The Best Hole-In-The-Wall Restaurants In Every State
By Emily Hunt Dec. 14, 2024 3:15 pm EST
Any city-dweller will know about all the popular restaurants in their city. Maybe they’re located in a town center, locally acclaimed for having a stunning ambiance or known for having the best burgers in town made by award-winning chefs. There’s a lot to be said about a well-known eatery whose food deserves every ounce of recognition it gets, and whose flash draws in visitors off the street like bugs to a lantern. But what about a town’s hidden gems — the unassuming joints whose modest appearances belie the stunning cuisine?
These so-called “hole-in-the-wall” eateries are the places a friend will drag you to when you’re visiting from out of town. Tourists rarely know about them while locals treasure them, and they’re often incredibly easy to walk right by or to pass off with the assumption that their food is as modest as their exterior. Hole-in-the-wall restaurants that are well worth your hard-earned dollar aren’t easy to suss out at face value; often, it takes the opinions of locals to sway one toward a lesser-known food stop. We gathered a list of the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants in each state, each picked for its humble exterior and stellar reviews. The next time you’re in the following states, do yourself a favor and skip the fine dining for a homey, hole-in-the-wall restaurant experience.
Texas: Gino’s Deli Stop n Buy
Unless your next trip to San Antonio, Texas sees you careening down Huebner Road, and unless you’re specifically looking for a tiny maybe-eatery in a rather plain strip mall, you’d never know Gino’s Deli was even there — and that would be quite the shame. This hidden San Antonio gem has over 2,000 five star Yelp reviews, and many reviewers mention getting free chips and a drink upon their first visit, as well as the owner’s promise that he doesn’t want your money unless you love your food. Fortunately, that’s rarely a problem — its cheesesteaks are supposedly fantastic.
