I’m going to be going on a spontaneous road trip with a friend to help her pick some stuff up from her home in Cape Coral, Florida, and am looking for suggestions for places to stop and eat along the way. Here are some of the cities we’ll be going through on the trip (if we go the Mapquest route):
Huntington, WV
Charleston, WV
Wyethville, VA
Kannapolis, NC
Charlotte, NC
Columbia, SC
Savannah, GA
Jacksonville, FL
Gainesville, FL
Ocala, FL
Tampa, FL
St. Petersburg, FL
Bradenton, FL
Sarasota, FL
Port Charlotte, FL
Fort Myers, FL
Type of cuisine or price range isn’t important – what I’m looking for are non-chain local gems, places that have local specialties (for instance, BBQ in NC), places that you would either go yourself or bring out of town visitors to. We’re leaving Sunday. 
I can’t wait to hear your suggestions.
August 31st, 2007 at 8:13 am
I really do not know much about the restaurants as we always have limited time driving through and usually pack a cooler. I will say though, that the route is much nicer than 75. You will want to watch through the mountains not only for fog but for long spells of absolutely no place to stop. Makes for a great drive, but not so good if your hungry or have to use the bathroom!
There was one spot in Savannah I ate once…can’t think of the name. It’s right down on the waterfront in one of the old merchant buildings. The decor was old as America (think uneven original brick floor, huge hand hewn wood structure with beams running every which wa.) I had a Ceasar Salad with grilled Sea Trout that was easily the best salad I’ve ever had. It’s been quite a few years, over ten for sure. I’ll dig and see if I can find the name of the place. The buildings are right along the water, it looks like they are 3 or 4 stories high, but from the street level you don’t see a level or two. Great spot.
August 31st, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Long time lurker, first time poster. I posted a long comment here yesterday, or at least I thought I did. Did it get deleted? Or did I forget to hit the button? I’ll check back for your answer and repost if I messed it up.
One suggestion for Savannah is to go to The Lady and Sons, of course– Paula Deen’s restaurant. Just be sure to get reservations as I hear it fills up quickly.
September 4th, 2007 at 9:58 am
I fear I’ve remembered too late to help, but here are my Fort Myers recommendations. I live near Fort Myers, and have only found one local favorite– Sweet Things. It’s on Daniels Parkway, just west of 75. They make their own European ice cream– sooo good. My husband says the bourbon vanilla is better than Breyer’s, and I love the Hazelnut Nougat.
Other local favorites– on Sanibel (worth the drive), hit The Lighthouse Cafe for breakfast. Whole wheat blueberry pancakes are the best. Also, Gramma Dot’s is right by the marina– awesome fish, especially coconut shrimp.
In Naples, and really, the best seafood anywhere, is Randy’s Fishmarket. Worth the wait for sure.
I’m sorry this is so late– I hope it’s still of help! Feel free to email me for more info on any of these! I’ve been a long time lurker as we’re stuck here in Fort Myers and long to be in Columbus, where my husband is from. Your blog brings me little bits of happy and I can’t wait to try the places you write about!
September 8th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
That happened to me too, Kathleen. I posted about a fantastic restaurant in Ybor City Florida.