food emporium grew to a vibrant food hall by the 1990’s.

Following this many new vendors came into to play and the food hall grew. Such vendors as Meltkraft, Shepard Creamerys grilled cheese shop and the tubby olive proved successful bringing with each of them a unique flavour.

Reading Terminal Food Market. Photo by Visitphilly.com (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)

One of our favourites was the “Hunger Burger” by George & Mezze.

This includes deliciously unique burgers such as Philberts with( american cheese, and apple wood smoky bacon) and the  Fun guy , a great gourmet cheddar cheese and mushroom burger. Wash this all down with a tasty Bassetts Ice Cream milkshake.

The  Philly style roast pork sandwich at Hershels East Side Deli is also a major treat, although be aware of the long  queue’s!

If your in a hurry? Swing over to the  Flying Monkey Bakery  for a cake pie hybrid called the Pumpple!

Favourite among the locals,  KQ Burger  serves creative burgers, hand cut fries, and fried chicken sandwiches with a seasonal topping selection.

Try the classic double cheeseburger with the KQ secret sauce, grilled red onions and local mushrooms.

6. Delaware

Continuing on your East coast foodie road trip drive from Philadelphia and take a brief food stop in Delaware.

Delaware is a truly underrated state for foodies and often gets overshadowed by its big culinary brother in Philadelphia. In fact, a great thing about Delaware being so underated is the fact that you can get a table and the top restaurants, almost any night we ease.

Here are a couple to try on your East coast Foodie Road Trip.

Sambo's Tavern - Leipsic

Sambos is a historic Harbor side restaurant which has been owned by the same family for over 50 years! This is a multiple award winning place but they have not let it go to their heads.

There "Best of" awards include ,Best Crab House, Best Crab Cake and even Best pub!

Sambos Tavern in Delaware. (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)

As this is a Pub/Restaurant there is age restrictions especially in the evening, so keep that in mind if your traveling as a family.

IKE BURROWS, WITH WIFE, ELVA, HAS CARRIED ON HIS FATHER’S LEGACY. SAMUEL “SAMBO” BURROWS FOUNDED THE TAVERN IN 1953.: PHOTO BY CARLOS ALEJANDRO. (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)

Ulysses Gastropub – Wilmington

Ulysses Gastropub   is a gastro pub which concentrates of local, fresh produce straight from the farm. Popular dishes include their Juicy Angus Beef Burger which is caked in a addictive onion Marmalade.

7. Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore is not just a place for crab foodies, its a city that in recent years has become a whole lot more international. There are some fantastic restaurants in Baltimore where you can try everything from Venezuelan arepas, to Asian fusion dishes.

Rye Street Tavern:

New Yorks Award-winning chef Andrew Carmellini has created this real culinary gem. Special dishes here include: Chesapeake Bay seafood and hearty foods like chicken melts.

The raw seafood bar serves, Marylands finest oysters, shrimp and tuna.

The stylish interior decor offers floor to ceiling winds and outdoor seating overlooking the water.

Rye_Street tavern east coast. Source: Rye Street Tavern. (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)

EkibenIf you want a casual asian fusion eatery, this is the perfect place to take a drive to. This is a popular place for veggies, vegans and others a fusion between indian, Thai and even Ethiopian flavours! The price is very cheap, and tofu bites are great.

Captain james landing seafood palace this is a 45 year old landmark of baltimore, hop on board the ship where you can be sure the steamed crabs were caught just this morning.highlights include, all you can eat crabs and crab soup. the prices here are very reasonable considering the unique experience on offer. captain james seafood palace restaurant. (ultimate foodie road trip east coast u.s.a).

8. Washington D.C

As the capital of the USA, expect alot of fine dining restaurants popular with politicians & diplomats. In addition, to tasty cafes for quick working lunches.

Ben Chili Bowl:

A famed venue here is  Bens Chili bowl , established in 1958 this place has been a pillar of the community. They welcome regulars and of course those on east coast foodie road trips!

Former President Obama even dropped by in 2009, which as you might have guessed created a buzz at the restaurant.

Union Market

Head down to  Union Market  food hall for a selection of 40 odd local pop up’s and culinary masters giving you a wide choice of selection.

If you would rather a traditional style restaurant check out  Bidwell, started by top chef John Mooney.

Our favourite dish here was the gin and tonic salmon with caramelized cauliflower and fried oysters on the side, lathered with an emerald an chilli buttermilk sauce.  Wan’t to eat healthy?  Expect your meals to include fresh vegetables and fruits, grow in the rooftop garden! Can’t get much fresher than that can we?

View this post on Instagram Best night of the month 📽 The drive-in is back again tmrw with Clueless. More info via link in profile. #unionmarketdc A post shared by   Union Market DC  (@unionmarketdc) on 2018-06-01T02:39:00.000+06:00

If you would prefer something more casual, head over to the indoor food hall trucks.  DC Empanadas , is a great place for grilled Philly cheesesteak and juicy pulled pork.

TaKorean, is also a fine spot for something a little less heavy,   bulgogi-and-kimchi tacos.

Desert?  Head to  Co. Co . fine Chocolatiers, where you can try everything from Chocolate lathered bacon and even piping hot cocoa pops!

Truckeroo Food Truck Festival:

Truckeroo Food Truck Festival , is a monthly food festival held April through September.

The family friendly event features great food, live music, cold drinks, games, and more. Popular with the locals prices are really affordable.

Truckeroo Food Truck Festival. dcafterfive.com (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)

9. West Virginia

West Virginia attracts many for it's variety of outdoor activities from hiking to  pack rafting . However, all this adventure can sure build up an appetite, so try these tasty restaurants and quirky diners.

King Tut Drive in

King Tut Drive-In  offers a drive back in time to 1950's america. Park up and watch your rollerskating waitress drive up to your vehicle with burgers & shakes made from fresh ice cream!

Although it may be fast food, the pie and buns here are homemade and contain no preservatives. Having been filling diners bellies since the 1940's this place sure keeps to it's roots and has offers bargain prices.

King tut drive inn (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)[/caption]

Hillbilly Hot Dogs

Another casual, friendly venue is  Hillbilly Hot Dogs.    Which serve customized hog dogs with their famed "Weenie Builder".

Popular menu options include "Chucks Junk Yard Dog" which also includes homemade chilli and the Pizza Dog with melted cheese & pepperoni. The hillbilly deserts are a great afters treat.

Hill billy hotdogs west virginia. Source: Fotospot. (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)

Avenue Eats

Avenue Eats  in Wheeling, offers a pleathora of some of the tastiest gourmet burgers on the east  coast. With golden buns, tender beef patties and unique toppings such as melted blue cheese with pear.

10. North Carolina

Morgan street food hall.

Located in Raleigh, North Carolina is Morgan Street food hall a place which has a passion for great flavours and a vast selection of tongue sizzling eateries, thus making it a foodies heaven.

Here you can try everything from authentic stone baked pizza from  “Bella’s Wood Fried Pizza and Tapas” , to Cousins Maine Lobster, YoHo Hibachi & Sushi Burrito and Oak City Fish & Chips! If your in a hurry try out, the appropriately named “ Curry in a hurry!”

For Deserts check out Mama Bird’s Cookies + Cream or Bad Cat Coffee, Crepes, & Bagels! Wash it all down with a no added sugar Bubble tea or smoothie from Boba Brew.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Morgan Street Food Hall (@morganstreetfoodhall)  on 2019-08-19T19:59:00.000+06:00

They even run early morning Yoga and Pilates on occasion…now that’s food for thought!

Al’s Burger Shack

If you just fancy a quick yet,  juicy burger for the road  head to Al's Burger shack in Chapel Hill, NC. All their burgers are made from local ingredients and they are famed for their southern hospitality. Their motto "good is good Ya'll" says it all.

11. Charleston, South Carolina

Heading toward the Deep South is  Charleston,  a historic city with city war heritage and some delicious southern dishes. Foodie highlights include, fresh local seafood and southern delicacies such as friend chicken, grits and sweet tea.

The food venues here range from old school diners to new high end restaurants.

Charleston Wine & Food Festival

The  Food and Wine Festival  is the ideal opportunity to experience the city’s vibrant restaurant scene all in one place. Next event: MARCH 4 - 8, 2020

Charlestone wine & food festival eastcoast (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)

Little Jack's Tavern

Little Jack's Tavern  is an old school american tavern serving epic burgers, tender steaks strong drinks and creative cocktails.

The best burger here is the Double Tavern Burger, a lean meat patty with american cheese and the secret tavern sauce.

12. Atlanta, Georgia

A trendy American-ingredient focused  restaurant , the dishes are small & experimental they tend to alternate as local produce become available.  A staple on the menu is the Bocado burger stack with American cheese and house-made pickles

Krog Street Market

A vibrant  culinary hub of Atlanta , that your tongue with thank you for! Located in Inman Park a trendy upcoming area popular with foodies! Here your can find a great selection of eateries, restaurants, bars and even retail shops.

Krog Street Food Hall Georgia (Ultimate Foodie Road trip East Coast U.S.A)

Currently the venue has 24 food vendors from Grand Champion BBQ to Japanese small dishes and meaty grills!  For desert, sample a some fair-trade Ice Cream from the cult classic  Jeni’s, made with fresh, whole fruits for flavours.

