Benson to Rocky Point

We’ve reached the end of the road–and the start of the beach. Even the food starts to taste summery on this end of the state.

EXIT 325: Urban Turban Express

Neither urban nor particularly express, Urban Turban Express is the thoughtful extension of Urban Turban Indian Grill and Bar, a beloved Punjabi restaurant in Durham. Located in a corner convenience store, the counter serves up a spectrum of complex flavors, including spicy ones upon request. A comforting chana masala, woven from chiles and ginger, is emblematic of the operation—which appears to have overshadowed Valero’s roller grill, seen dark and vacant on a recent weekday afternoon.

EXIT 341: Tortería y Rosticería Edy

“Wing and a thigh,” has been a customary order at takeout counters across the South for generations, but Tortería y Rosticería Edy suggests what other kinds of deliciousness the poultry phrase could yield. At this small woman-run shop, a standing rotisserie produces crackly-skinned chickens served by the part with corn tortillas, hand-patted to order. Homemade salsa verde, boasting enough zip to warrant a heat warning when issued, is a beautifully bright foil for the slow-cooked bird (and not too shabby atop accompanying black beans.)

EXIT 364: Gorditas Express

Since opening in 2022, Gorditas Express has treated its regular customers to whatever they crave, including shrimp boils, Sonoran hot dogs, and weekend menudo. For first timers, though, the titular gordita is the requisite order. As with the finest pizzas, it’s the dough that matters most when considering the excellence of these delicate masa pockets, griddled to flatter the corn’s sweetness. Whether filled with cheese, pork rinds, ground beef, or nopales, it’s likely to take the prize for your trip’s best handheld snack.

EXIT 385: Sensation Farmhouse Restaurant

Sensation Farmhouse owner Johnny Copeland downplays what it takes for a buffet like his to succeed, implying a gospel soundtrack and good cooks are a sure route to enormous popularity. What he doesn’t usually mention is the warm service and steam table items that have become uncommon in restaurant settings, including chicken-and-pastry, chitlins, and pig feet. Everything skews salty, befitting a stretch of I-40 that bends toward the beach, but house seasoning reaches its apotheosis in a tray of fried chicken. 

EXIT 408: Paul’s Place Famous Hot Dogs

Paul’s Place has been around so long that the restaurant’s marked up the retired signage which gives character to its spartan dining area, lest anybody believe they can buy a hot dog with change. In fact, nothing about Paul’s is compatible with change: In 1943, 15 years after opening, David Paul devised a tomato relish to distract customers from chili sauce, made exorbitantly expensive by wartime meat rations. That sweet condiment, cut with the crunch of cucumbers, still defines Paul’s today.