LATEST ARTICLES:
This New Jersey Italian Deli Feels Refreshingly Unchanged In A World Of Chain Sandwich Shops
No touchscreen. No carefully engineered “concept.” Just a proper Italian deli doing what it does best. This little New...
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A 1,500-Pound Chocolate Castle Stands Inside This Pennsylvania Candy Shop
Warm chocolate smell wraps around the parking lot and follows you through the front doors. Inside, a twelve-foot chocolate castle rises with candy turrets and a tiny carousel spinning...
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Two Giant Furnaces Are Nearly All That Remain of a Pennsylvania Steel Mill That Once Stretched for Miles
Rusty blast furnaces rising over a river in Pennsylvania are not something you see every day. Two giants, each about 92 feet tall, stand there like they are still waiting for the...
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This Virginia Chinese Restaurant Is The Kind Of Local Favorite People Keep Coming Back To
Some restaurants become institutions without ever trying to. They open with a good menu, treat people well, and keep showing up year after year until suddenly they have been part...
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Everyone Goes To Williamsburg, But This Nearby Virginia Town Might Be Even Better
Williamsburg gets the attention, and it deserves it. The historic district is impressive, the interpreters are skilled, and the whole place feels like a step into the 18th century.
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A Whimsical Two Story Texas Restaurant Turns A Simple Meal Into An Experience
Some restaurants feed you, and some restaurants entertain you. However, the best ones manage to do both at the same time, which...
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A 1906 Ohio Mill Now Has Hotel Rooms Inside and Still Generates Its Own Electricity
Water pouring over a dam is the first thing that greets you in this small Ohio town. The sound is steady and loud enough to make you roll down the window.
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Weekend Crowds Pack This Quirky Missouri Breakfast Joint For Big Plates And Creative Brunch
By late morning, the tables are full and somebody is almost definitely eyeing the plate that just passed by. This Missouri...
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This South Carolina Restaurant Turns Raw Oysters Into S’mores With Chocolate and Toasted Marshmallow
The first time someone told me about an oyster topped with chocolate and marshmallow, I laughed out loud and then immediately wanted one. The oyster lives at a seafood spot sitting...
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Former NBA Star Is Building a Fried Chicken Empire in Minnesota
A former NBA player traded the hardwood for the fryer, and the crispy, spicy results are turning heads. Picture a dinner line stretching out the door, everyone waiting on tenders...
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8 Maryland Restaurants to Try When You’re Tired of The Same Old Chain Restaurants
Chain restaurants are convenient. They are everywhere, the menus are predictable, and you know exactly what you are getting. But...
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You Literally Drive Through Two Giant Donuts to Order at This California Shop Built in 1968
Two massive donuts rising over a road are enough to make anyone grin like a kid at a carnival. This California landmark has been frying up sweet treats since the late 1960s, and...
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Locals Say These Alabama Towns Are Being Quietly Bought By Investors
The “For Sale” sign is starting to mean something different. It used to mean a family was moving. Now, locals say, it can...
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Alabama Has A German Deli That’s So Authentic You’ll Think You’re In Europe
A pretzel can be a snack. A pretzel can also be the beginning of a very serious meal. Especially when it arrives beside sausage,...
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This Virginia Soul Food Spot Serves Crispy Fried Chicken With A Side Of Serious Comfort
Fried chicken is one of those dishes that separates good kitchens from great ones. Anyone can drop a piece of chicken in hot oil. Not...
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A Rugged Gravel Road Leads To This 1895 Missouri Mill In A Nearly Vanished Ozark Town
There is still a working piece of 1890s Missouri hiding at the end of a rough Ozark road. This old mill dates to 1895, and much of its original equipment remains inside, surrounded...
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An 8-Year-Old Girl Hid a Tiny Doll in Her Dress Before Crossing to California With the Donner Party, and It Survived
Barely four inches tall, carved from wood, and carried by an eight-year-old girl who tucked it into her dress while her family pushed west in 1846. One of the harshest winters...
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Why Book Lovers Are Obsessed With This Maryland Literary Wonderland
Some bookstores are places you visit. Others are places you never want to leave. This Maryland literary wonderland falls firmly...
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Oklahoma’s Woolaroc Lets You Drive Past Bison And Elk Before Wandering A Museum Packed With Western Art
The road curved through quiet Oklahoma hills, and I figured the morning would be a simple museum stop. Then a shaggy bison lifted its head right beside my window, chewing slowly,...
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An Ohio College Student Wrote an Anti-Slavery Song That Sold More Than a Million Copies Before the Civil War
In 1856, a young student living in a small house wrote a ballad that would sell more than a million copies before the Civil War. The same walls sheltered people escaping slavery...
