The paintings on the walls are quirky, and many on the waitstaff are artists or musicians. Slide into a booth at home cooking haven Early Bird Diner for Southern food done right. The most popular menu item is the delectable chicken and waffles, but there are plenty of other choices like a meatloaf melt or country fried steak. Be sure to end your meal with the banana pudding.

You would be foolish not to order the fries with Béarnaise at Southern spot The Glass Onion. The French mother sauce may not sound like it belongs with country vittles, but you must remember Charleston’s escargot-eating ancestors. For more traditional Lowcountry fare, the restaurant offers fried chicken with mashed potatoes and collards or Jeannie Ruth’s deviled eggs.

Ok, you may have to queue up here—but you can order an adult beverage while you wait, and the patio is stocked with fans. Chef Robert Stehling serves up classic Southern dishes with a James Beard award winning pedigree (2008, Best Chef Southeast). People flock to cozy comfort food place Hominy Grill for grits, buttermilk pie and hospitality. If you go in the morning, try the "Big Nasty," a fried chicken biscuit smothered in gravy.

The chicken is fried to order, and the sides are simple at this dinner deal find Ike's Hot Chicken and Fish. For $2.99 you can take home two pieces of fried dark meat and a side. And when is the last time you saw a $3.00 hamburger on a menu that wasn't stamped with the Golden Arches? Seafood platters, deviled crabs and wings round out the menu.

The pink restaurant Martha Lou’s Kitchen isn’t difficult to miss on Morrison Drive—its colorful murals draw you in to discover what’s inside. Menu choices highlight proteins like chitterlings, fried chicken and pork chops with a choice of Southern sides—this place is a real deal meat-and-three joint. Chef and proprietor Martha Lou Gadsden’s lima beans will change your mind about overlooked legume.