Proper

Seafood · Asheville · $$$

An Asheville dinner pick for the Craggy Gardens/Mount Mitchell side of the parkway, giving the route a seafood counterpoint to mountain fare.

New American · Asheville · $$$

An Asheville downtown dinner pick for the southern Blue Ridge day, with enough craft and local sourcing to make the overnight feel deliberate.

American · Avon · $$

An Avon tavern stop between Nags Head and Hatteras that gives the long barrier-island day another dependable sit-down option.

American · Blowing Rock · $$

A Blowing Rock mountain-town anchor near Grandfather Mountain and the Linn Cove stretch, with trout exactly where trout should be.

American · Buxton · $$

A Buxton wrap-and-seafood stop near Cape Hatteras, useful when the byway day needs something casual but not generic.

Seafood · Buxton · $$

A laid-back Hatteras Island raw bar for the middle of the Outer Banks route, especially good after lighthouse and beach time.