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Hard-To-Find Designer Fabrics Fill This Tiny Missouri Quilt Shop Built For Serious Stash Collectors
This is dangerous territory if your fabric stash is already getting out of control. This small Missouri quilt shop was built...
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10 Oregon Meat Markets Where Folks Stock Their Freezers Cheaper Than Any Chain Store
Chain store prices made grocery shopping feel like a hostage negotiation. These places quietly broke the ransom demand. Butcher...
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Vietnamese Staples Fill These 6 Spots In Oklahoma City’s Asian District
I only stopped because I was hungry and the parking lot looked easy, and I left already planning my next visit. A plain strip mall storefront handed me a bowl of soup so fragrant...
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This Flat 1-Mile Roundtrip Boardwalk Through an Old-Growth Forest Is One of Texas’ Most Relaxing Walks
A walk through an old-growth forest feels different from a walk through just about anywhere else, because the trees are taller, the air is cooler, and the whole place carries a...
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These 5 Oklahoma Lakes Hide Whole Towns That Disappeared Under The Water
Picture yourself floating on a calm Oklahoma lake on a hot afternoon, with nothing but blue water in every direction. Now picture a main street, a schoolhouse, and a general store...
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Most Oklahomans Have Never Driven Through This Gorgeous Little Town That Likes It That Way
Some of the best places in Oklahoma never show up on a billboard. You find them by taking the slow road, getting a little hungry, and pulling over somewhere you only meant to pass...
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The River Rolls Right Under Your Table At This Oklahoma Cafe Serving Catfish And Burgers
I only stopped because my stomach was growling louder than the radio on a back road in southwest Oklahoma. The building looked plain enough, just a rustic little spot sitting near...
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This Unassuming West Virginia Field Is Where John Brown’s Raid Ended With A Fire Engine House Standoff
You could walk right past it and never guess. Tucked into a quiet corner of West Virginia sits a small red brick building about the size of a big family garage, with a little bell...
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Seven West Virginia Pepperoni Roll Bakeries Where The Recipe Hasn’t Changed Since Your Grandpa’s Lunch Pail
Some of the best food in West Virginia comes out of buildings you might drive past without a second look. A plain storefront, a small window, a warm paper bag that smells like...
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Route 66 Signs, Homestyle Breakfast, And Seriously Good Biscuits Fill This Old-School Missouri Cafe
This is the kind of breakfast stop where the biscuits deserve their own fan club. This Missouri cafe leans all the way into its Route 66 setting, with vintage signs, memorabilia,...
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This Old Oklahoma Fire Tower Still Stands Watch Over Fall Forest At The End Of A Rugged 4×4 Trail
Some of the best places in Oklahoma never show up on a billboard, and you only find them after the pavement gives up. Picture a steel lookout poking above a sea of red and gold...
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Seven West Virginia Penny Candy Counters Where A Dollar Still Fills A Paper Sack
Remember sliding a crumpled dollar across a wooden counter and walking out with a sack so full it crinkled all the way home? I figured those days were gone until a sweet tooth...
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Plant Lovers Have Been Coming Back To This Missouri Garden Center Since 1934
Need one plant? Good luck leaving with one. This Missouri garden center has been around since 1934, and it is packed with the...
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12 Texas Restaurants to Try When You’re Tired of The Same Old Chain Restaurants
There comes a point in every diner's life when the sight of another identical menu with another identical plate of food becomes too much to bear, and that is exactly when these...
Read More 11 min read
For More Than 40 Years, This Missouri Candy Shop Has Been Handcrafting Truffles, Caramels, And Chocolates
This is where your self-control goes to disappear. One case is filled with truffles, another with caramels, and then there are chocolates in enough shapes and flavors to make choosing...
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Hundreds Of Vintage Motorcycles Fill An Old Barn On Route 66 In Oklahoma
I pulled off the old highway for a quick stretch and a cold soda, figuring I would be back on the road in ten minutes. Two hours later, I was still inside, sitting on a motel mattress...
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A Weekend At This New Jersey Mountain Resort Feels Like Leaving The State Behind
Mountains, mineral pools, golf courses, spas, and resort restaurants aren't exactly the scenery most people picture first when someone says New Jersey.
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Remember When Wheeling Sold Every Nail In America? That Story Lives On At This Old Factory
My grandfather kept a coffee can full of old square nails in his West Virginia garage, and I never once wondered where they came from. Turns out a lot of them likely came from...
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This New Jersey Amish Restaurant Serves A Hearty Breakfast Buffet Every Saturday
Saturday morning hunger, meet your match. Once a week, this New Jersey restaurant rolls out a breakfast buffet built for people...
