Dispatch From the Road: Lunching Across North Carolina

El’s Drive-In, in Morehead City, at opening time.

Lunch at El’s: a shrimp burger, an oyster burger, a cheeseburger, and onion rings.

At the Collard Shack, in Ayden, Benny Cox sells vinegar infused with heirloom Bill Jones peppers.

Afternoon outside the Roast Grill in Raleigh, where little has changed since 1940.

An “upper” and a “lower” on the table at Ted’s Kickin Chicken, tossed in a secret-recipe vinegar-pepper sauce.

A sampling from the steam table at Bum’s in Ayden, with sweet potatoes, cabbage collards, fried chicken, cornbread, and a rich, comforting bowl of chicken and pastry.

Red clay out the window on the way to Pilot Mountain State Park.

Three South Carolina–inspired sides at Buxton Hall Barbecue in Asheville: barbecue hash, chicken bog, and catfish stew—pictured with house-made catfish sausage.

The best way to do Buxton? Try a little bit of everything.

Every pig that comes off the pits at Buxton has a name, whether it’s “Pjörk” or “Jerry Swinefeld.”

Huevos rancheros on the patio at Krankies Coffee in Winston-Salem, a former R.J. Reynolds loading dock.

The doors are open at Fonta Flora brewery in Morganton.