Poole’s Diner serves inventive dishes in a classic diner environment. Kristen Wile/UP

Raleigh’s restaurant scene is most well-known because of chef Ashely Christensen, who first opened Poole’s Diner and has added hit after hit spot to her restaurant group since. You’ll find most of the city’s best restaurants within a pretty tight radius, which makes exploring on foot easy. From Charlotte, the city is just under 170 miles — a three-hour drive. Here’s how we’d spend a day eating in Raleigh from breakfast to bed time. —Kristen Wile

Morning

There’s a long line for coffee in the morning at The Morning Times. Kristen Wile/UP

The Morning Times
You couldn’t expect a journalist to leave a newspaper-inspired restaurant off this list, could you? The Morning Times, next door to popular brewpub The Raleigh Times, is packed on weekday mornings with folks grabbing coffees and breakfast on their way into work. Grab a breakfast biscuit or breakfast burrito, a latte, and a table outside to do your morning reading.

Afternoon

A must-order at Brewery Bhavana is the scallion pancakes. Kristen Wile/UP

Brewery Bhavana
You may want to stay at this spot long enough to have two meals. A combination brewery, book store, and dim sum restaurant, Brewery Bhavana’s space is bright, open, and inviting. Everything on the dim sum menu is delicious and authentic, so lean on your server to help determine what the best order is for you. I recommend the scallion pancakes, though, served with bone marrow and an oxtail-coconut jam.

Videri Chocolate
Take a break in your culinary adventures for a little education. Videri Chocolate serves some of the best chocolate I’ve ever tasted, and their brick-and-mortar shop serves as a chocolate museum, too. Walk through an exhibit explaining the process of chocolate from bean to bar and watch the chocolatiers at work before grabbing some bars to take home. You don’t want to miss the hot or iced hot chocolate, either.

Evening

Whipped corn soup with crab and shishito peppers from Poole’s. Kristen Wile/UP

Poole’s Diner
If there’s one place on this list you can’t miss, it’s this one. Poole’s is the foundation of Raleigh’s restaurant scene, and for good reason. The interior is that of a retro diner, but the food is far from it. You’ll find ingredient-driven Southern cuisine presented in a modern way, and oftentimes, in the most creative ways you’ve ever tasted. Do the bulk of your evening eating here.

Late night

Dark meat and cornbread from Beasley’s. Kristen Wile/UP

Beasley’s Chicken + Honey
Too much to drink and need something to sop it up? This place is open until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights, serving up fried chicken and classic Southern sides. We could fill up an entire list with Ashley Christensen restaurants, but are sticking with Poole’s and Beasley’s — though we still don’t think the chicken quite beats Price’s. If you get enough grease in you to want to continue drinking, Poole’s cocktail bar Fox Liquor Bar, is right around the corner.

Watts & Ward
A speakeasy meets jazz club, this basement bar is decorated with dark leather seating and elegant woodwork. Sit in the back for quieter, more intimate service, or grab a seat on a couch and catch some live music. The cocktail menu ranges from classics to innovative new creations, but the bartenders are well-versed enough to go off menu. There’s also a pretty impressive spirits collection. You’ll have to purchase a $1 membership to get in (thanks, ABC laws!).

More from this series:

A day of eating in: Winston-Salem