Chapel Hill · United States
The Chapel Hill food cheat sheet
One page from Chef Amazing · November 2026
The dish to eat
A tall buttermilk biscuit split around a crisp fried chicken breast, sometimes with cheese, egg or bacon.
Best at Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen, Chapel Hill. Get: Fried chicken biscuit, or the Bad Grampa with egg, cheese and bacon
Five places, and what to order
- Merritt's Store & Grillclassic · South Columbia StreetGet: BLT on sourdough, double or triple
- Sutton's Drug Storeclassic · East Franklin StreetGet: Burger, crinkle fries and a fountain drink
- Al's Burger Shackcounter · West Franklin StreetGet: Cheeseburger
- Merritt's Grill at Finley Golf Clubfor merritt's BLT · Finley Golf ClubGet: BLT
- The Original Q Shackfor north Carolina barbecue · DurhamGet: Eastern-style pork, ribs
The market
Farmers market. Local produce, meat, cheese, baked goods and flowers
In season this November
Market produce year round
How it works here
Tip: Tip 18-22% at sit-down restaurants, a dollar or two a drink at the bar.
Book: Book the hot places on Resy or OpenTable, often the day tables drop (2-4 weeks out); counters and slices are walk-in.
When locals eat: Lunch noon-2pm, dinner 6-9pm; it gets late only in the big cities.