Four of the country's best restaurants are in NC, according to Yelp

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.