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Holly Hill Country Restaurant

Pile your plate high with rib sticking soul food like collards and fried chicken at this cafeteria-style buffet. 803-496-1211; 8637 Old State Rd, Holly Hill, SC; mains from $5; 7am-8pm Mon-Wed & Sat, to 9pm Fri, to 4pm Sun

Hyman’s Seafood

Join the crowds waiting outside this casual favorite for she-crab soup and crispy flounder. 843-723-6000; www.hymanseafood.com; 215 Meeting St, Charleston, SC; mains $8-24; 11am-11pm daily;

Jim Neely’s Interstate Bar-B-Que

Order a pulled-pork sandwich with a side of barbecue spaghetti and allow yourself to swoon with pleasure. 901-775-1045; www.interstatebarbecue.com; 2265 S Third St, Memphis, TN; mains $5-9; 11am-11pm Mon-Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat;

Johnny’s Po-Boy

This family-run sandwich joint has been going strong since the 1950s. 504-524-8129; www.johnnyspoboy.com; 511 St Louis St, New Orleans, LA; mains $6-10; 9am-3pm Mon-Fri, 8am-4pm Sat & Sun;

Prince’s Hot Chicken

Cayenne-laced fried chicken is worth the long wait in a dingy strip mall. 615-226-9442; 123 Ewing Dr, Nashville, TN; mains $4-8; noon-10pm Tue-Thu, to 4am Fri & Sat

Rockaway Athletic Club

Sink your teeth into a sloppy pimento cheeseburger at this hidden sports bar. 803-256-1075; 2719 Rosewood Dr, Columbia, SC; mains $9-12; 11am-11pm

S.N.O.B.

Think upscale Southern food with an attitude – grilled barbecue tuna, sour-cream apple pie – cooked up in a contemporary open kitchen. 843-723-3424; www.slightlynorthofbroad.net; 192 E Bay St, Charleston, SC; mains $18-34; 11:30am-3pm Mon-Fri & 5:30pm-10pm daily

Walker’s Drive-In

Try the upscale version of the famous Delta tamale at this critically acclaimed neo-Southern restaurant. 601-982-2633; www.walkersdrivein.com; 3016 N State St, Jackson, MS; mains $24-32; 11am-2pm Mon-Fri & 5:30-9:30pm Tue-Sat

Wreck of the Richard and Charlene

Chow on fried shrimp with a side of boiled peanuts in this creekside former bait warehouse. 843-884-0052; www.wreckrc.com; 106 Haddrell St, Mount Pleasant, SC; mains $12-20; 5:30pm-8:15pm Tue-Thu, to 9:15pm Fri & Sat

SLEEP

Grove Park Inn

This massive 1913 stone lodge sits high above Asheville in the Blue Ridge mountains; don’t miss the underground spa. 828-252-2711; www.groveparkinn.com; 290 Macon Ave, Asheville, NC; r from $155

Melrose Mansion

This graceful Victorian mansion has rooms furnished with antiques, and wide verandas. 504-944-2255; www.melrosemansion.com; 937 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA; r $225-450

Peabody Hotel

Watch the ducks swim in the marble lobby fountain at this well-appointed downtown hotel. 901-529-4000; www.peabodymemphis.com; 149 Union Ave, Memphis, TN; r from $240

Vendue Inn

This hip boutique hotel, resembling a tiny Parisian row house, has an always-packed rooftop bar. 843-577-7970; www.vendueinn.com; 19 Vendue Range, Charleston, SC; r $179-399

USEFUL WEBSITES

www.gumbopages.com

www.southernfoodways.com

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LINK YOUR TRIP www.lonelyplanet.com/trip-planner

TRIP

44 New Orleans Perfect Po’Boy Quest

54 Pulled Pork & Butt Rubs: Eating in Memphis

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Return to beginning of chapter

TRIP 2

Antebellum South

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WHY GO The Civil War decimated the South, but several elegant plantation homes built in the 30 years leading up to the war avoided the Union’s fiery wrath. Referred to as antebellum, they not only represent some of the most astounding architecture on American soil, but also offer a glimpse into a bygone era.

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Many people’s idea of antebellum architecture, whether they realize it or not, is Tara Plantation, the fictional abode of Scarlett O’Hara in Margaret Mitchell’s 1946 novel, Gone with the Wind – but you can only visit that one in your own fantasyland. In the book, Tara is spared the fiery wrath of the Union’s matchbook warfare, surviving untorched while its neighbors are burnt to the ground. That’s pretty much how it went, and why antebellum