Over at Philly Cold Cuts, the award-winning eatery with two locations, it’s the Philly cheesesteaks that reach the restaurant’s goal of “devotional.”

Over at Nando’s PERi-PERi Chicken, smiling wait staff hustle between tables delivering towering sandwiches, bowls heaped with mashers, rice and peas, and colorful stoneware platters of fiery, spatchcocked chicken.

Huddled at the door with a half-dozen others, we bore witness to nimble servers ferrying a parade of dishes: tall, fruited Belgian waffles crowned with swirls of whipped cream, half-moon omelets covering half the plate, bubbly mimosas, and Bloody Marys, too.

Head over to The Pizza Box in Virginia Beach for a ginormous, New York-style, supersized slice of pizza served smoking hot—a triangle of stretchy, salty cheese atop a smear of tangy tomato sauce built on a thin-ish, golden brown crust with just the right amount of crunch.

Judy’s has grown to two locations. Her authentic cuisine has developed a cult following locally and was ranked by Yahoo as the No. 1 Chinese restaurant in the state. 

Destination: Creeds, population 1,400 and home to Redhead Bay Cafe, a remote brunch spot that you’ll have to pass myriad restaurants to get to.