Sweet tea is the canonical Southern non-alcoholic table drink, brewed strong with black tea and sweetened hot with sugar, then chilled and served over ice.
Where to eat it: 13 restaurants across 4 cities.
Sweet tea entered Southern cooking in the late 19th century when refined sugar and refrigerated ice became affordable through the Southern railway expansion. By the 1920s it was the table drink across Carolina households, served at every meal except breakfast, and remains the unmarked default ordering 'tea' across Charlotte to this day. The pour comes pre-sweetened with two cups of sugar per gallon at most Carolina restaurants.
Tip from the editors. The sugar must dissolve in the hot tea. Adding sugar to cold tea makes a grainy sip that locals will catch immediately.
Mert's Heart and Soul on N College Street is the uptown soul-food room with a fried-chicken-and-sides lunch plate around $14, the budget anchor of the uptown.
Try: Fried chicken plate with two sides
Tip: The two-side combo is the best value. Weekday lunch is the easiest seat.
300 East on East Boulevard is the family-run Dilworth American institution serving comfort plates and weekend brunch to the neighbourhood since 1986.
Signature: House burger, Crab cake sandwich, Sunday brunch
Order: The crab-cake sandwich at lunch and the house burger at dinner.
Tip: Sunday brunch is the seat to land. Book on OpenTable for weekend morning slots.
Sweet Lew's BBQ in Belmont is Lewis Donald's wood-smoked Carolina BBQ counter, smoking whole pork shoulders, brisket and house sausages on a quiet street.
Why locals love it: A counter-service BBQ room on a quiet Belmont street, easy to drive past unless you're looking for it.
Tip: Get there before noon. The meats sell through by mid-afternoon.
OJ's Diner in Greenville: Black-owned Pendleton soul food counter, cash preferred and weekdays only. Locals know; tourists routinely miss it.
Why locals love it: Black-owned Pendleton soul food counter, cash preferred and weekdays only. Locals know; tourists routinely miss it.
Tip: Get there before 13:00 on weekdays. The fried chicken sells out by 14:00 most days.
Henry's runs counter-service barbecue on Wade Hampton: chopped pork sandwich and a side under fifteen dollars, four South Carolina sauces on the table.
Try: Chopped pork sandwich and a side under fifteen dollars
Stax Omega Diner is off-downtown greek diner since 1988. family-run, bakery case at the back, regulars take up the same booths every morning.
Why locals love it: Off-downtown Greek diner since 1988. Family-run, bakery case at the back, regulars take up the same booths every morning.
Tip: Sit at the counter. Order the gyro plate plus a slice of baklava from the bakery case.
Pete's Restaurant and Coffee Shop on Union Avenue, the downtown diner since 1986, runs breakfast counter service voted Best Breakfast in Knoxville seven.
Order: Country ham and eggs with grits
Tip: Closes 14:00 daily; weekend lines form before 09:00 and weekdays move faster.
Buddy's Bar-B-Q on Kingston Pike, the original flagship since 1972, runs a $9-13 pulled pork plate with two sides as Knoxville's most reliable East TN BBQ.
Try: Pulled pork plate with two sides
Tip: The pulled pork plate with cole slaw and beans clocks under $13; counter ordering moves fast.
Littons Market on Essary Drive is the 1946 Fountain City burger counter that anchors North Knoxvilles hometown dining without leaving its residential setting.
Why locals love it: The Fountain City burger counter since 1946 has anchored North Knoxville's hometown dining without ever leaving its residential setting.
Tip: Cash and card both work; the bakery case sells out by mid-afternoon. Closed Sundays.
Mrs. Wilkes has run from a Jones Street basement since 1943, $35 communal Southern home cooking at ten-person tables. Sweet potato souffle, cash or check.
Try: Communal-table Southern lunch
Crystal's $15 burgers, $12 fried green tomatoes and $14 she-crab soup keep a 1933 historic-pub lunch under $20. Dark booths, long draft list, no reservations.
Try: Crystal burger and Southern pub plates
The Olde Pink House occupies a 1771 Georgian mansion on Reynolds Square. Formal upstairs dining and Planters Tavern walk-up basement, Balish 1992 restoration.
Sisters of the New South on Skidaway Rd in Eastside is the cafeteria-line soul-food kitchen plating oxtails, fried chicken, and stewed greens at lunch.
Why locals love it: Out on Skidaway in residential Eastside; off the tourist trail; cafeteria-line service.
Tip: Lunch only; arrive by 12:30 to beat the office crowd. Oxtails go fast on Fridays.
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