Krog street Market and Food Hall, Atlanta, Georgia , U.S.A

Location:  99 Krog St, Atlanta, Georgia.

East coast foodie road trip map & routes:.

Share the map above on Facebook by hitting the link in the top right corner.  From there you can follow the route from whichever state your in!

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Is Alaska Airlines Safe? Discover Why Flyers Trust Their Journey With Them

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Is Southwest Airlines Safe? Uncovering What Every Traveler Needs to Know

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Is United Airlines Safe? Real Passengers Share Their Experiences

When you're planning your next trip, safety is probably at the top of your list, especially when it comes to choosing an airline. You've likely come across United Airlines, a major player in the aviation industry, and wondered, "Is United Airlines safe?" It's a valid question that deserves a closer look.

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Ultimate Guide: Top Places to Live Near Nashville for Every Lifestyle

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Ultimate Guide: Top Places to Live in New Hampshire for Every Lifestyle

Thinking about making a move to New Hampshire? You're in for a treat! From the stunning White Mountains to the serene lakes, there's a spot for everyone in this charming New England state. Whether you're after the hustle and bustle of city life or the peacefulness of the countryside, New Hampshire offers a unique blend of both.

Ultimate Guide: Best Places to Live in Delaware for Everyone [2024]

Thinking about making Delaware your new home? You're in luck! This little gem of a state might be small, but it's packed with some of the best places to live on the East Coast. From cozy beach towns to bustling city life, Delaware's got a spot for everyone.

Ultimate Guide: Top Places to Live in Massachusetts for Everyone

Thinking about making a move to Massachusetts? You're in for a treat. This state's got a little bit of everything, from bustling cities to quiet, quaint towns. Whether you're after top-notch schools, vibrant cultural scenes, or just some stunning nature, Massachusetts delivers.

Ultimate Guide: Best Places to Live in Minnesota for All Lifestyles

Thinking about making a move to Minnesota, or just curious about the best spots to call home in the Land of 10,000 Lakes? Well, you're in luck. Minnesota's not just about the cold and snow; it's packed with cities that boast great jobs, vibrant communities, and plenty of outdoor fun.

Ultimate Guide: Best Places to Live in Alaska for Everyone - From Retirees to Families

Thinking about making the big move to Alaska? You're in for a treat! It's not just about snow and sled dogs; Alaska's got some of the most stunning landscapes and tight-knit communities you'll find anywhere.

Ultimate Guide: Top Places to Live in West Virginia for Every Lifestyle

Thinking about calling West Virginia home? You're in for a treat. This place isn't just about stunning mountains and rivers; it's got some hidden gems where life feels just right. Whether you're after that small-town charm, vibrant city vibes, or a quiet spot surrounded by nature, West Virginia's got a spot for you.

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Ultimate Guide: Top Vermont Havens for Everyone - From Retirees to Young Families

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Ultimate Guide: Best Places to Live in Arkansas for Everyone (2024)

Thinking about making a move to the Natural State? You're in for a treat! Arkansas is known for its stunning natural beauty, friendly folks, and a cost of living that's hard to beat. Whether you're drawn to the hustle and bustle of city life or the peace and quiet of the countryside, Arkansas has got something for everyone.

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Ultimate Guide: Best Places to Live in Wyoming for Everyone

Thinking about making a move to Wyoming? You're in for a treat! This state's known for its wide-open spaces, stunning scenery, and a lifestyle that's both laid-back and adventurous. Whether you're drawn by the call of the wild or the promise of a peaceful, community-focused life, Wyoming's got a spot for you.

Ultimate Guide: Top Spots in South Carolina for Young Adults - Live, Work & Play

South Carolina's charm isn't just in its sweet tea and beaches. For young adults looking for a fresh start or a new scene, it's got some hidden gems that might just be your next home sweet home. From bustling cities to cozy coastal towns, there's a spot for every vibe and ambition.

Ultimate Guide: Best Places to Live in Washington State for Everyone

Thinking about making a move to the Evergreen State? You're in for a treat! Washington's got a bit of everything, from bustling city life to quiet, cozy towns. Whether you're after the techy vibes of Seattle or the serene landscapes of the Olympic Peninsula, there's a spot just for you.

Ultimate Guide: Top Places to Live in Montana for Everyone – From Retirees to Families

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Ultimate Guide: Best Places to Live in Virginia for Every Lifestyle

Thinking about making a move to Virginia? You're in for a treat! This state's got everything from bustling cities to quiet, cozy towns. Whether you're after top-notch schools, job opportunities, or just a beautiful place to call home, Virginia's got you covered.

Ultimate Guide: Top Places to Live in North Carolina for Happiness, Weather & More

Thinking about making a move to North Carolina? You're in for a treat! From the bustling streets of Charlotte to the serene beaches of the Outer Banks, North Carolina's got a little something for everyone. Whether you're after the hustle and bustle of city life or the quiet charm of small-town living, you'll find your perfect spot here.

Ultimate Guide: The Best Places to Live in Georgia for Everyone—from Retirees to Families

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Ultimate Guide: Best Places to Live in Florida for Every Lifestyle

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Ultimate Guide: Best Places to Live in Indianapolis for Everyone

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Ultimate Guide: Best Places to Live in Orlando for Families & More

Orlando's not just about theme parks and tourist spots; it's a fantastic place to plant roots, especially if you've got a family in tow. With its sunny weather, great schools, and endless activities, it's no wonder families flock here. But with so many neighborhoods, choosing where to live can feel like finding a needle in a haystack.

Ultimate Guide: Top Places in Oregon for Young Adults - Live, Play, Thrive

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Ultimate Guide: Top Places to Live in Columbus Ohio for Every Lifestyle

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Ultimate Guide: Top Affordable Places in North Carolina for Everyone

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Ultimate Guide: Top East Coast Havens for Everyone - From Retirees to Partygoers

Thinking about making a move to the East Coast? You're in for a treat! From bustling cities to quiet seaside towns, there's a spot for everyone. Whether you're dreaming of fresh seafood by the ocean or a fast-paced city vibe, we've got you covered.

Ultimate Guide: Top Places to Live in Brooklyn for Every Demographic

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Ultimate Guide: Best Places to Live in Kentucky for Everyone

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Experience True Farm-to-Table Living on a Culinary Road Trip Through Coastal Maine

Maine's rugged, rocky landscape isn't an obvious draw for farmers, food producers, or chefs. That’s exactly why generations of outside-the-box types have settled here, creating some sublime food along the way.

Kevin West is a writer, food consultant, and “canning evangelist” (according to NPR). He’s the author of the cookbook “Saving the Season,” and his work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, Martha Stewart Living, Condé Nast Traveler, Bon Appétit, and Food & Wine .

Editor's Note: Travel might be complicated right now, but use our inspirational trip ideas to plan ahead for your next bucket-list adventure. Those who choose to travel are strongly encouraged to check local government restrictions, rules, and safety measures related to COVID-19 and take personal comfort levels and health conditions into consideration before departure.

Just after lunch, not long past Labor Day, I was hightailing it across an Acadian landscape of glacier-scoured hills and moose-haunted plains. To be only somewhat more specific—because GPS showed me no nearby towns, just vague, empty stretches—I was between the Maine Turnpike and Penobscot Bay. Early as it was, somehow I was already late for dinner at the Lost Kitchen , an ambitious restaurant in an old gristmill in a depopulated town called Freedom.

Chef-owner Erin French's life story, a tale of hardship resolved, has made the Lost Kitchen into something like the Wild of the restaurant world—a runaway best seller about female grit. Despite the restaurant's cinematic isolation, nearly 20,000 hopefuls apply by postcard each year for roughly 4,600 covers. When I invited my neighbor Christine along for dinner, she didn't hesitate to drive the five hours from where we live to join me.

Christine was already there, wearing an eager expression, as I pulled into the restaurant's unpaved parking lot. We crossed the millpond dam and were shown to a table at the water's edge. Servers, mostly locals, brought artfully informal platters of appetizers while French's husband, Michael Dutton, lit braziers around the lawn. Dinner at the Lost Kitchen is typically served at six o'clock but, the day before, ours had been moved up because of incoming cold. As the afternoon sun slid behind the trees and I put on a jacket against the chill, French explained the meal ahead.

"I think we started a new thing—2:30 p.m. dinner," she said to the group, who hung on her words like the audience at a Carnegie Hall recital. As for the food she had prepared, "Last night I took my dog for a walk and found this patch of Jerusalem artichokes," French said, and "you could literally walk to the farm where your lettuce was grown," and "we have fresh pears from Victoria, who is waiting on you tonight."

A cold northern state with long winters and thin soils, Maine is perhaps not recognized as a place of agricultural abundance by anyone "from away," as Mainers say. But a week of visiting its rural restaurants showed me how the state's culinary boom began: with its farms. Kitchens in Maine, lost or otherwise, are never far from the source.

Maine is among a handful of states to have an item of food as its symbol: the lobster. I saw a bumper sticker with the shape of the crustacean inside the state borders—an emblem for what it means to live in Maine, or at least get a taste of it on vacation.

