The best Southern road trips aren’t measured in miles. They’re measured in biscuits, barbecue and pimento cheese. With just a few days behind the wheel, you can cross five states and find some of the best small towns and kitchens the South has to offer, without pulling into a single chain restaurant.
This post may contain affiliate links that may earn us a commission. For more information, see our Disclosures.
This long weekend trip starts in Greenville, S.C., and winds through Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina. Along the way, you’ll find some of the South’s greatest hits — diners with biscuits and gravy, bakeries stacked with pies and barbecue joints that smell like smoke.
Greenville, South Carolina: Where old school still matters
Greenville has grown into a small city, but you’ll still find old-school Southern food if you know where to look. The downtown area is full of quaint spots and is easily walkable.
If you’d like a fancy brunch, head over to Between the Trees, a fine dining restaurant inside the Grand Bohemian Lodge, with spectacular views of Falls Park on the Reedy. For lunch, make your way to Spartanburg, where Wade’s Restaurant serves up fried chicken, meatloaf and Southern banana pudding the way they’ve been doing it since 1947.
If you want something fast for the road, Pete’s on Poinsett dishes out burgers and club sandwiches that haven’t changed much since 1979. They’re also known for their daily meat-and-three. For dinner, Soby’s New South Cuisine gives a fresh spin to shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes and peach cobbler.
Before heading out, stop at Duke Sandwich for a homemade pimento cheese sandwich wrapped in wax paper the way they’ve always done it — made with Duke’s mayonnaise, of course. Greenville is where Duke’s Mayonnaise was born.
Next up: Drive to Athens, Ga. — 91 miles, about 1 hour 50 minutes.
Athens, Georgia: Music town with a serious plate lunch game
Home of the University of Georgia, Athens gets plenty of attention for its music scene, but the food deserves a little fame too. At Food for the Soul, pork chops, fried okra and cornbread come piled high on a cafeteria tray. A few miles away in Watkinsville, Rachel’s Southern Style Restaurant turns out salmon patties, old-fashioned green beans and strawberry cake that tastes like it was made in Grandma’s kitchen.
Billing themselves as a modern meat-and-three, Preacher Greens is a small dine-in restaurant with limited seating. They have a local cult following for fried okra, pulled pork, collard greens and mac and cheese.
You can’t go wrong dining at The Place, which sources as much as possible from local farmers, serving refined Southern fare for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. Their shrimp and grits will make you want to slap yo’ Mama. Although that’s probably not a great idea.
Next up: Drive to Birmingham, Ala. — 189 miles, about 3 hours.
Birmingham, Alabama: Where tradition and new ideas share the table
Birmingham’s food scene grew up around barbecue and meat-and-threes, and you can still find both done right. Niki’s West has been serving the greater Birmingham area since 1957, and it’s worth elbowing your way through the cafeteria-style line for fried catfish, butter beans, turnip greens and banana pudding.
If you want something more upscale, head downtown to Helen, where they’re cooking Southern-inspired meats and vegetables over a wood fire and bringing them out family style.
At Saw’s BBQ, pulled pork sandwiches still come the way they should — simple, smoky and packed on white bread with a splash of Alabama white sauce or traditional red sauce.
Before you leave town, stop by Last Call Baking Co. for a homemade croissant or Danish, or grab fried chicken wings with a side of fried green tomatoes tucked into a paper bag at Green Acres Cafe, where the menu hasn’t changed much since they opened in 1958.
Next up: Drive to Chattanooga, Tenn. — 148 miles, about 2 hours 20 minutes.
Chattanooga, Tennessee: Small town plates with big flavor
In Chattanooga, you won’t find a lot of flash. Just hearty plates, good people and a table that feels a little like home. Start with breakfast or lunch at Wally’s Restaurant, a meat-and-three that’s been part of the local fabric for decades.
And in nearby Dunlap, The Cookie Jar Cafe serves fried chicken, country ham and thick slices of their famous homemade mile-high pies. This restaurant is nestled on the hillside of a working dairy farm, so you’re likely to see cows or goats grazing, and there’s a petting zoo to enjoy on your way out.
Home Folks Family Restaurant dishes out daily specials like chicken and dumplings and sweet potato casserole, the kind of plates that make you feel like you’re having lunch at Granny’s house. And your sweet tea comes in a large mason jar. If you need one more stop, Wimpie’s Country Restaurant offers burgers, country-fried steak and some of the most amazing desserts for miles around.
Next up: Drive to Asheville, N.C. — 202 miles, about 3 hours 15 minutes.
Asheville, North Carolina: A mountain take on Southern cooking
Asheville may feel a little cooler than some other Southern cities, but the traditions still run deep when it comes to food. The biscuits are big enough to split at Biscuit Head, but you probably won’t want to. They’re piled high with whatever you choose and are pretty hard to put down.
If you’re looking for something lighter, HomeGrown focuses on simple, good food made with whatever’s growing nearby, like tomato pie and fried chicken sandwiches. When you’re ready to turn up the heat, head over to Rocky’s Hot Chicken Shack where they’re serving Nashville-style hot fried chicken, along with favorite Southern sides like collard greens, potato salad, fried okra and sweet potato casserole.
For a sit-down dinner, Chestnut serves fish, steaks and chicken, sourcing as much locally as possible. And if you want some good barbecue, over at 12 Bones Smokehouse and Brewing, everything is made from scratch with meats smoked low and slow over hardwoods. Grab your favorite beer on tap and sit back to enjoy some of the best barbecue you’ll ever put in your mouth.
Southern food road trip tips
Don’t take off on a road trip without a plan. For this trip, you should include packing a cooler for all the delicious foods you’ll want to bring home, like pimento cheese, barbecue and mile-high pies. When you get to your locations, share plates — at most meat-and-threes, the servings are large, so splitting means you’ll get to try more foods.
As far as driving, take the back roads where you’ll have slower drives, better views and usually better meals. And do your research ahead since many diners and bakeries close by early afternoon.
Five states. A long weekend. Plenty of pimento cheese and pulled pork along the way. And somewhere between the biscuits in Greenville and the ribs in Asheville, you’ll remember that in the South, food isn’t just food — it’s the story you’re supposed to take home.
Lucy Brewer is a professional writer and fourth-generation Southern cook who founded Southern Food and Fun. She’s passionate about preserving classic Southern recipes while creating easy, crowd-pleasing dishes for the modern home cook. Lucy currently lives in Augusta, Ga.