Four of the country's best restaurants are in NC, according to Yelp
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Yelp released a list of the top 100 places to eat across the country in 2024, and it includes a slate of North Carolina restaurants that might be worth taking a little road trip for.
Worth noting: We can't say we've heard of or tried these spots, so if you have, let us know what you think.
- We'll be making our way there as soon as we can.
No. 11: Haywood Smokehouse, Dillsboro, North Carolina (~4.5 hours from Raleigh), which also ranked No. 1 Yelp's Top Brisket Spots in the US and Canada.
- Their specialty is dry-rub Texas-style meats that Yelpers raved about.
- Pro tip: Try the banana pudding if you still have room.
- The restaurant also has locations in Waynesville and Franklin.
No. 43: Odeh's Mediterranean Kitchen, High Point, North Carolina (~1.5 hours from Raleigh)
- The owners get their spices shipped to them from their family in the Middle East, and the dishes are prepared the way co-owner Mahmoud Odeh's mother made them.
- The menu also includes some non-Mediterranean weekly specials, including: rack of lamb, certified angus beef NY Strip, rigatoni alla vodka, ahi tuna, arancini, tiramisu and baklava cheesecake.
No. 49: Freeman's Grub & Pub, Greensboro, North Carolina (~1 hour, 18 minutes from Raleigh)
- The "historic Greensboro gastropub," as Yelp has deemed it, has now made the review site's top 100 list two years in a row.
- The brisket is legendary, reviewers report, and the brisket sandwich includes blackberry barbecue sauce spread on a roll with pimento cheese, bacon, lettuce and tomato.
- The restaurant also makes their own liquor infusions, like strawberry and jalapeño tequila, and serves poutine along with Butterfinger pies.
No. 54: The Table, Asheboro, North Carolina (~1.5 hours from Raleigh)
- This "hidden gem" serves breakfast, lunch and Saturday brunch, and Yelp reports that it has helped transform Asheboro.
- The signature pimento cheese sandwich and breakfast granola are straight from the owner's mother.
- Pro tip: You can now buy the granola online. It's so popular the restaurant is shipping some 150 bags per week.
- Lucille is beelining to this spot ASAP.