Author: Larry Olmsted, Special to USA TODAY

Road-tripping through North Carolina or picking up your college kid? Make time for a pit stop at Kermit’s Hot Dog House, a Winston-Salem institution.

In a city where it is very easy to spend three figures on a single lobster entree, it’s hard to beat the food and prices at Harrah’s Oyster Bar.

Delia’s Chicken Sausage Stand in Atlanta has been thriving for nearly a decade thanks to an unlikely menu star:chicken sausage.

Biscuitville is a locally popular Southern chain with nearly 60 locations, all of them in Virginia and North Carolina.

Pizza Rock, founded by the owner of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, offers eight sensational styles under one roof.

Pinocchio’s Pizza in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been serving locals and Harvard students – including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg – since 1966.

The Pinehurst Brewing Company restaurant is wildly popular with both visitors and locals.

Whether it is from carts, trucks or restaurants, Halal Guys serves up huge quantities of beef gyros and chicken daily.

Rhode Island’s bakery pizza is so odd that some might even argue that “red strips” don’t meet the basic definition of pizza.

The bestselling Worthy Burger is juicy, thick and tasty. You can also build your own version, which is when it starts to get weird.