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These Indiana Polish Delis Are Worth Every Mile Of The Drive
A freezer bag has never felt so important. That is because the food keeps multiplying. Kielbasa goes in. Pierogi go in.
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This Old-World Christmas Market Brings Pure European Holiday Magic Straight To Indiana
The holiday season has a very specific smell. Something buttery. Something spicy. Something that probably came out of a skillet...
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This Missouri Trail Drops Down 315 Stone Steps To A Cave, Waterfall, And Lake Views
Those 315 steps look a lot more innocent from the top. Once you start heading down, this Missouri trail quickly turns into a proper little adventure.
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A Texas Scrapbooking Store That Gives Creative People A Reason To Plan A Shopping Trip
Scrapbooking is one of those hobbies that sneaks up on you, starting with a single photo album and slowly turning into a full blown obsession with papers, stickers, and tools you...
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This Oregon Italian Bakery Is Open 365 Days A Year For Your Pastry Fix
Christmas morning, a random Tuesday, the dead of a rainy January. The ovens are on either way. Cannoli shells crack, sfogliatelle...
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This Missouri Italian Restaurant Has Been Serving Old-Family Recipes Down A Quiet Country Highway Since 2006
This is the kind of place where you order pasta, tear into the bread, and settle in for a proper dinner. This Missouri restaurant has been serving traditional Italian food since...
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This New Jersey Arboretum Was Started With 87 Trees And Now Has Nearly 3,000 Specimens
From just 87 trees to nearly 3,000 specimens, this New Jersey arboretum proves that small beginnings can lead to something spectacular.
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This Beloved New Hampshire Cafe Is Getting A Second Life Under New Owners
Some cafes have a way of becoming part of a town's rhythm, and when they close, people notice. This New Hampshire spot had built that kind of following over the years, so when...
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This Small New Jersey Town Has More Restaurants Per Block Than Most Cities And No One Talks About It
You are absolutely right to be suspicious of a town this small. It is barely big enough for a decent game of tag, yet somehow it crams in dozens of restaurants along a single main...
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A Maryland Market Has Been Feeding Baltimore Since 1786, Long Before Food Halls Became Trendy
Food halls are having a moment. Every city seems to have one now, with trendy stalls and exposed brick. But this Maryland market...
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The Oregon Tree Nursery Where You Can Meet Goats, Rabbits And Free-Range Chickens
Came for a tree. Left having made eye contact with at least three goats and one very judgmental chicken. Animals wander freely...
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This New Hampshire Mediterranean Restaurant Brings Turkish Comfort Food To The Table
Comfort food does not have to come from your own childhood to feel familiar, and this New Hampshire Mediterranean restaurant proves that point with every plate. The menu leans...
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Before Interstates Existed, Travelers Rested At This 1700s West Virginia Inn Still Serving Supper
Some of the best suppers in West Virginia are hiding behind a white front porch you could easily drive right past. I almost did, until the smell of fresh biscuits and the glow...
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You Can Watch The Sunset Behind A Sunken Ship While Dining At This New Jersey Restaurant
Most restaurants serve a view of the parking lot. This one serves a view of a sunken ship. That is not a metaphor, that is...
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A 1700s Pennsylvania Farmhouse Was Expanded Into a 28-Room Mansion, Then Became a Prohibition-Era Club
Stone walls and wide porches caught my eye on a winding country road, and I almost missed the turn because staring seemed more important than driving. The building looks like it...
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This Is The Pizzeria That Claimed Dave Portnoy’s Highest-Ever Score in Alabama
Twenty inches of pizza is no longer lunch. It is a group project. The crust folds. The cheese stretches.
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The Tiny Oregon Restaurant Where The Ocean Is Practically Part Of The Dining Room
Forget asking for a window seat. Every seat here basically comes with its own private ocean view. Waves crash close enough...
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This New Hampshire Deli Makes Overstuffed Sandwiches Feel Like The Whole Point
Sandwiches have a way of being either forgettable or unforgettable, and the difference usually comes down to how much the kitchen actually cares. This New Hampshire deli falls...
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This New Jersey Antique Mall Has So Many Treasures You Will Need To Clear Your Whole Afternoon
Over 11,000 square feet of pure chaos. That is not a shopping trip, that is a full-day commitment. The moment you enter, your...
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A Maryland Farm Cafe Serves Seasonal Food With Vegan, Vegetarian, and Gluten Free Options
Eating with dietary restrictions can feel like a compromise. You scan the menu, find the one option that fits, and hope for the best.
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