From single-origin coffees to slow-smoked, Texas-style Barbecue made from a generation's old recipe, Nash County has the perfect sips and bites to get your taste buds excited. So, we've created a list of places that will give you some local flavor while keeping you hungry for more. While you're in town, don't miss these stops:

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LOCATION: TBC West Tacos and Taproom
CITY: Rocky Mount, NC
WHY GO: Mix local and fresh ingredients to create your personal taco perfection
PRICE: $$

OUR TAKE:
I'm just a girl, standing in front of a salad, wishing for it to be a Taco. Wish granted. Head over to TBC Tacos and Taproom situated on the Rocky Mount Mills Campus. This restaurant is just minutes from I-95, Hwy 64, and area lodging. So, it is the perfect place to grab a quick bite or stay awhile. At TBC West you will build your own taco perfection and take in the atmosphere that makes you feel like these are your people and this is your place. Oh, and the craft beer is pretty amazing, too. Dine inside the old mill house, choose a seat outside on the deck or get your meal to go and check into a tiny house located just around the corner.

CLOSE BY: River & Twine Tiny House Hotel


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LOCATION: Tipsy Tomato
CITY: Rocky Mount, NC
WHY GO: Where local beer meets artisan, oven-fired pizza
PRICE: $$

OUR TAKE:
Every weekend Nash County sees folks come into town from Raleigh, Durham, and towns across North Carolina and Virginia looking for a little outdoor time without hours driving into the mountains. For most, that means hiking along the Tar River Trail or a few days hanging out at the breweries.

For these people and more, Tipsy Tomato is the perfect example of the food you want, precisely where you want it. This little artisan, wood-fired pizza restaurant is located just minutes off the Tar River Trail and right beside the largest Craft Beer incubator in North Carolina. All ingredients are sourced fresh locally before being made into a tomato-inspired, dough-framed piece of editable art.

Build your own pizza or choose from a menu of local favorites like the Carnivore (red sauce, pepperoni, house sausage, bacon, ham) or Maximus (Red sauce, pepperoni, house sausage, ham, green peppers, red onions, mushrooms, black olives). Then grab a cold beer to wash those slices down. We did mention Tipsy Tomato was located on the state's largest craft beer incubator.

CLOSE BY: Tar River Trail


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LOCATION: Tap @ 1918
CITY: Rocky Mount, NC
WHY GO: Celebrity Chef, Justin Gains, is co-owner and chef
PRICE: $$$

OUR TAKE:
If you're a fan of the culinary reality series, put this stop on your bucket list. Justin Gaines is both Chef and co-owner of Tap @ 1918 and champion of Food Network's Chopped. Located in a century-old mill house, Tap @ 1918, is eastern North Carolina's only Modern Gastropub. The menu takes ingredients and techniques found in low-country cooking and reinvents classic tavern cuisine with southern roots.

The menu does not disappoint. Want something to start a little dinner conversation? Try the Fried Pig Ears with scallion mayo. Want to eat like the locals eat? Try the Duck Leg Jambalaya served with low country rice, house-made andouille, trinity, crawfish, and bourbon duck jus. From the Ruben Nachos to the Black Pepper Pasta Bolognese, this menu is a mix of old favorites and culinary explorations to keep your taste buds guessing.

Putting the tap into Tap @ 1918, the restaurant also offers twenty local micro-Carolina breweries, and continental & international beers.

CLOSE BY: Rocky Mount Mills Breweries

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LOCATION: Barley & Burger
CITY: Rocky Mount, NC
WHY GO: Where classic movies meet great burgers
PRICE: $$

OUR TAKE:
Minutes from Sunset Park in Rocky Mount, you'll find Barely and Burger. This small, crowded restaurant is a local favorite. In the afternoons, it is a frequent stop for disc golfers ready to refill after a tough 18 baskets. On the weekend you'll find kids ready for a hand-spun milkshake and parents ready for a good burger with a side of nostalgia.

Barley and Burger source their beef from the highest quality Black Angus produced by the world-renowned butcher and chef Pat LaFrieda. In most cases, that would be all that you need to make this place the first stop for your lunchtime plans. But Barely & Burger takes is one step further. Their menu combines the love of great movies with some new and unexpected burger combinations.

Try the Godfather. (Fried mozzarella, marinara, pepperoni, and fresh "badda-bing" basil or the Marty McFly (American cheese, chili, slaw, and mustard) with a side of gourmet tater tots. Then, faster than you can reach 77 miles per hour in your modified DeLorean, your food will arrive. Great Scott that was fast!

Great food. Great movies to keep the conversation going. You'll be coming back in the future. You get what we were going for there.

CLOSE BY: Sunset Park Disc Golf and Splash Pad