Mae
Portland
Mae doesn’t feel like a restaurant as much as it does a family home: with close-knit tables and well-worn wooden furnishings, this Southern Appalachian gem—hidden behind fried chicken favorite Yonder—is as cozy as they get. And that’s because the Mae in question is none other than chef Maya Lovelace’s North Carolina grandmother, the woman who taught her how to bake biscuits and fry chicken at a young age. The result: delicious childhood nostalgia, imbued with cheffy strokes and local produce. This is definitely not your grandmother’s cooking, but it’s delivered with as much love and care as if it were.