The 10 Best American Food Adventures

Photo: Randy Mayor

Delicious Destinations

If you love experiencing the cuisine of different cultures and exploring food scenes while traveling, you are in luck. Here, we explore 10 states' hidden gems—from a cowboy-hat-wearing whiskey distiller to a late-night Chinatown that bleeds neon, Sriracha, and overproof rum.

Photo: Courtesy of Lucan and Lewellan Vineyards

Central California Farm Stays

The Santa Margarita Hills lured gold miners. Today, it's wine and cheese lovers. Take a food adventure and explore Central California and the Santa Ynez Valley.

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Photo: Matt Rainwaters

Taste the Lone Star State's Whiskey Scene

Texas' microdistillers are mounting a seriously tasty challenge to Kentucky's whiskey supremacy, with visionaries from the Hill Country to north Texas producing extra-ordinary spirits that pair wonderfully with the local beef-centric cuisine.

Read more: Taste the Texas Whiskey Scene

Photo: Leela Cyd

Crabbing in the Pacific Northwest

If you love the idea of catching seafood but go green about the gills thinking of the open ocean, try Dungeness crabbing. You can do it without leaving dry land in the salty fishing town of Garibaldi on Oregon's Tillamook Bay.

Read more: Crabbing in Oregon

Photo: Kevin Miyazaki/Redux

Traverse City, Michigan, Steps Up to the Plate

This up-and-coming foodie destination is speckled with celebrities, artisan foods shops, and fun festivals.

Read more: Traverse City, Michigan's Buzzing Food Scene

Photo: Jacob Pritchard

Eat a Path 'Round Brooklyn's Artisanal Shops

The borough that Manhattanites once loved to ignore is now America's HQ for lovingly crafted foods—a vast larder of more treats than you could taste in a lifetime of food blogging. No food lover should miss spending a day checking out some of Brooklyn's best artisan shops.

Read more: Brooklyn's Artisanal Food Shops

Photo: Peter Frank Edwards/Redux

Appalachian Dairy Drive

The gorgeous greenery that is the backdrop to any southern Appalachian road trip is equally appreciated by the region's cows and goats, whose sweet milk is the foundation for superb butters, milks, and cheeses that are establishing the region as a leading dairy producer.

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Photo: Jason Varney

Philly's Chinatown After Dark

Chinatown is the devil on the shoulder of Philadelphia's Center City. It's the place you go to stay out late and sing too loud. It's compact and crowded, and smells of a million things. To spend time there is to find a strange second heart of the city—an organ that kicks into life after dark.

Read more: Philly's Chinatown After Dark

Photo: Kevin Miyazaki

Milwaukee's Real Suds Scene

Milwaukee's beer culture is legendary: It once had more than 80 breweries and was the largest beer-producing town in the world. Today, the city has a thriving microbrewery scene, and the best way to celebrate it is by boat.

Read more: Milwaukee's Beer Scene

Photo: Cedric Angeles

An Authentic Florida Seafood Experience

An asphalt road winding through a land of serene verdancy abruptly ends at a cluster of live oaks thick with Spanish moss. A low-slung eatery appears as the only sign that you've arrived in the wee fishing village of Spring Creek in Florida's Wakulla County.

Read more: Authentic Florida Seafood

Photo: Eric Gannett

A Suburban Chicago Farm

Chicago residents can skip the hustle and bustle, and meander out to La Pryor Farms for a simpler way of life.

Read more: A Suburban Chicago Farm

Food-Tripping USA: The 10 Best American Food Adventures