NC 24 from Raleigh to Emerald Isle - chow

[BorntoEat]

Will be making the three hour-ish drive from Raleigh to the coast (Emerald Isle) along mainly Hwy 24. Any recommended places along the way for a pit stop?

BorntoEat

[mikeh]

Southern Exposure in downtown Faison, NC. One of the best local farm-to-table restaurants in North Carolina, and amazing to find in the middle of nowhere. Prices are outlandishly cheap for the quality you get.

[ncbraindead]

Second on Southern Exposure . avoid Smithfield's like the plauge, literally.
Try Abbot's in Kinston ( homestyle ) and T& W in Ocean Isle.
The ultimate in fine foods at a good price is
THE COUNTRY SQUIRE RESTAURANT in Kenansville, NC .
Awesome steaks, private winery and a hotel.
Great place.

[carolinadawg]

FYI - The OP isn't going anywhere near Kinston or Ocean Isle.

[carolinadawg]

If you search the board for "Smithfield", "Kenansville", "Jacksonville" you'll find some suggestions.

[blewgo]

Are you taking I-40 to Warsaw and then 24 on to the coast?

[BorntoEat]

That is how we usually go unless there are other suggestions...

[blewgo]

That's the way I go. I've never found anything worth sending anybody to along that stretch of road. Souther Exposure that Mike mentions below sounds good though.

Google map street view: http://maps.google.com/maps?source=earth&layer=c&cbll=35.116394,-78.137453&cbp=13,50.29343232198795,,0,-2.215139386475603&ie=UTF8&ll=35.116398,-78.135313&spn=0,359.98631&z=17&panoid=x8kzCD-I1yT3zgvTYHfBNQ

Web page: http://southernexposurerestaurant.com/

Considering the economy, I'd call before I planned a trip around a stop here.