Hidden food gems in the US you have have to try

Nothing quite beats finding your own little gem of culinary pleasure.

The US may have a reputation for fast food, doughnuts and bad coffee, but a recent trip showed this is undeserved.

We took to the side streets, as we have done in London and Italy, hoping to stumble upon a local cafe, bar or market that made the adventure worth it — and we were rewarded handsomely.

I love the thrill of discovering an unassuming diner with incredible food, a hidden treasure that becomes the highlight of your trip.

If you’re ever in these parts of America, do yourself a favour — pull up a seat, and grab a menu.

The Park Cafe

604, E 1300 S, Salt Lake City, Utah

A local corner diner serving up homestyle breakfasts across the road from Liberty Park. All the American classics are here, some with a twist. They have pancakes (of course) but in this part of the world they come in the form of a sandwich, with eggs and bacon as the filling. Omelettes are a main attraction, with nine variations to choose from. But my pick on the menu is the corned beef hash.

It’s slow-roasted in-house, grilled with onion, mushroom, green peppers and potatoes, topped off with two eggs — $US11.50 ($17.85). We shared this breakfast, but came back the next day and had one each it was so good.

Sweet Milk

329 Donelson Pike #201, Nashville, Tennessee

Located in Nashville’s Donelson neighbourhood, this is a big, modern-looking space with a great outdoor dining deck. The menu draws inspiration from the dining traditions of the south and takes you on a delicious trip through Tennessee and Mississippi. The meals are big (we are in America after all) so you can easily share these meals. Some of the standouts are the breakfast casserole, country fried steak biscuit, fried catfish sandwich, and sweet potato pancakes.

However, I couldn’t look past the shrimp and grits — Gulf shrimp sauteed in garlic butter with bacon, slow-cooked okra and tomatoes over grits, plus a biscuit — $US18. Grits is basically a porridge made from ground dried corn, and if you’ve never had it before (or even if you have) you need to try this version.

Jack’s Bar-B-Que

416 Broadway, Nashville, Tennessee

After a night of bar-hopping and live music along Nashville’s Broadway, there’s nothing better than a feast of meat. Most of the bars along this strip offer the same fare, but for a more authentic and unique southern experience, head to Jack’s Bar-B-Que. This canteen-style servery carves up Tennessee pork shoulder, beef brisket, turkey, ribs, smoked sausage and smoked chicken for your late-night cravings. There’s always a line, but it moves quickly. You choose your meat.

My choice was the two-meat combo — St Louis-style ribs and Texas beef brisket — and they cut it in front of you.

You then move on down the line to choose from an array of traditional sides including baked beans, green beans, corn, baked apples, coleslaw and potato salad, and crowd favourite mac and cheese.

It’s carnivore heaven! The two-meat combo plus two sides and bread costs $US24.20, and you can easily share it between two people.

Court of Two Sisters

613 Royal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana

When you take your seat in the vine-covered courtyard in this legendary New Orleans restaurant, you feel like you’ve been transported back in time. They have daily jazz brunches headlined by a buffet of Creole classics such as southern corn grits, chicken & sausage gumbo, turtle soup, fried catfish, shrimp etouffee, red beans & rice, stewed okra, creamed spinach, and biscuits and cornbread. For dessert you can’t go past the bananas Foster and vanilla ice-cream, or pecan pie and homemade whipped cream.

For me, the turtle soup was a standout and worth the visit alone. The soup itself is more like a stew with gravy-like consistency, and the turtle meat actually tastes like beef — it was delicious.

Jazz brunch buffet — $US36 (don’t eat beforehand).

Eataly

200 Fifth Avenue, Midtown, New York

OK, so I know there are thousands of great places to eat in New York, many of them very well known, but I hadn’t heard of this vibrant Italian marketplace before.

We stumbled on it while walking just off Broadway near the Flatiron Building. It’s like walking into an episode of Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy. Comprising a variety of restaurants and food counters (Roma-style pizzas, rotisserie meats, focaccia and panini) plus market-style counters (seafood, butcher, pasta, fruit and vegetables), it also has a genuine Italian espresso bar, bakery and retail items. There’s something here for everyone’s taste. It’s the American/Italian version of Borough Market in London.

Prosciutto crudo panino “Emiliano” — $US19.90 (these are big enough to share between two).

Russ & Daughters

179 E Houston Street, New York

Just down the street from Katz’s Deli (another must-visit New York destination) this Jewish institution has been appetising New York since 1914. Used as a noun, “appetising” is most easily understood as “the foods one eats with bagels”. The menu is pretty straightforward — bagels. But you do have a big choice of what you have with it. You choose either salmon (six versions), cured salmon (four versions), smoked fish (eight versions) or herring (nine versions), plus your choice of spreads and sides. The bagels, freshly baked in-house, were the best I tried in New York. Like a lot of places in New York there can be a line-up around breakfast and lunchtime, but there are as many servers behind the deli counter as patrons ordering, so it was a fairly quick experience.

A classic bagel and lox (salmon) bagel — $US17 (do not share — have it all to yourself).