2 Best Restaurants in The North Carolina Mountains, North Carolina

Near Appalachian State University, in a former hospital surrounded by a picket fence and flowers, Dan'l Boone serves old-fashioned Southern food family style. You can have any or all of the items on the menu, and seconds and thirds if you want them, for the same price—and the portions of fried chicken, country-style steak, ham biscuits, mashed potatoes, and green beans (to name a few) are generous. There's usually a line waiting to get in.

This stone cottage in the woods, off a winding country road between Boone and Blowing Rock, surprises newcomers with a rotating menu of unusual, sophisticated dishes like grilled elk, antelope Bolognese, bison steak, and other game. In cool weather, there's a roaring fire in the fireplace; when weather permits, eat on the deck with woodsy views.