As French described the caramel-custard dessert she planned to make for us, she mentioned that the last-of-the-season raspberries to go with it were still being picked. "Fingers crossed they show up," she said with a twinkle. The local grower had meant to deliver them the night before, French continued, but being also a midwife, she got called away by another sort of delivery.

Little sounds of delight gusted among the tables. A story of new life and last-of-the-season raspberries gathered such sweetness. Emotions missing during the six months of pandemic—spontaneity, hope, joy—flitted like damselflies over the millpond. Surely no one wanted to be anywhere else in that moment, and in September of 2020, that felt like more than any of us had the right to hope for.

Related : The 10 Best Lobster Shacks in Maine

Maine is among a handful of states to have an item of food as its symbol—not through legislative action, the way calamari was designated the appetizer of Rhode Island in 2014, but as a matter of collective fancy. "Peaches come from Georgia / And lobsters come from Maine" goes the 1940s ditty "Rhode Island Is Famous for You."

I saw a bumper sticker with the shape of the crustacean inside the state borders—an emblem for what it means to live in Maine, or at least get a taste of it on vacation.

Maine actually has two iconic foods, the other being wild blueberries, an August harvest for pies and jam. The night I visited the Lost Kitchen, French served lobster on a biscuit as a starter. Later, when we spoke over the phone, she said half-seriously that lobster on the menu usually means something else—something more interesting, in her view—has fallen through.

What I had come to Maine to taste was whatever might qualify as more interesting by her standards, a level of rigorous discernment shared by James Beard–aware eaters I talked with around the state. I was told not to miss the farm-to-table Asian takeout at Ravin Nakjaroen and Paula Palakawong's Long Grain , in Camden. I was reassured that El El Frijoles , near Blue Hill, was not just a joke name but a locavore taqueria where even the heirloom black beans were Maine-grown. And I was encouraged to go to Devin Finigan's Aragosta , on Deer Isle, where the woman-led kitchen cooked woman-raised Penobscot Bay oysters and woman-grown leeks from the town of Harborside.

Finigan was raised in Vermont, and first came to Deer Isle to visit her sister, who was enrolled in the nearby Haystack Mountain School of Crafts . Later, after Finigan received a culinary education working under fine-dining luminaries Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Thomas Keller, and Dan Barber, she came back to Deer Isle to open Aragosta (Italian for "lobster") in the village of Stonington. Now relocated to Goose Cove, the indoor-outdoor restaurant is the centerpiece of a summer-camp-like resort. Ironically, the coronavirus pandemic, ruinous to many restaurants, propelled Finigan to creative maturity. She removed 40 seats from her dining room for safe distancing and switched the à la carte menu to a 10-course tasting experience.

"I want it to reflect the landscape," she explained the morning after I had been seated for dinner, blissfully alone, in the restaurant's greenhouse. "I want to highlight how lucky we are to live here." Finigan rattled off a list of ingredients sourced from the immediate vicinity—lobsters caught by her husband; scallops raised by Marsden and Bob Brewer, a father-son team in Stonington; and peas from Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch's Four Season Farm.

"It's lovely to see where it all starts," Finigan said.

Other chefs I met likewise expounded a culinary vision of place, the romance of Maine's land and sea. But many also delivered a no-nonsense disquisition about what it means to be a conscientious chef-citizen in the 2020s: making an earnest attempt to live in the granular detail of equitable action, rather than simply waving a stylish green flag.

Sustainability in its full expression, I heard, meant understanding the interconnected health of soil, water, the human body, and the broader community. Equity means reimagining a status quo that, since European settlement in Maine in 1604, has underserved the land and many of its citizens.

In other words, Maine food showed me the state through two lenses. The more rose-colored put a soft focus on Vacationland nostalgia —a lobster roll for lunch at McLoons on Sprucehead Island, an art director's fantasy of coastal quaint. The other lens drew my eye to new ways of thinking about food. I heard about aquaculture as a sustainable alternative to climate-stressed fisheries; employee-owned seed companies; cider made from foraged apples; and the birth of a Maine wine industry.

As I toured the state, my drink of choice was Morphos, a pétillant naturel, or naturally fizzy wine, from Oyster River Winegrowers that embodied a new sensibility, one that was scruffy and determinedly forward-looking.

Related : The 12 Best Places to See Fall Foliage in Maine

A book had inspired my Maine itinerary, so I made my first stop Rabelais , a bookstore in Biddeford, a former lumber and textile town midway between Kennebunkport and Portland . Owner Don Lindgren, a specialist in books about food and drink, wears a lobsterman's beard and grows food on his small homestead a few miles away.

I explained to him how I had been prompted to come to the area after reading Scott and Helen Nearing's books. Cosmopolitan intellectuals and committed radicals, the Nearings left New York City for a remote Vermont farm during the depths of the Depression, rejecting family wealth for a life of voluntary poverty. Living the Good Life, published in 1954, was their joint memoir/user's manual for what today's bloggers might call a green lifestyle—although the Nearings, who were straighter than spruce timber and buttressed by a granite sense of self-assurance, would have scorned such squishy language.

Perhaps to everyone's surprise, the book turned into a best seller and became the Old Testament of the back-to-the-land movement. When Vermont grew too crowded for their liking, the Nearings moved to Maine's Blue Hill Peninsula and made homesteading into a kind of performance art. Disciples flocked to see them chop firewood, grow vegetables, and live in the 19th century—though they did have electricity, to the disappointment of some. One visitor, now in his early 80s, stuck around. Eliot Coleman established a homestead that grew into Four Season Farm, and in time, he became a snow-haired organic guru himself.

"It comes down to hard times and wild foods. But people have chosen to farm here and fish here and forage here."

Lindgren pointed out to me that Coleman has by now influenced generations of Maine farmers and chefs, including Sam Hayward—whose Portland restaurant Fore Street, opened in 1996, was the "seedbed," in Lindgren's eyes, for the city's later culinary flowering.

He encouraged me also to look past the Nearings to see the region's first farmers: Abenaki peoples, who were growing corn, squash, and beans on the islands when Europeans arrived, and the French settlers, who established homesteads years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. It was never easy. "It comes down to hard times and wild foods," he said, quoting historian Sandra Oliver.

"We've always had a short growing season," Lindgren explained. "We've always had soil that wasn't fantastic. We've had freezing cold weather and tons of snow. But people have chosen to farm here and fish here and forage here."

On my way out, he gave me a vintage pamphlet on how to catch and prepare Maine seafood, as well as a paper sack filled with walnut-sized apples, an antique variety he grows called Chestnut—souvenirs of wild food and hard times.

The next day, at Wolfe's Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment , a working saltwater farm near L.L. Bean's Freeport emporium, I met dairy cows adorned with microchip earrings. They are part of a cutting-edge research project with a goofy name: B3, for Bovine Burp Buster. The middle B refers to methane, a greenhouse gas more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The center's agricultural research coordinator, Leah Puro, explained how the B3 Project works. A computer-controlled mobile feeding station recognizes each cow by her ear tag. It releases a dietary supplement of dried Maine seaweed, which inhibits methane production in the cow's stomach; a second machine measures the effect on her emissions.

The stakes are real. Livestock contributes more than 40 percent of all human-caused methane released into the atmosphere, and at least 90 percent of the gas produced by dairy cattle comes out the front end.

Now that organic practices have become the baseline in Maine's progressive farming circles, innovations like this one have set a new, higher standard. So-called regenerative agriculture strives to undo industrial agriculture's destructive effects, including its contributions to climate change.

"Regenerative agriculture means to farm with the cycles of nature and mimic them with our practices," Puro explained, making a full-circle gesture in the air as we toured the dairy with her colleague Andrew Lombardi. At the cows' dairy barn, which, like the entire 600-acre property, is open to the public, Lombardi added, "Organic is great. It doesn't hurt the land. Regenerative is making the land healthier."

When the Nearings arrived in Maine they, too, espoused harebrained ideas since proved prescient, among them organic gardening and a vegan diet. The morning after I met the cows, I set out on Highway 1 for the heart of Nearing country. The route took me past coastal villages where fine Federal architecture recalled how much wealth the forests and fisheries had created in centuries past. The tall-ship era marked an economic high tide in Maine, a postcolonial boom time followed by 100 years of recession. Pretty seaports survived only by replacing the once-bountiful cod with tourist dollars.

At the Penobscot River, I crossed a dramatic cable-stayed bridge strung like a shipwrecked piano; then the road bent toward the Blue Hill Peninsula. Hardscrabble farmhouses blasted by centuries of sharp weather trailed stone walls like loose threads. The illusion of being cut off from the world took hold of me, and I could imagine how powerfully it must have acted upon visitors 70 years ago, when the Nearings decided to stay.

Partway down the peninsula, I turned right toward Cape Rosier, emerging from dense woods at the shallow cove where the Nearings established Forest Farm. Scott Nearing was already nearly 70 when they started clearing land for new gardens and composting seaweed to enrich the meager soil. He died in 1983, aged 100, and Helen Nearing was still living independently when she was killed in a car crash at the age of 91.

Since her death in 1995, Forest Farm has been open to the public as the Good Life Center , and although programming was on hold due to COVID, kind members of the board made a special trip from Blue Hill so I could see the library and poke around the garden.

