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The Best Southern Food in the United States

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  1. The gumbo here has been a Detroit obsession for decades, a shrimp-and-sausage situation thickened with okra and a proprietary spice blend nobody's giving up the recipe for. This is a carryout counter spot, casual and no-frills, with jambalaya, red beans and rice, and shrimp po'boys on crackly baguettes rounding out a menu that stays squarely in the Louisiana lane. Order at the counter, take it home, and resist eating it in the car.



  2. Rank 190. Saint Lawrence Gridiron

    Southern Barbecue


  3. Rank 190. Sullivan’s Fish Camp

    Southern Seafood

    A retro fish camp on Sullivans Island where the Southern tradition of fried seafood in baskets still anchors the menu, though the kitchen under chef Jason Stanhope has broadened out into local fish crudo, fresh catch, and oysters by the plate. The beverage list leans heavily on crisp whites and tropical cocktails, which makes stopping in for a drink and a dozen oysters an entirely reasonable Tuesday-afternoon decision.


    Address
    2019 Middle St, Sullivans Island, SC 29482, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens noon

    Friday Noon–10 PM

    Reserve
    Resy
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram

  4. Address
    808 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, AZ 85034, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 10:30 AM

    Friday 10:30 AM–7 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram

  5. Address
    409 W 125th St, New York, NY 10027, United States · Manhattan
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–7:30 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram

  6. Rank 208. Atchafalaya Crawfish

    Cajun & Creole


  7. Rank 208. BB's Tex-Orleans

    Houston Cajun & Creole


  8. Rank 208. BB's Tex-Orleans

    Tex-Orleans Cajun & Creole


  9. Rank 208. BB's Tex-Orleans

    Tex-Orleans Cajun & Creole


  10. Rank 208. BB's Tex-Orleans

    Tex-Orleans Cajun & Creole


  11. Rank 208. BB's Tex-Orleans

    Tex-Orleans Cajun & Creole


  12. Rank 208. BB's Tex-Orleans

    Tex-Orleans Cajun & Creole


  13. Rank 208. BB's Tex-Orleans

    Tex-Orleans Cajun & Creole


  14. Rank 208. BB's Tex-Orleans

    Cajun & Creole


  15. Rank 208. BB's Tex-Orleans

    Tex-Orleans Cajun & Creole


  16. Rank 208. BB's Tex-Orleans

    Tex-Orleans Cajun & Creole


  17. Rank 208. Beignets 2 Go

    Cajun & Creole Food Truck


  18. Rank 208. Big B’s Texas BBQ

    Southern Barbecue


  19. Rank 208. BOIL HOUSE

    Louisiana-style Cajun & Creole


    Address
    606 E 11th St, Houston, TX 77008, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–9 PM

    Online
    Website

  20. Rank 208. Cajun Craven

    Cajun & Creole


    Address
    12141 Beamer Rd, Houston, TX 77089, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens noon

    Friday Noon–11 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  21. Rank 208. Cajun Kitchen

    Cajun & Creole

    Crawfish cooked wok-style, the way you'd handle crab or lobster in Chinese cuisine, so every crevice gets a proper coating of spice and oil. This Cajun-Asian boil spot in southwest Houston does mudbugs in flavors like Thai Basil or a butter-garlic-citrus house special, and the heat scale runs up to something called Cray Cray, which should tell you all you need to know about who's ordering it.


  22. The pairing of fried chicken and waffles sounds simple until you see a menu built around named combinations, each with its own waffle flavor, schmear, and sauce. Dame's is a soul food spot inside the Liberty Warehouse where lines form on a near-daily basis, and the kitchen gives you enough customization options that ordering becomes a minor project. A sweet potato waffle with orange-honeycomb schmear is not a thing you walk away forgetting.


  23. Rank 208. Debris Po-Boys & Drinks

    Cajun & Creole Sandwich Shop

    The bread comes from Leidenheimer, the legendary New Orleans bakery, which tells you most of what you need to know about this po'boy shop's priorities. Gulf seafood and roasted meats get stuffed into fresh baguettes with all the classic condiments, and a Thanksgiving Everyday option, turkey with cornbread stuffing and cranberry sauce, quietly steals the room. A bananas foster old-fashioned is on the cocktail list, because of course it is.


