Remington Cafe, Smyrna

Remington Cafe's cooks specialize in everything American, but their food doesn't stick to any one specific region. They host New Orleans-style oyster roasts and shrimp boils over the weekends, feature Philly cheesesteak ingredients in both sandwiches and pizzas, and augment the menu with a few Southern-style sides, like fried pickle chips. They serve these best-of-Americana dishes in a dining room that also evokes that theme: stone pillars and dark hardwood serve as a backdrop for bits and bobs of American design and history, including the covers of issues of Life magazine set into the bar top. Then there's Ebony & Ivory, where barbecue is king and each dish is as memorable as its first bite. The beef brisket and rib combo piles on pounds of succulent smoked meat and crispy sides that are easy to share, though you won't want to. It's also hard to miss the signature catfish sandwich, which stacks a full filet onto a bun that can barely hold its weight in breading and crunch.