Half a mile down the road I met the Nearings' successors. Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch were at breakfast in the warm, bright kitchen at Four Season Farm . I took a seat at a safe distance, and Damrosch brought me a small bowl of Sun Gold cherry tomatoes, fruit-bowl sweet. A native New Yorker who studied for a Ph.D. in English literature at Columbia University, she was already an established gardening authority when she met Coleman. Together, they have organic star power—the ag world's Warren Beatty and Annette Bening.

"The Nearings probably inspired ninety-some percent of the people who came here," Coleman said. "A lot of them probably did what my first wife and I did after reading the book. We came to meet the Nearings."

The land they sold the young couple was agriculturally barren but creatively fertile. Coleman combined hands-on experience with wide reading to pioneer the use of greenhouses for four-season harvests—hence the farm's name—and to apply organic methods at a commercial scale.

"At that time, everyone told me, 'Oh this is impossible. You can't do it,'" Coleman said. "Well, I knew impossible was an easy word to overcome if you put enough energy into it."

And so a new generation of energetic idealists has followed. At the United Farmers Market of Maine, in Belfast, I met Ben Rooney, a millennial who cofounded what was surely the state's first commercial rice farm. A Colby College graduate from the Midwest, Rooney stuck around to test himself against a piece of waterlogged clay soil unsuited to more conventional crops. "The seeds are growing," Rooney said, meaning not his literal crops but the progressive ideas passed down by the Cape Rosier elders.

The surprise is how the new growth, once it bears fruit, can look so different from the parent stock. Tinder Hearth is a wood-fired bakery and pizzeria on a 19th-century homestead in Brooksville, a short drive from Four Season Farm. Tim Semler's parents, musicians, moved there in 1983, the year he was born, to get back to the land.

Semler grew up around gardens and unconventional ideas, and he came to understand the loss suffered by the community when its fishing and farming economy no longer sustained the stores, garages, schools, and churches that were the agencies of civic vitality. In 2007, he and his wife, Lydia Moffet, opened a utopian bakery to bring friends together around a community bread oven—"a village bakery without much of a village," in the words of one review.

Today, Tinder Hearth supplies bread to a community that extends as far as the Lost Kitchen, and on its twice-weekly pizza days, the wood oven fires 160 pies from 4:30 to 8 p.m.—about one a minute. Semler and Moffet have raised their kids in Brooksville, composing a life that is sustainable on a whole lot of levels. Call it regenerative entrepreneurship. "You wouldn't really know at first sight that this bakery is the result of the back-to-the-land movement," Semler said, "but it totally is."

My farm-to-table road trip was bookended by…books. At the end of the week, I was surprised to find myself at an 8,000-volume library for agrarian scholars in Pembroke, which is nearly as far Down East as you can go before you reach Canada. Pembroke was a 19th-century industrial center with shipyards, sawmills, an ironworks, and sardine canneries. These days the sardines are fished out and there are one-third as many residents as in 1870, the end of the sailing age. Even by Maine standards, land is dirt cheap.

Which is why the town's remnants are of interest to a freethinking idealist born to a wealthy Swiss-Californian family. Severine von Tscharner Fleming is a farmer, activist, and eco-firebrand who had founded four nonprofits before she reached Pembroke in 2017.

"This is not the edge of the world," she hooted as she drove me around her summer headquarters. "It's the periphery of the end of the world." Her library, soon to reopen to the public, is housed in Pembroke's Odd Fellows Hall, a lodge built by one of the mutual-aid societies that flourished with the local industries. Or, as Fleming put it, "the working man's utilitarian mansion, an artifact of the golden age in coastal Maine."

Possessed of Nearing-like physical stamina and vocal endurance, Fleming teaches culinary "wild-crafting" camps at Smithereen Farm , sells wild-blueberry jam and homemade fish sauce, and invites paying guests to stay in farmhouse rooms or in cabins or camping platforms scattered around the property. She has made herself town crier for a more sustainable, more equitable agrarian future.

"Farmers are brave and good," she shouted at me. "Give them land!" Suburbia is her nemesis. Maine is her laboratory. And Smithereen is a grand experiment: a model for the 21st century built on a "diversified ecological approach to a regional, value-added food economy."

Our conversation continued the next morning in Smithereen's open-air, wood-fired kitchen, where Fleming's ideas are grounded in the practical here and now of her revived saltwater farm. She busied her hands with the task of shucking homegrown corn, and I helped myself to breakfast from a bushel of apples harvested in an abandoned orchard nearby. Fleming told me how she had been crowded out of the Hudson Valley, her previous headquarters, by what she described as "rapid gentrification."

In Maine she found what her ideas needed most. As was the case for the Nearings, and for Coleman and Damrosch, and all those who followed, what she needed was land no one else wanted—a farm of her own.

"If you're a counterculture or a reform movement, you go to the edges," she said. "We come to the margins to experiment with new ideas."

Your Culinary Maine Address Book

Where to eat and drink.

Aragosta : The seasons of Deer Isle in a 10-course tasting menu—plus stylish cottages and suites to sleep in. Doubles from $140; tasting menu $125.

El El Frijoles : Fun locavore taqueria on the Blue Hill Peninsula. Entrées $6–$15.

Long Grain : Farm-to-table Asian takeout in the heart of the Mid-Coast. Entrées $14–$19.

Lost Kitchen : Homegrown ingredients elevated by star chef Erin French. Tasting menu $175.

McLoons Lobster Shack : Of many great lobster options, this Mid-Coast spot is perhaps the most picturesque. Entrées $6–$33.

Tinder Hearth : Utopian wood-fired pizza on the Blue Hill Peninsula. Pizzas $16–$22.

Where to Visit

Four Season Farm : Produce from Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch's legendary farm is sold to the public from a farm stand on Saturdays.

Good Life Center : The Cape Rosier homestead of back-to-the-land gurus Scott and Helen Nearing is scheduled to reopen to the public next month.

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts : Visit this mecca for modern crafts on Deer Isle on one of its occasional open workshop days.

Rabelais : A shoppable archive of food writing from the Renaissance to the present day, near Portland.

Wolfe's Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment : A 600-acre working farm with hiking, camping, and a café.

Where to Stay

Blind Tiger : Start or end your road trip at Portland's stylish new B&B. Doubles from $189.

Brooklin Inn : A quiet, simple country inn and restaurant near Blue Hill. Doubles from $175.

Gills Group : Quintessential summerhouses on Bailey Island. Cottages from $200.

Smithereen Farm : A Down East saltwater farm with cabins and camping. Cabins from $50 per night.

A version of this story first appeared in the April 2021 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline The Maine Course.

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Let's get social, planning the ultimate foodie road trip in the usa.

The USA is the ultimate destination for road trips as the wide-open roads and ever-changing scenery offers a bit of everything for even the most jaded traveler.

It’s also a fun way to bond with loved ones and according to a recent survey, 57 percent of Millennial families  take road trips every year in the country, while 41 percent of singles do the same with their friends.

Going on an American road trip allows you to experience the sights, sounds, and tastes of the US. And if you’re a foodie, you’re in for a treat as taking to the road across the US will open up a whole new world of flavors and diverse cuisine that’s beyond your imagination. If a road trip is in the cards this year, get ready to hit the best food stops and follow this guide to planning the ultimate foodie  road trip in America .

Eat the best seafood 

Every road trip starts with picking the right vehicle for your adventure. Whether you choose a  conventional car or an SUV , make sure to do your research and check out customer satisfaction ratings, the vehicle’s suitability for long drives, and its safety features so you can have a hassle-free road trip. If you’re traveling with friends, plan your stops and work out how to split your road trip expenses. You may also want to create a driving schedule so those who have a license can take turns behind the wheel during the trip.

If you’re a fan of seafood, then plan on heading to Maine for the best lobster bisques and lobster rolls or you can easily buy it online at  www.getmainelobster.com . Fans of clam chowder shouldn’t miss a trip to New England, while those who love crab cakes should drive on to Maryland, where it’s a specialty and an old-time favorite. For those who like seafood cooked with a Southern twist, head on to Georgia for some shrimp and grits . If you visit in September, you’ll be able to attend the Shrimp and Grits festival which is a statewide celebration of this tasty dish.

Feast on amazing barbeque

Those who love all kinds of grilled food will love a road trip in Texas. The state boasts amazing rib shacks and barbeque joints which will have you coming back for more. If you’re in Houston, check out Ray’s BBQ Shack for sliced brisket and baby back ribs. Meanwhile, those who like Tex-Mex cuisine can check out The Switch in Austin, while fans of Asian and Southern barbeque should drop by Blood Bros. BBQ in Bellaire.

Wine and food tours for the win

Napa Valley is famous for its numerous wineries that offer wine tastings, and the gorgeous views makes it a fantastic road trip destination. If you and your friends want to go on a wine tasting adventure but want something a little more substantial than cheese to go with your vino, then check out some amazing wineries in the area that offer full meals. There’s Brasswood, which offers four wines along with a full course meal with their tour, while Davies Vineyard offers a sparkling wine and caviar brunch. Meanwhile, Robert Mondavi Winery offers a full meal that includes a soup, starter, main dish, and dessert to go with a trio of wines.