    Address
    276 Dauphin St, Mobile, AL 36602, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–10 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  24. Rank 208. Dottie's Market Savannah

    Refined Southern


  25. The crawfish come from the fields you can see from your table, which is either the most logical supply chain imaginable or a mild existential moment for the mudbugs. This BYOB boil house sits about an hour outside Houston, and the lines form by six, so early arrival is less a suggestion than a survival skill. Tours and boat excursions through the rice and crawfish fields are available if you call ahead. Order by the pound or go straight for the full feast.


  26. Rank 208. Dumbwaiter

    Modern Southern

    Exposed brick and Edison bulbs in a Dauphin Street storefront, which is either charming or a cliché depending on your mood, but the modern Southern cooking tends to settle the argument. Dumbwaiter is a full-service dinner spot where Gulf-sourced ingredients do the heavy lifting, shrimp and grits built around Conecuh sausage, collard greens with some heat behind them, and warm bread pudding that arrives with ice cream already melting into it.


    Address
    167 Dauphin St, Mobile, AL 36602, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 5 PM

    Friday 5 PM–8:45 PM

    Online
    Website

  27. Address
    2726 E Cherry St, Seattle, WA 98122, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11:30 AM

    Friday 11:30 AM–4 PM, 4 PM–8 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  28. Rank 208. Honore's Cajun Cafe

    Cajun & Creole


    Address
    19430 Hwy 6, Manvel, TX, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–10 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  29. Rank 208. Iris

    Cajun & Creole


    Address
    4550 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN 38117, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–9 PM

    Reserve
    Resy
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  30. Rank 208. Itta Bena

    Southern

    Tucked above B.B. King's Blues Club on Beale Street, this upscale Southern restaurant gets its soundtrack free of charge, bass lines thumping up through the floorboards from the club below. The room runs its own live music most nights anyway, so there's rarely a quiet moment. The menu leans coastal Southern, with she-crab soup, shrimp over smoked gouda grits, and a Cajun crab dip that disappears fast.


  31. Rank 208. Krankies

    Southern

    Krankies roasts its own coffee in what used to be a fallout shelter, which tells you something about both the building and the clientele. It's a Southern brunch spot with biscuits stacked under fried chicken and a splash of Texas Pete, plus vegan options so nobody has to negotiate. The team closes on the first Monday of each month for a staff mental health day, a detail that tends to make regulars more loyal than any loyalty card ever could.


  32. Rank 208. Li'l Dizzy's

    Cajun & Creole


    Address
    1500 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–3 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram

  33. Rank 208. Mattie's

    Southern


    Address
    901 W Live Oak St, Austin, TX 78704, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 5 PM

    Friday 5 PM–10 PM

    Reserve
    Resy
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram

  34. Address
    878 W Fourth St, Winston Salem, NC, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–9 PM

    Reserve
    OpenTable
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  35. Breakfast runs until late afternoon here, which tells you most of what you need to know about the pace of things. Nectar Farm Kitchen is a casual Southern all-day restaurant with a farmhouse feel, leaning on whatever's coming in fresh from local farms. The menu moves from eggs Benedict riffs in the morning through sandwiches at lunch to plates and bowls by supper, so the kitchen never really has a slow hour.


  36. Rank 208. Pook's Crawfish Hole

    Cajun & Creole


  37. Rank 208. Pretty Bird Hot Chicken

    Hot Chicken Southern


    Address
    1775 Prospector Ave, Park City, UT 84060, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–9 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  38. Rank 208. Ragin' Cajun

    Cajun & Creole


    Address
    4302 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77027, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–9 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  39. Rank 208. Ragin' Cajun

    Cajun & Creole


    Address
    1725 Wirt Rd, Houston, TX 77055, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–9:30 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  40. Rank 208. Rosedale

    Cajun & Creole

    Susan Spicer's Mid City neighborhood restaurant is the kind of place where the shrimp creole does all the talking. A casual Cajun and Creole spot, Rosedale keeps the cooking steeped in New Orleans tradition without any of the ceremony that follows a celebrated chef around town. The room is low-key, the food is direct, and the whole operation runs like it was built for the people on the block, not the people writing about it.


