John Cate Editor, Mount Olive Tribune

It’s a problem many holiday travelers run into these days. Load up the car and head out on a road trip to visit far-off relatives, or simply to celebrate Christmas or the New Year in some fun place.
But the trip is going to take several hours, maybe even more than a day’s drive. We’re going to have to eat along the way, but we don’t want to depend on the ever-present, but less than healthy fast food offerings. Where’s the good food along the way?
Well known North Carolina author and television personality D.G. Martin has stepped in to answer that question for travelers in North Carolina, recently releasing his second book on North Carolina’s best restaurants near major highways, Interstate Eateries: A guide to down-home cooking along North Carolina’s Interstates.
The book profiles 100 restaurants across North Carolina, all of them very close to one of the seven major Interstate highways that criss-cross the state: 26, 40, 73, 74, 77, 85 and 95.
Martin first published Interstate Eateries in 2005, but the success of that book and learning of several other places that merited inclusion inspired him to update the book this summer. Published by Our State magazine, the second edition was printed in July and released to the public a month later.
There are a number of places within easy driving distance of the area included in the book. Two restaurants each from Smithfield and Wilson (off I-95) are included, plus one each from Benson and the nearby Meadow community.
Martin, a native of Davidson, is a retired attorney who ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1984 and 1986 and for the U.S. Senate in 1998. He currently hosts the North Carolina Public Television show North Carolina Bookwatch, where he profiles North Carolina authors and their books, and authors a syndicated column published by many newspapers around the state.
The book costs just $6.95 and is available in most major bookstores around the state, and can also be purchased online from Our State magazine’s website at www.ourstate.com, for the same price.