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Your culinary guide to dodging the chains down I-40.
May your rest stop be your best stop. Just in time for summer road-tripping—and the inevitable “where to eat along the way” dilemma—a new mile-by-mile physical map rounds up 25 spots worth veering off the road for, none of them your average burger chain.
A collab between Southern newsletter The Food Section and Greenville, SC-based Good Printed Things, I-40 Exit Strategy points travelers toward dozens of independently owned eats, all within 3 miles of NC’s road most traveled—transforming the I-40 corridor into a culinary trail.
“We go to the beach every single year and have the same dilemma each time—we need food, but don’t want fast-food from a chain restaurant,” says Good Printed Things owner Lib Ramos. “This map meets a real need.”
Organized by exit number, the guide (also available digitally) acts as a culinary companion connecting the mountains to the coast, serving up what The Food Section Publisher Hanna Raskin calls “an edible portrait of North Carolina.” From pulled pork in the Piedmont to biscuits in the Blue Ridge Mountains and shrimp on the shore, it’s essentially a cross-section of Old North State authenticity along the way.
Part of Good Printed Things’ Paper Routes series of collaborative printed maps and inspired by The Food Section’s 2022 I-95 guide, I-40 Exit Strategy—illustrated by Durham artist Kristen Solecki—pairs road-trip convenience with distinctly local flavor.
Aside from aesthetics, each stop was intentionally chosen to rebuff routine chain dining while still reflecting the realities of road-tripping: speedy service, generous hours and takeout-friendly fare. If I-40 Exit Strategy proves anything, it’s that veering off for value is still long-haul certified.
“These restaurants were selected because none of them could exist anywhere else,” emphasizes Raskin. “Map users are bound to discover that every exit is an entry point to unique culinary histories and meaningful traditions.” So next time hunger strikes, you’ll know right where to put your fork in the road.
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