    Address
    801 Rosedale Dr, New Orleans, LA 70124, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–2 PM, 5 PM–9 PM

    Reserve
    OpenTable
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  41. Rank 208. Smelly’s

    Cajun & Creole


  42. Rank 208. Soul Fish Cafe

    Memphis Southern Seafood


    Address
    862 S Cooper St, Memphis, TN 38104, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–9 PM

    Online
    Website
  43. Rank 208. Sweet Magnolia Smokehouse

    Mississippi Southern Barbecue

    Sweet Magnolia is a counter-service barbecue spot in an Ahwatukee strip mall, and the smoke announces it from the parking lot before you've found the door. It cooks Mississippi-style, so the sauce runs sweet and pork gets its due in a Valley otherwise devoted to Texas brisket. It started as a food truck, which explains the order-at-the-counter, grab-a-tray ease, and the mac and cheese is a side that behaves like a main.


  44. Murals and Black-inspired art cover the walls of this cafeteria-style Southern spot on the Northside, where the steam trays are loaded with fried chicken, oxtails, and mac and cheese that earns its reputation. The desserts, peach cobbler and lemon meringue among them, come from the owner's mother, which explains why the room fills with the kind of regulars who already know what they're getting before they reach the counter.


  45. Rank 208. The Four Way

    Southern


    Address
    998 Mississippi Blvd, Memphis, TN 38126, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–5 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  46. Rank 208. The Munch Factory

    Cajun & Creole


  47. Rank 208. True Flavors Diner

    Modern Southern Diner


  48. Rank 208. Vyoone's

    Cajun & Creole


    Address
    412 Girod St, New Orleans, LA 70130, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 5 PM

    Friday 5 PM–9:30 PM

    Reserve
    Resy
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  49. Rank 208. World Famous Hotboys

    Nashville Southern

    Hundreds of flags and string lights cover the ceiling, CRT TVs along the bar counter are loaded with old-school video game consoles, and a mural of Walnut Creek landmarks greets you before you even open the door. This hot chicken shop does Nashville-style fried chicken and sandwiches, with heat levels that go from polite to genuinely humbling. The outdoor picnic tables are there when you need air, or perspective.


    Address
    1394 N Main St, Walnut Creek, CA, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 9 AM

    Friday 9 AM–2 AM

    Reserve
    Make a reservation
    Online
    Website

  50. Rank 255. Cadence

    Southern


  51. Rank 256. Brulee

    Southern


    Address
    2036 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 8 AM

    Friday 8 AM–4 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  52. Nashville hot chicken shop in Chinatown where the line used to stretch far enough that people brought lawn chairs. The spice levels are genuine, and the brave ones who go scorching tend to provide free entertainment for everyone behind them. Wings, tenders, and sandwiches are the draw, with sides like collard greens and banana pudding worth ordering even if the chicken somehow lets you down. It rarely does.


    Address
    727 North Broadway, CA, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–7 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  53. Southern Chicago is a steakhouse-ish dinner spot in the South Loop where the crystal chandeliers and plush velvet seating suggest the Las Vegas Strip got lost on the way to Soldier Field. The kitchen cooks steaks over open flame and stacks seafood towers, and the sides lean decadent, like deviled eggs topped with shrimp and caviar. Plan on dressing a notch up, and on a lot of conventioneers.


    Address
    2000 S Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 4 PM

    Friday 4 PM–11 PM

    Reserve
    SevenRooms
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  54. Rank 256. Whiskey Licker Up

    Cajun & Creole Sandwich Shop


  55. Rank 256. Yummy Seafood and Oyster Bar

    Viet- Cajun & Creole Oyster Bar


  56. Rank 256. Zydeco

    Cajun & Creole


    Address
    919 NW Bond St, Bend, OR, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 4:30 PM

    Friday 4:30 PM–Midnight

    Reserve
    Tock
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  57. Rank 262. Rooster's

    Southern


    Address
    6601 Carnegie Blvd, Charlotte, NC, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–10 PM

    Reserve
    OpenTable
    Online
    Website
  58. Rank 263. Boudro's

    Cajun & Creole


    Address
    421 E Commerce St, San Antonio, TX, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–10:30 PM

    Reserve
    Resy
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  59. The awards


  60. Rank 264. Emeril's New Orleans Fish House

    Cajun & Creole Seafood

    The awards


  61. The awards


    Address
    112 College St, San Antonio, TX 78205, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 7 AM

    Friday 7 AM–3 PM

  62. Rank 264. Freda's Seafood Grille

    Cajun & Creole Seafood

    The awards


  63. Rank 264. High Cotton

    Farm-to-table Southern

    The awards


  64. The awards


  65. Rank 264. Laura Lee's

    Modern Southern

    The awards


  66. Rank 264. Page Road Grill

    Creative Southern

    The awards


    Address
    5416 Page Rd, Durham, NC 27703, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–9 PM