Satisfy your cravings by going on a foodie road trip this year. Remember to prepare well to have a hassle free time on the road, and be open to tasting new dishes to make the most of your trip!

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This Food-Filled Road Trip Celebrates East Tennessee’s Appalachian Culture

By Cassidee Dabney, as told to Kate Kassin

This story is part of a package celebrating the food and culture of Appalachia . We asked each contributor to build a road trip itinerary sharing the best ways to get to know Appalachian food, culture, and history as they see it today. James Beard–nominated chef Cassidee Dabney fell in love with Appalachia when she moved to Maryville 12 years ago. Here, she shares her itinerary for a dream road trip through east Tennessee.  

When I was growing up, my dad worked for the government as a wildlife biologist, so we would move all over the country, from national forest to national forest. When I relocated to eastern Tennessee over a decade ago to cook at Blackberry Farm ( 1471 W Millers Cove Rd, Walland ), I immediately connected to the land and to a side of Appalachia I didn’t really know before.

A lot of restaurants I love are in Knoxville, a great little food city about 30 miles north of Blackberry Farm, where a few of my former coworkers have opened up their own amazing places. For a neighborhood-y dinner, start off with A Dopo ( 516 Williams St, Knoxville )—a pizzeria with a killer spicy greens pie, the best pistachio gelato, and an ever-changing wine list. 

The next morning, pop into Potchke ( 318 N Gay St, Suite 103, Knoxville ), a lively, modern Jewish delicatessen. You’re going to want to get the rip ’n’ dip (a bialy and spreads like a Georgian walnut-bean dip, inspired by lobio, a classic stew in the Caucasus, or labneh with poppy seed crumble), the classic chocolate babka, and the borscht.

About 10 minutes west, you’ll find Sticky Rice Cafe ( 120 Jack Dance St, Knoxville ). There’s a significant Laotian community in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, and it’s cool to see family-run restaurants like this one flourishing. I’m celiac, and they offer a bunch of excellent gluten-free options. I’m a sucker for the spicy chicken laab and the kow pek (a warming rice noodle soup). The staff is so inviting, and since this is located in a strip mall, there’s usually plenty of parking. 

From there I’d head four miles southwest to Maryville (my home base). Horn of Plenty ( 924 W Broadway Ave, Maryville ) is a precious—I mean, we are talking  adorable —farm market and nursery. It’s the hyper seasonality that’s so special. For example, in the fall, they’ll have every kind of apple, plus sweet potatoes, gourds, fresh-baked bread and pastries, plants and seeds. They carry the very best milk and cheese, from  Cruze Farm and  Sweetwater Valley . I love how everything you get there, you know you’re supporting somebody local.

My favorite hike in the Smokies, Indian Flats Falls ( Middle Prong Trail, Gatlinburg ), is a short drive away. The eight-mile trail follows a wide logging railroad bed that leads to a secret waterfall. It’s never too crowded, and you’ll find things like old cars and homesteads and interesting little artifacts along the way.

Head back through Maryville for the Cubano with rice and beans and a side of the guava empanadas at Aroma Café ( 2570 E Broadway Ave ). It’s a colorful building between a roofing place and a gas station with bright decor and lively music. The food is just so delicious.  

I’d end the day at Blackberry Farm Brewery ( 106 Everett Ave, Maryville ). Inside you’ll find long picnic tables, a few high-tops, and a grab-and-go area for quick pickup. If you stick around, there are lots of local beers and either a hard kombucha or a local cider on tap. Snack on the sweet tea-brined chicken fingers; they have the perfect balance of sweet salinity and crunchy peppery crust and come with Cruze Farm buttermilk ranch dressing. Then walk down the street for gorgeous home ceramics at McQueen Pottery ( 934 E Broadway Ave, Maryville ), a woman-owned studio that’s a great support system for local artists. 

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The Five Best Wine Road Trips in the U.S.

Five fantastic wine regions to discover—no passport required.

Winding roads, wonderful wines.

I've been fortunate to travel to many wine regions, but somehow I have never fully explored the one right outside my door: Virginia. After being shut in for months and on the brink of going stir-crazy, though, I decided it was time to escape D.C. for greener pastures—ones that included wine. Virginia wine country is vast, with over 300 wineries and 4,000 acres of grapes, but I narrowed it down with this plan: I would visit only wineries with wines I had never tasted before. After achieving a deep, deep familiarity with the walls of my home, I was definitely in search of something new.

Casanel Vineyards & Winery, my first stop, was a little over an hour from home. Tucked down a winding road near Leesburg, in the heart of Virginia horse country, Casanel is run by the DeSouza family; here, Katie DeSouza Henley and Tyler Henley craft some of Virginia's best Petit Verdot. Though the DeSouzas also grow Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Cabernet Sauvignon, they focus on the grapes they feel best serve Virginia: Petit Verdot, Carmenère, and the native grape Norton.

Winemaker Katie DeSouza Henley feels Petit Verdot has the potential to be a signature Virginia wine: "The grapes are smaller, darker, and might not produce as much as Merlot, but it's concentrated. And it's considered an underdog, just like Virginia. People discredit it, but we don't. I feel we can take this blending grape and make an elegant varietal wine that is inherently Virginia."

From Casanel, the short drive to Otium Cellars was as scenic as they come: stone and brick homes, winding roads, horses grazing. Otium owner Max Bauer is a rare bird in Virginia because he concentrates on Austrian and German grape varieties—Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt, Grüner Veltliner, and Grauburgunder (the German term for Pinot Gris). The winery's Blaufränkisch and Grüner Veltliner were particularly delicious, with softer peppery notes than their Austrian counterparts; I feel they should be on everyone's radar.

Charlottesville's The Wool Factory is a historic wool mill complex from 1868 recently converted to restaurants, shops, and an event space. Inside, Selvedge Brewing offers craft beers and more casual fare, while Broadcloth (opening soon) will be fine dining from executive chef Tucker Yoder and executive pastry chef Rachel De Jong. The unpretentious lunch I had felt like a home-cooked meal, but one made better by the lineup of wines, such as a crisp Blanc de Blancs Traditional Méthode Traditionnelle (made by acclaimed Virginia winemaker Claude Thibault). Paired with chicken liver mousse, it was a divine combination of fat and salt. And if the smoked mushroom tacos are on the menu, they are a must-try.

After lunch, it was time to head to Gabriele Rausse Winery. Rausse is considered the "father of Virginia wine" and did stints at Barboursville Vineyards and Jefferson Vineyards before branching out on his own in 1997. My wine rack thanks him because his 2017 Baer Ridge Vineyards Cabernet Franc Reserve is now on constant rotation in my glass. I also highly recommend hiring a driver to visit Ankida Ridge. The winery is quite a distance from downtown Charlottesville, about a 75-minute drive, but more than worth the trek. Co-owner and vineyard manager Christine Vrooman will welcome you as a member of the family, and the wines match her personality: vibrant, expressive, and focused.

Listen, I am not a member of the anything-but-Chardonnay club. I love Chardonnay, and Hark Vineyards makes one that truly represents Virginia. It doesn't have the warmth-driven richness of California nor the finesse of Burgundy, but it's round and fragrant, with a savory character that lingers. "This is Virginia wine and speaks to Virginia," winemaker Jake Busching told me. "So when you start drinking this Chardonnay, it's complex and interesting because for most people it's an entirely new terroir."

Even so, I admit that at Fleurie restaurant later that night in Charlottesville, I cheated on Virginia with a glass of Champagne Bauget-Jouette, at least until wine director Melissa Boardman suggested a side-by-side comparison of Virginia and a few of the many international wines on her list during dinner. Linden Vineyards' Late Harvest Petit Manseng and a Domaine Rousset Peyraguey Sauternes both paired beautifully with chef Jose de Brito's crème brûlée and proved yet again that Virginia wines can go head to head with wines from anywhere else in the world.

The Quirk Hotel Charlottesville (rooms from $200, destinationhotels.com ) , where I stayed during my trip, blends modern and vintage touches. A boutique art hotel and a great home base for a Virginia wine trip, it has paintings and sculptures from national and regional artists on display around the property, as well as a substantial gallery. After enjoying a Pink Breeze—vodka, cucumber, raspberry, lime, and Prosecco—in one of the rooftop bar's heated igloos, I headed to dinner at the Pink Grouse restaurant, just off the hotel lobby. After all, I didn't want to stay out too late—I still had to pack up all the wine I'd purchased before heading home .

—Julia Coney

Five Virginia Wines to Try

2018 stinson vineyards wildkat ($28).

This aromatic Rkatsiteli, an unusual white variety originally from the Republic of Georgia, is thirst-quenching in the best way.

2017 Gabriele Rausse Baer Ridge Vineyards Cabernet Franc Reserve ($34)

Rausse's Cabernet Franc is elegant and ageworthy but also tastes so good that it deserves to be opened now.

2017 Hark Vineyards Chardonnay ($36)

Balanced and complex, this white has a whisper of oak—ideal for less-is-more Chardonnay fans.

