The Food Section

06/01/2026

Our new eating guide to Interstate 40 exits in North Carolina would make a great graduation or Father's Day gift--and you probably want a copy in your glove compartment too! Make sure your next road trip includes memorable meals at local restaurants you likely wouldn't have found otherwise:

Skip the chains. This illustrated map guides you to independently owned restaurants along I-40 in North Carolina — perfect for road trips and food lovers.

05/18/2026

What do your favorite global restaurants have in common? If they're located beyond the biggest cities in Georgia and the Carolinas, it's likely their owners are making monthly trips to Atlanta's international supermarkets. Check our Candy Hom's story today about those grocers, and the culinary diversity they've enabled across the region.

Chefs travel to shop city’s markets

05/11/2026

Here's a perk you won't find at most motels: In Candler, North Carolina, your room fee includes a serving of stew and butterbeans--or whatever else is on that night's menu for Free Southern Supper. Read up!

Mountain tradition of feeding boarders thrives at motel

04/27/2026

Subscribers, non-subscribers; readers, non-readers; anybody at all--everyone is encouraged to join us this Sunday for the ninth annual Spirited Brunch. Find all the details on the free and self-guided snack tour of downtown Charleston's prayerful spaces here: https://thefoodsection.com/depth-perception/

04/17/2026

It's a great day to buy an annual subscription to The Food Section! A generous donor has subsidized its price for 100 readers, but these $20 subs won't last long: Claim your discounted subscription now!

Buy a subsidized TFS subscription for $20

04/15/2026

There's more to cast iron than remembering granny's skillet--or so say a group of enthusiasts in Nashville. As Mark Blankenship reports, they're cooking up a compelling argument that Southern food belongs to everyone who appreciates deliciousness. Read all about it!

Tennessee enthusiasts scrub away nostalgia

04/13/2026

The Southern oyster industry has made tremendous strides in seeding, harvesting, and food safety techniques, but when it comes to getting those darn bivalves open, almost nothing's changed. Today in TFS, experts explain why that poses a problem--and what new shucking methods could mean for consumers:

Alabama oyster grower calls for better shucking methods

04/06/2026

While we mostly cover independent restaurants that don't get enough real estate in other publications, it's impossible to report on this region without considering chains and their role in our eating lives. Contributor Michael Venutolo-Mantovani has previously probed the incursion of Wawa, and he's back today with a look at the legacy Chuck E. Cheese in Pineville, North Carolina. Have a read!

Confronting nostalgia at Charlotte’s “legacy” Chuck E. Cheese

03/31/2026

This week in The Food Section, Diana Sidorevich Nortje takes aim at nuisance deer on Edisto Island, which are adored by newcomers who think they're cute--and savored by hunger relief workers who see them as a welcome source of protein for area residents coping with food insecurity.

Seeing hunger relief on Edisto Island

03/23/2026

You never know what The Food Section is going to roll out next! Our Nashville bureau chief Mark Blankenship today has a terrific feature about pressed penny machines at Southern restaurants, and the people who flock to them. https://thefoodsection.com/happy-as-pigs-in-a-penny/