  67. The awards


  68. Rank 264. South City Kitchen Vinings

    Contemporary Southern

    The awards


  69. Rank 264. Southbound

    Southern

    The awards


    Address
    72 Cannon St, Charleston, SC 29403, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 5 PM

    Friday 5 PM–10 PM

  70. Rank 264. Steelbach

    Southern

    The dining room occupies what was once the Tampa Electrical Company's main offices, and the bare industrial bones are still very much the point. It's a Southern steakhouse where the grill runs on mesquite and oak, and the beef comes from a dedicated partnership with a local rancher, grass-fed and grain-finished for the house. The composed plates are solid, but most tables are here for the steaks, and the provenance makes them easy to argue for.

    The awards


    Address
    1902 N Ola Ave, Tampa, FL 33602, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–Midnight

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  71. The awards


  72. Rank 264. The Pump House

    Seasonal Southern

    The awards


  73. Rank 264. The Stables

    Seasonal Southern

    The awards


  74. Rank 264. Willie G's

    Cajun & Creole Seafood

    The awards


  75. The broad blue doors open onto a jazz-age fantasia: gold-accented walls, live music, and soul food in a Seaport dining room that feels like a speakeasy that upgraded its permits. Restaurateur Nia Grace runs this dinner-and-show spot, where oxtail and grits share the menu with easy cocktails and the band is not background noise. Boston Magazine named it one of the city's top fifty restaurants, and gave it Best Dinner and a Show.


    Address
    60 Seaport Blvd, Fl 3, Boston, MA, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 5:30 PM

    Friday 5:30 PM–1 AM

    Reserve
    SevenRooms
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram

  76. Address
    2400 Bull Suite 8 St, Savannah, GA, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 5 PM

    Friday 5 PM–10 PM

    Reserve
    Tock
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  77. The awards


  78. Rank 282. Broadway Oyster Bar

    Cajun & Creole Seafood

    The awards


  79. The awards


  80. The awards


  81. Rank 282. Hobnob

    Southern

    The awards


  82. The awards


  83. Rank 282. Lunch. Supper!

    Modern Southern

    The awards


  84. The awards


  85. The awards


  86. Rank 282. Nola

    Cajun & Creole

    The awards


  87. The awards


  88. The awards


  89. The awards


  90. The awards


    Address
    2337 E Burnside St, Portland, OR 97214, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 4:30 PM

    Friday 4:30 PM–10 PM

  91. Rank 282. The Bywater

    Cajun & Creole

    Zinc bar, pressed tin ceilings, and a shelf stacked with hot sauce bottles: The Bywater is a New Orleans-inspired Cajun and Creole restaurant in Los Gatos that commits to the bit. Zydeco on the stereo, gumbo on the stove. The chef behind this one is David Kinch, and regulars show up early enough to snag the andouille gumbo before it disappears. The Michelin Guide has handed it a Bib Gourmand, which tracks.

    The awards


  92. The fireplace in the dining room does a lot of work here, and the room lets it. This is a sit-down seafood restaurant on the Gulf Coast with a Cajun-leaning menu, the kind of place where crab claws come sautéed or fried and the chef makes the desserts in-house, details worth confirming with your server. Sunday brunch draws a loyal crowd. When the weather cooperates, the veranda is the obvious call.

    The awards


  93. The awards


  94. The awards



  95. Address
    4859 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90043, United States
    Hours

    Closed now, opens 11 AM

    Friday 11 AM–8 PM

    Online
    WebsiteInstagram

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Eat Score

The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

    How we score →

    Drink Score

    The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

      How we score →

      Stay Score

      Four fifths of the score is the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin Key outweighs a listicle. The last fifth is where it is: the ranked places to eat and things to do around it, and how safe the country is. When you sort by what's nearby, distance from you changes the order, never the score.

        How we score →

        Do Score

        The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

          How we score →

          Best Place Score

          The Best Place Score rates the area around a point, not any one place. The places are 60% of it: the best of what's within reach, weighed by distance. The setting is the other 40%: how life goes in that country (how people rate their own lives, how long and how well they live, how safe they are) and what it's like right there (the air, and the weather). If the score looks low, we probably haven't found enough critics out here yet.

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