2017 Casanel Vineyards & Winery Petit Verdot ($46)

This juicy, darkly fruity Petit Verdot reminds me of blackberry cobbler laced with rich tannins. It makes you wish more people made single-varietal Petit Verdot; luckily, Casanel does.

2018 Ankida Ridge Pinot Noir ($52)

Simply one of the best Pinot Noirs coming out of Virginia, this bottle is bursting with red fruit and texture.

A wine drive through Hill Country.

If Napa Valley is California's quintessential wine country, then the Hill Country plays that role for Texas. Getting here is as simple as a quick weekend flight to Austin, and with wildflower season in full swing, late spring is the perfect time to visit—cowboy boots and convertible rental car optional.

On a recent trip, I based myself at Camp Lucy, just outside of Dripping Springs. Don't let the name fool you: Camp Lucy is a luxe outdoor hideaway on nearly 300 acres of untouched wilderness. With exquisitely decorated cabins and a lengthy menu of amenities and activities (hatchet throwing, anyone?), the place is simply enchanting.

My first morning, I headed out U.S. Highway 290, the central corridor for Hill Country wineries, making my first stop at Ron Yates Wines, where I snagged a shady seat on the outdoor patio. Yates, with his long hair, full beard, and flip-flops, roamed from table to table, doling out splashes of a newly bottled 2019 Merlot. "I grew up in a place where everything was always comfortable and easygoing," Yates, who's originally from nearby Marble Falls, told me. "I wanted to bring that same feeling of casualness to our guests."

Just a few miles away, at Sandy Road Vineyards (run by Yates' associate winemaker, Reagan Sivadon), a treehouse platform overlooking the vineyard proved the perfect spot to sip a fruity pét-nat rosé made from the Spanish Prieto Picudo variety.

That evening, I returned to Camp Lucy for dinner at Tillie's restaurant, which was built from a reclaimed 19th-century Vietnamese town hall with towering ironwood rafters that had been transported to central Texas. A plate of orange-chile-sauced fried brussels sprouts followed by an entrée of red snapper in a creamy Meunière sauce proved a soulful meal, and I strolled back to my cabin beneath the hypnotic humming of cicadas.

Day two brought me to William Chris Vineyards, where, at a shady table overlooking the lush estate vineyards, I lingered over a floral blend of Blanc du Bois, Malvasia Bianca, and Moscato Giallo called Mary Ruth. At Ab Astris Winery, a newcomer located just over the glimmering Pedernales River, I encountered a minerally 2019 Clairette Blanche that made me hungry for fresh oysters. And at Texas stalwart Pedernales Cellars, I stretched out on a picnic blanket on the sprawling lawn and sipped on a tropical 2018 Albariño.

But my last appointment proved to be the most spectacular. Southold Farm and Cellar has one of the most stunning hilltop views in the entire Hill Country. The tasting room sits atop a lofty rise that offers a panoramic view of the region. Surprisingly, the winery got its start in Long Island in 2012 but transitioned to Texas' warmer climes in 2016, and winemaker Regan Meador has swiftly garnered a following for his lively, low-intervention wines. As I gazed out over rolling hills from the cozy porch swing of the farmhouse tasting room, I savored his nutty, skin-fermented Sing Sweet Things Albariño and thought to myself that when it came to Southold, New York's loss was definitely our gain.

—Jessica Dupuy

Five Texas Wines to Try

2018 pedernales cellars texas albariño ($20).

Fragrant, crisp apple and tropical fruit notes are the heart of this white.

2019 Ab Astris Aurora Rosé ($22)

A deep rosy hue leads to red-berry aromas and broad yet lifted flavors.

2017 Ron Yates friesen vineyards Tempranillo ($30)

This standout single-vineyard Tempranillo has rich dark fruit and tobacco notes.

2018 William Chris La Pradera Cinsault ($32)

An easy-drinking, playful red with cranberry and pomegranate flavors.

2018 Sandy Road Sangiovese ($34)

This earthy Sangiovese is elegantly structured, with rich notes of Bing cherry, mushroom, and savory herbs.

Great lakes and greater grapes.

I may be biased as a native Michigander, but northern Michigan is one of the best-kept secrets in the country. Whenever I need an escape from it all, I head to the upper left corner of my mitten-shaped state to spend time amid the sweeping sand dunes, pristine lakes, and one of the most exciting up-and-coming wine regions in the country. Until recently, Michigan's wines had a reputation for being cloyingly sweet: Think ice wines and super-sugary Rieslings. Now, thanks to a group of ambitious winemakers, there has never been a better time to drink them.

There are two main wine trails in this part of the state: Old Mission Peninsula, which runs up the middle of Grand Traverse Bay, and the Leelanau Peninsula, which runs along the west side of the bay. In the middle, at the bottom, sits Traverse City, an ideal base for winery-visiting. On a recent trip, hotel options were middling at best, but Airbnb options abounded. I rented a renovated farmhouse on the outskirts of the city, a three-minute drive from Farm Club, a photogenic place that's a restaurant, brewery, bakery, and market—and a great spot to grab snacks like locally made cheese and crackers.

I set off the next morning armed with a hefty chilaquiles-stuffed burrito from Rose & Fern café and a foamy cappuccino from Mundos, a great local roaster, for Mission Point Lighthouse, the northernmost point of Old Mission Peninsula. I worked my way down, stopping off to try several wines from 2 Lads, where Oregon winemaker Thomas Houseman recently relocated. My favorite? A sparkling rosé that made a chilly day feel like summer. I kept driving, at times pulling over just to stare in awe at the breathtaking views of Lake Michigan, and finally arrived at Mari Vineyards. An impressive operation, it feels straight out of a Dan Brown novel thanks to the Knights Templar iconography on the building. This is where winemaker Sean O'Keefe spends his time, exploring hands-off winemaking techniques. Mari also happens to be just up the road from Chateau Grand Traverse, the first winery in the region, which O'Keefe's father founded in 1974 and his family still owns.

A day of wine drinking, I found, is best sopped up with plates of housemade pasta and clever salads, like one crafted from paper-thin slices of celery and mushroom, from Stella Trattoria, which is arguably the most famous restaurant in the area, and for good reason. I woke up the next morning hungover—not from wine but instead from the sheer amount of carbohydrates I had managed to consume.

But I hauled myself out of bed regardless. It was time to head up the Leelanau Peninsula, which has nearly 30 wineries. First, I headed down a shady lane, to Shady Lane cellars, one of the only operations in the area with a female winemaker. I found their canned wine selection incredibly charming and grabbed a few before heading to one of the best-known vineyards in the area, Mawby. There, brothers Michael and Peter Liang make two labels: Mawby, which is known for sparkling wines with raucous names like Sex, and BigLittle, their younger label, which makes a number of easy-to-drink still wines.

Vineyards dot the landscape all the way north until you hit the towns of Leeland and Suttons Bay, either of which could be the setting of a Hallmark movie. Between them sits 9 Bean Rows, a tiny bakery that makes the best almond croissant I've ever had. Proprietors Nic and Jen Welty also operate a pizza oven out back. I grabbed a fresh pie topped with artichoke hearts and a generous amount of mozzarella: the perfect road trip companion for the drive back down to Traverse City.

—Khushbu Shah

Four Michigan Wines to Try

2019 biglittle open road rosé ($17).

Crisp red fruit notes make this easygoing rosé hard to resist.

2017 2 Lads Sparkling rosé ($28)

Winemaker Thomas Houseman crafts this bright, lime-scented sparkler almost entirely from Chardonnay. (It's 1% Pinot Noir.)

2017 Shady Lane Cellars Blaufränkisch ($28)

Black-fruited with velvety tannins, this will win over anyone who's never had Blaufränkisch before (basically, everybody).

2017 Mari Vineyards Simplicissimus ($36)

This bubbly from Sean O'Keefe is not quite a pét-nat, but not quite a traditional sparkling wine, either. One thing it definitely is, though? Delicious.

Long Island wines hit new heights.

Potatoes. On Long Island's North Fork, those Cabernet vines you see? That land once grew potatoes. Merlot? Potatoes. Cabernet Franc? Chardonnay? Sauvignon Blanc? Potatoes, potatoes, potatoes. And while I'd be hard-pressed to make a choice between wine and french fries as something to strike from my life, I'm going to be bold and say that when it comes to a reason to visit a region, wine grapes win over spuds every time.

This assessment crossed my mind while I was sitting in one of the newly erected bungalows at Macari Vineyards, drinking a glass of the winery's tangy Lifeforce Cabernet Franc (so dubbed because it ferments in a concrete egg) and eating truffle mac and cheese from local go-to caterer Lauren Lombardi. The bungalows are snazzy canvas tents where you can relax with your group in a socially distanced way. Like the catered lunch, the decor inside is locally furnished, and if you fall in love with the wool throw tossed over your chair or the serving bowl filled with farro, arugula, and roasted butternut squash salad, it's probably for sale.

So, an admission: I hadn't spent a weekend in Long Island's wine country in way too long. For a New York City resident (and a wine writer!), that's unconscionable. But that gap did make me aware of how much has changed here: how the North Fork has drawn in some of Montauk's Brooklyn-by-the-sea cool; how its towns are burgeoning with excellent restaurants and boutique hotels; how many wineries have popped into existence (or changed hands); and, particularly, how good the wines are right now.

