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 143: Zack’s Hot Dogs

A notice posted at Zack’s announces there’s “no social media posting without permission” at this nearly century-old restaurant. In other words, these chili dogs aren’t content: They’re the lifeblood of a community. A favorite of laborers and political leaders alike, Zack’s—named for its founder, Greek immigrant Zack Touloupas—is best known for its cheese dogs, composed of an oblong block of cold, orange cheese (“no wienie!” the menu warns), sauced with chili that’s spicier than what prevails at either end of the state.

EXIT 263: New Hope Market

If rather than taking the interstate to New Hope, you were teleported there from a faraway place, it would take about 30 seconds to figure out you’d landed in Chapel Hill. This wonderfully wholesome all-day destination’s menu of sandwiches, salads, and baked goods, largely forged from local ingredients, runs long; still, almost everything on it is morally and nutritionally defensible. For those headed somewhere that requires a host gift, the market’s selection of North Carolina products is unbeatable.

EXIT 148: Phifer’s Hot Wings & BBQ

If eaters outside of the Statesville area are familiar with dipped chicken—that magical amalgam of church suppers and backyard cookouts which involves frying half a chicken and submerging it in peppery barbecue sauce—they probably know Keaton’s. Locals, though, will tell you the dish isn’t the same since B.W. Keaton passed away. If they’re feeling generous, they’ll then steer you to the glorious version at Phifer’s, where every side is an excuse to soak up more hot vinegared sauce.

EXIT 168: Miller’s Restaurant

On a recent visit to Miller’s, a man in a Vietnam veteran ballcap sighed as he escorted his mother through the front door. “It’s the only place she wants to come,” he said of the storied family restaurant which opened as a truck stop in 1952. “She’d come here every day.” Some do. Homestyle cooking is a draw, but plenty of regulars swear by the superlative pimento burger, featuring a rail-thin patty spread with mayonnaise-heavy pimento cheese.

EXIT 81: Pho 828

When Pho 828 took over the strip mall space previously occupied by Sakura Japanese Ramen, it kept its predecessor’s signature item on the menu, a decision that evidences confidence rather than mission creep. There’s no broth or noodle that this restaurant can’t handle, although the aroma of grilled pork and sound of a cleaver rightly steers eaters back to Vietnamese dishes, including a sonorous pho with admirably fresh garnishes.

EXIT 90: Mama’s Country Kitchen

Mama’s Country Kitchen is hardly the only diner in McDowell County serving livermush. But what makes its rendition of the regional delicacy so valuable is short-order cooks here are egg virtuosos, meaning every plate and sandwich does justice to the loaf of cornmeal and pig parts (although a smear of mayonnaise doesn’t hurt when the combo’s bookended by white bread.) While staffers take equal care with the iron-rich flaps of livermush, even some lifelong western North Carolinians abstain: Mama’s also serves an estimable cheeseburger.

Exit 20: Ben’s Backdraft Barbecue

Interstate 40 rolls on to Tennessee, but Ben’s Backdraft Barbecue is so far west that its output tastes like Texas. The 2025 successor to a food truck launched by former firefighter Ben Hooper, Ben’s Backdraft deliberately burns apple and oak wood in the smoker which once anchored Asheville’s Buxton Hall Barbecue. The resultant meat lineup includes pork, chicken, and brisket distinguished by exceptional texture and peppery bark: it’s a forcefully smoky reminder that the cut hails from the same creature as expense-check steaks.

EXIT 27: Sherrill’s Pioneer Restaurant

Locally known as The Pioneer—or The Pine Ear, as it’s rendered on a wooden sign that dates to when mountaineers wisely cashed in on tourists’ fascination with backwoods culture—Sherrill’s is a 70-year-old roadside diner where servers pour coffee with a stay-all-day attitude. Should you take them up on the offer, you’ll likely start at sausage-darkened sawmill gravy over biscuits, and wind up at homemade fruit cobbler. But the essential stopover is a bowlful of Appalachian soup beans, simmered in potlikker and paired with cornbread.