At Rose Hill Vineyards, formerly Shinn Estate Vineyards, I eavesdropped on a local couple who'd stopped in after nine holes of golf. They were chatting with Jon Sidewitz, a tasting room server. "I can't believe all the homes going up out there," the woman said. The winery's nonvintage red (current offering: a blend between 2017 and 2018) had the distinctive tobacco–sweet cherry scent of Cabernet Franc; it was something nice to sip while pondering how one result of plague panic has been a boom in house sales here.

Wineries have done oddly well, too. Every one I visited reported being swamped during the summer of 2020. "By October, we were exhausted," Jerol Bailey, director of sales at Lenz Winery, told me. "We're busy even now." Lenz is acclaimed for its old-vines Merlot, arguably the red grape that does best in Long Island's variable maritime climate, and the 2013 was rich with spice and kirsch notes. But the real surprise for me was a lovely, lychee-scented dry Gewürztraminer, lime-zesty and vibrant. Winemaker Thomas Spotteck said, approvingly, "It's got those punch-you-in-the-face aromatics." It certainly did, if getting punched in the face was a really great thing.

Despite the changes, the North Fork is still nothing like the Hamptons. It hasn't lost its agricultural roots, and in the summer, farmstands line the roads, selling sweet corn, ripe berries, leafy greens, and, yes, even potatoes. Local seafood is equally good, and at the Suhru Wines Tasting House in Cutchogue, over a glass of the only Teroldego I've ever seen outside of Northern Italy—inky purple, earthy, peppery, delicious—sales and marketing director Shelby Hearn told me, "At least once a month I find a new oyster farmer. It's like eggs. You stop by the side of the road and pick up a dozen."

Chef Stephan Bogardus uses all this abundance in his superb cooking at The Halyard, located at Sound View Greenport (rooms from $195, soundviewgreenport.com ) , a 1950s seaside motel recently spiffed up into early 21st-century cool. Bogardus adds depth to a local fluke tartare with miso and hijiki; his seared Long Island duck breast was exquisitely tender thanks to six days of dry aging. If you're offered the salty "biscuits with really good butter," say yes—the butter is indeed really good, and the biscuits are even better. Smuggle them out for breakfast the next morning. I did.

Then there's the North Fork Table & Inn, a much-loved local icon recently taken over by exceptionally talented NYC chef John Fraser. Dishes like his mysteriously light tempura squash, decorated with flower petals from the biodynamic farm just down the road, are not to be missed. Nor is beverage director Amy Racine's impressive list, which splits 50-50 between local bottles and international choices. Initially, she planned to skew more toward Europe, she told me, but "the guests were much more interested in local wines than I expected. And I was really blown away by a lot of them, too. Like some of the old Macari Bergen Road reds I tasted and then put on—those wines have aged beautifully."

Fraser is emblematic in a way of how much is going on out here: He's also opening a 20-room hotel this summer just down the road, right on Peconic Bay, and a market-café just down the same road but in the other direction. Yet for all the new ventures, nearby Southold Fish Market still brings in porgies, stripers, day-boat scallops, and more off the fishing boats every morning. And in Greenport, while I loved staying at the boutiquey Menhaden hotel (rooms from $559, themenhaden.com ) , with its roof deck looking past flitting gulls to the sea; I also loved the fact that it was right next to the town's straight-out-of-the-1950s George D. Costello Senior Memorial Skating Rink. As Fraser had said to me: "We're not dealing with the perfectly polished Hamptons thing here. And that's great."

Four Long Island Wines to Try

2016 lenz winery gewürztraminer ($20).

With its telltale scent of lychee fruit, this white is one of many fine bottles in the Lenz portfolio. Don't miss the winery's graphite-scented Estate Selection Merlot, either.

2019 Macari Horses Sparkling Cabernet Franc ($26)

This lightly fizzy sparkler has lovely red fruit flavors, and the name is a nod to the bluffs at the edge of Macari's property, which suggest the shape of a horse's head—and were used by 1920s bootleggers as a covert route to the sea.

NV Shinn Estate Vineyards Red Blend ($25)

A classic Bordeaux-style blend, this red is plump with ripe cherry fruit and lifted by a dried tobacco note; for this release, longtime winemaker Patrick Caserta blended wines from the 2017 and 2018 vintages.

2019 Suhru wines Teroldego ($30)

Teroldego is an unusual enough grape in Italy, where it grows almost exclusively in the northern Trentino region. So, Long Island Teroldego? If this earthy, spicy red is any indication, the grape has found an excellent second home.

Red rocks meet red wine.

Last summer, desperate to go somewhere (anywhere!), I rented an RV. A visit to the Grand Canyon was on my bucket list, so I made it the starting point for a weekend in Arizona's wine country, which promised to marry an encore of dramatic landscapes with distinct and travel-worthy wines.

I started my jaunt in Verde Valley, one of the state's three wine regions. A morning's drive from the canyon landed me at Merkin Vineyards Tasting Room & Osteria, opened by Maynard James Keenan, the frontman of the rock band Tool turned winemaker of Merkin Vineyards and Caduceus Cellars. While digging into pillowy gnocchi blanketed in a sage-scented cream sauce, I sampled a brambly red called Tarzan and a dry rosé called Jane. Stuffy, Arizona is not, I decided—an impression reinforced on the welcoming open-air patio of nearby Chateau Tumbleweed, which makes focused, refreshing wines like a mouthwatering Vermentino that smelled deliciously of lemon peel, and Willy, a garnet-colored Grenache blend with fine tannins. From there, I headed to D.A. Ranch, an estate winery where the inky wines and verdant property felt like a mirage after a day of desert landscapes—though I admit it did make me briefly regret the RV.

For day two, I headed south to the Sonoita region. The towering rock formations of central Arizona had given way to undulating grasslands before I pulled up to Callaghan Vineyards, where winemaker Kent Callaghan has been relentlessly experimenting, changing what he grows every year, for three decades now. "The soil here lends itself to ageworthy wines," he said—a claim that his 2014 Lisa's, with its apricot aromas, backs up. Callaghan's innovative approach is reflected in the work of those he's mentored in the region, including Todd and Kelly Bostock of Dos Cabezas. At their tasting room, a wood-fired pizza truck turns out pizzas to pair with their boundary-pushing wines, which included an unlikely but delicious white blend, Meskeoli, made from Albariño, Viognier, Malvasia, Roussanne, Petit Manseng, and Kerner, and a "perpetual cuvée" containing vintages from 2015 through 2019. "These would not have found love anywhere but Arizona, 'cause other places got rules," Todd said with a laugh.

The exploratory mindset of the state's winemakers makes Arizona a thrilling place to visit and taste right now. Pavle Milic, beverage director and co-owner of Scottsdale's FnB restaurant, embodies that exuberance at Los Milics, his new winery in Elgin. I stood with Milic among his vines, ringed by mountains, as he described his vision: the tasting room that will immerse guests in the vineyards, the guesthouses that will drink in the star-filled sky. "It will be a little suspension of reality," he said. Then we went inside, and I tasted his vibrant wines straight from the barrels—dry, flinty Grenache and lush Tempranillo—and promised myself I'd be back as soon as they opened this summer. But this time hopefully by plane.

—Karen Shimizu

Five Arizona Wines to Try

2018 chateau tumbleweed mourvèdre ($36).

Mourvèdre excels in Arizona, something shown by the fresh acidity, red fruit flavors, and lightly spicy edge of this wine.

2019 Merkin Vineyards Jane Pink ($20)

Maynard James Keenan's light-bodied rosé delivers beautiful strawberry aromas and crisp, green-apple acidity.

2014 Callaghan Vineyards Lisa's ($28)

This easy-drinking white blend's aromas of apricot and orange make it a favorite for sipping in Arizona's warm weather.

2019 Dos Cabezas Meskeoli ($28)

For a unique taste of place, you can't go wrong with this singular white blend from Todd and Kelly Bostock.

2019 Los Milics Betty's Grenache ($36)

A high-toned red from sommelier Pavle Milic, whose Elgin tasting room will open this year.

Do You Know Idaho?

Fond of visiting Oregon and Washington wineries? Well, why not keep going?

Idaho's emerging winery scene is smaller than those of its neighbor states to the west, but ambition and ideal weather have made it well worth checking out. The state's 60 or so wineries make impressive Cabernets, Syrahs, Rieslings, and other varieties—plus its two main wine regions, the Snake River Valley and the Lewis-Clark Valley, both happen to be beautiful. In the Snake River Valley, east of the Oregon border, head to Williamson Orchards & Vineyards ( willorch.com ) to try the lime-zesty 2019 Williamson Vineyard Albariño ($23) , among others. Across the valley at Telaya Wine Co. ( telayawine.com ) , don't miss the 2018 Turas Red ($46) , a powerful, peppery blend of Syrah, Petit Verdot, and other varieties. Finally, if you find yourself farther north, in the Lewis-Clark Valley AVA along the Washington border, drop in at Rivaura Wines ( rivaura.com ) to try its inky-purple, blackberry-rich, gravelly Syrah ($38) . Those are just a few top possibilities; there are many more.

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14 days from 4280.

Sample the cuisines of Croatia and the Balkans on an adventure from Split to Skopje,...

Ljubljana to Split Real Food Adventure

8 days from 2712.

Journey through Slovenia and Croatia, including Split, Bled, Zadar and Motovun, tasting...

Croatia Real Food Adventure

6 days from 2091.

Taste your way through the olive oil, seafood, meats, fruits and wines of Croatia on...

Slovenia & Croatia Real Food Adventure

13 days from 4658.

Journey through Slovenia and Croatia, visiting Split, Bled, Dubrovnik and the islands...

The Balkans Real Food Adventure

9 days from 2403.

Taste your way through the Balkans on a culinary adventure, stopping in Croatia,...

Slovenia to Macedonia Real Food Adventure

21 days from 7140.

Explore Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia on this Intrepid food tour, enjoying...

Vietnam & Cambodia Real Food Adventure

19 days from 3336.

Taste the true flavours of Vietnam and Cambodia, feasting on local food and catching...

Jordan, Israel & the Palestinian Territories Real Food Adventure

14 days from 6105.

Discover the authentic flavours of Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories on...

Israel & the Palestinian Territories Real Food Adventure

9 days from 4025.

Discover the diverse dishes of Israel and the Palestinian Territories, tasting sabich...

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Why choose intrepid.

Real, authentic experiences

We love the highlights, but for us the real magic is found off the tourist trails. Our trips combine iconic sites with hidden gems that you’ll only discover with Intrepid. We’re talking mornings exploring the Taj Mahal, followed by a Mughlai cooking class with a passionate home cook.

Local expertise

Whether you’re perusing markets, hunting down the best street food bites or learning how to cook centuries-old family recipes at a homestay, there’s no better way to get the inside scoop on a destination – and its culinary traditions – than with an expert local leader by your side.

Small groups

Big coaches and flag-toting tour guides don’t cut it for us. With a maximum group size of 12, our groups blend in with the locals and have plenty of opportunities to interact with chefs, street food vendors and group leaders. It also means you can really connect with your fellow foodies.

Must-try dishes around the world

Peru – ceviche

Ceviche is the unofficial national dish of Peru. It's made by marinating cubes of raw fish and seafood in lime juice, onions, salt and aji amarillo chilli peppers, and is served cold with sweet potato chunks, plantain chips and corn on the cob.

Spain – paella

This saffron-flavored rice dish originated in Valencia hundreds of years ago when hungry servants would combine rice with leftovers from Moorish kings' lavish banquets. The dish varies across the regions, but the mixed version with chorizo, mussels and prawns is the most popular internationally.

India – thali

Struggling to choose just one curry? Fear not. A thali comprises several eye-popping dishes served on a large plate. The dishes typically include grains, lentils, vegetables or meat curries, chutney, raita, pickles and pappadum – creating the perfect balance of sweet, salty, bitter, sour, astringent and spicy flavors.

Balkans – cured meats and cheeses

When traveling through the Balkans, treat your tastebuds to delicious charcuterie boards loaded with traditionally preserved meats, cheeses, vegetables and bread. Some of the most popular Balkan meats to try include cevapi (homemade grilled sausage), njeguši (dry-cured ham) and pljeskavica (Balkan burger).

Israel & Palestinian Territories – falafel

Considered to be Israel’s national dish, these balls of deliciousness (made with ground chickpeas, herbs and spices) are a must-try plant-based dish. They’re usually served on a platter or in a warm pita pocket filled with pickled vegetables, crunchy cabbage salad and generous lashings of creamy tahini sauce.

Thailand – khao soi

There’s a whole world of Thai noodle dishes to discover beyond the obvious (and delicious!) pad thai. Khao soi is a chicken and coconut noodle soup from northern Thailand. It’s packed with vibrant aromatics and is served with crispy fried noodles, shallots and fresh lime wedges on top.

Food tour highlights

Asia’s answer to Seoul food

Hit South Korea to wash down crunchy Korean Fried Chicken (aka KFC) with a glass of soju, share a traditional plant-based meal with Buddhist monks at your monastery stay, and get the inside sip on Busan’s bustling craft beer scene at a brewery.

Find out more

Pilgrimage through the Portuguese plate

Head to Iberia to cook up a Galician feast using Vigo’s finest seafood, sip world-class wines in the spectacular Douro Valley wine region, sip Ginjinha while snacking on petiscos, and discover Portugal’s best-kept foodie secret – the Alentejo countryside.

Temples to tempura, shrines to sashimi

Journey to Japan to discover the country's most delicious foodie hotspots. Feel like a real Iron Chef during an ‘Art of Sushi’ masterclass, experience the seasonal flavors of obanzai ryori at a cooking class, and enjoy the simple and delicious flavors of monastic cuisine in Koya-san.

Master Morocco’s medina flavors

Make your way to Morocco and enjoy a home-cooked dinner with a family in Chefchaouen, share a Berber meal at a desert camp in the Sahara, watch ras el hanout being freshly ground in a Marrakech spice souk, and eat mechoui (slow-roasted lamb) cooked in an earth oven.

Enjoy mouthwatering Mexican food

Get a true taste of Mexico in some of the country’s most famous culinary regions. Enjoy a tasty taco feast in Mexico City, visit a traditional mezcaleria to learn about this famous Oaxacan tipple, feast on fresh seafood at a cooking class in Huatulco and maybe sample the surprisingly delicious delicacy of chapulines (grasshoppers).

Savor vibrant Vietnamese flavors

Chop, slice and slurp your way through Vietnam on a culinary quest from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. Cook up regional dishes like cao lau noodles in Hoi An, tour Hue on a motorbike followed by a plant-based lunch at a pagoda, and feast on southern Vietnamese specialties at a Mekong Delta homestay.

Introducing vegan food tours

Tour reviews

Food tour faqs, what food can i expect.

Expect to eat the local way. We don't call these trips ‘food adventures’ for nothing. Forget Michelin stars and 20-course degustations – our local leaders will help you get behind the scenes of local food culture, track down the freshest street food, discover the most authentic local restaurants and reveal the traditions and techniques that make these destinations so deliciously mouth-watering. From lining up with locals for fresh tortillas in a Mexican market to hopping between Logrono’s thriving tapas bars, they’ll show you local food from the perspective of those who eat it every day.

How does a Food Adventure differ to a regular Intrepid trip?

All of our food trips have been designed with one thing in mind – experiencing the best local food on the planet. But we all know that there’s much more to food than just eating it – so whether it’s browsing markets for fresh produce, sizzling up a storm in a cooking class or meeting a local street-food legend, we’ve stuffed your plate to the brim. And once you’ve devoured all the local food you can handle, we’ve made sure our Food Adventures are rolled up into a burrito with the lot so you won’t miss out on the iconic sights and authentic cultural experiences that are found on all our Intrepid trips.

Is there any freedom & flexibility in the itineraries?

Like all Intrepid itineraries, we’ve made sure our food trips provide free time between activities, allowing you to digest a destination either with your group or on your own. You might spend the morning exploring a buzzing local market with your guide and cooking a delicious local dish with your group before heading off on your own to wander the marbled halls of a museum or cycling through ancient alleys.

We’ve also left plenty of mealtimes free of organized activities, which gives you the flexibility to ‘get your gourmet on’ at a fine dining restaurant or simply seek out your own ‘real food’ adventure. Needless to say, your leader will be there every step of the way with suggestions and recommendations.

What transport is used?

Sometimes, the best way to eat like a local is to travel like one too. That could mean jumping on a boat to discover the flavors of the Mekong Delta, riding the Tokyo subway to a sake bar or rattling along in a rickshaw in pursuit of Agra’s finest chaats. We love to use local transport because it gives us a chance to experience everyday local life from a new perspective.

What is the accommodation like?

Whether you’re spending the night in an ancient fortress or in the home of a local family, most of our trips include a memorable overnight stay that is designed to make your trip extra memorable. When we do choose to use hotels, all of our accommodation options are in our Original style, which means a mix of 2-3 star establishments that are safe, clean and comfortable.

How do Intrepid's Food Adventures benefit local communities?

We help support local economies by purchasing snacks and meals from street-side vendors, dining in local restaurants, eating seasonal produce from the destination, and using local guides throughout our itineraries. Many of our trips incorporate visits to community projects, and we choose locally-owned accommodation wherever possible. We are committed to a style of travel that is culturally, environmentally and socially responsible.

Why does every Food Adventure include a plant-based meal?

Plant-based foods generally have a much lower carbon footprint than animal-based foods, and incorporating more plant-based eating into our diet is a major opportunity to mitigate and adapt to climate change. As Intrepid continues to innovate in ways that promote and support sustainability, including a delicious meal that showcases local fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds is just one way that we are investing in the health of our planet.

What about vegan travelers?

We do our best to accommodate dietary requirements (including vegan diets) on all of our trips, and all our Real Food Adventures will include at least one plant-based meal. If you want a more tailored experience, that's where our Tailor-Made team can step in. We can use our 30 years of experience and regional specialists to help you create your perfect vegan food adventure.

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Posted on July 8, 2017 by Alexa Bricker - Travel

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