• Food
    • Recipes
    • Restaurants
    • Supper Club
    • A Taste of Our State
  • Travel
    • Tar Heel Towns
    • Travel Guides
    • Streets with a Story
    • Murphy to Manteo
    • Quirky Detours
    • Carolina Calendar
    • Our State Trips & Events
  • Living in NC
    • From Elizabeth Hudson
    • Ramblin’ Man
    • Photo Essay
    • Features
    • Arts & Culture
    • Home & Garden
    • History
    • NC Icons
  • Videos
    • Supper Club
    • North Carolina, Naturally
    • North Carolina, Noted
    • Hidden History
    • Book Club With Wiley Cash
    • Storytellers Podcast
    • NC Icons
    • Best of Our State on PBS NC
  • Games
    • Crossword
    • Word Search
    • Jigsaw
    • Quiz
  • Newsletters
  • Store
subscribe
  • Manage My Account
  • Our State Trips
  • Carolina Calendar
  • Contests & Promotions
  • Our State Archives
Skip to content
  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Restaurants
    • Supper Club
    • A Taste of Our State
  • Travel
    • Tar Heel Towns
    • Travel Guides
    • Streets with a Story
    • Murphy to Manteo
    • Quirky Detours
    • Carolina Calendar
    • Our State Trips & Events
  • Living in NC
    • From Elizabeth Hudson
    • Ramblin’ Man
    • Photo Essay
    • Features
    • Arts & Culture
    • Home & Garden
    • History
    • NC Icons
  • Videos
    • Supper Club
    • North Carolina, Naturally
    • North Carolina, Noted
    • Hidden History
    • Book Club With Wiley Cash
    • Storytellers Podcast
    • NC Icons
    • Best of Our State on PBS NC
  • Games
    • Crossword
    • Word Search
    • Jigsaw
    • Quiz
  • Newsletters
  • Store
subscribe

el’s drive-in

Shrimpburger and fries, El's Drive In, Shrimpburger
Back to the Beach

Shrimpburger Lovers Rejoice!

There’s good news for fans of Morehead City’s beloved El’s Drive-In, which closed last summer for renovation: The landmark restaurant — and its live oak-shaded lot — is open once again.

by Robin Sutton Anders
Restaurants

8 Landmark Spots Serving Up Classic Burgers

For 40 years or more, these restaurants have been fulfilling our burger cravings with smashburgers and thick burgers alike. Take a tasty trip through time with us, won’t you?

by Our State Staff
Food

Making a Splash: An Ode to the Shrimpburger

Drive-ins and restaurants around the Crystal Coast turn tiny shellfish into shrimpburgers that are big on flavor. The sandwich is unquestionably one of our most iconic. But is it a burger? One writer investigates.

by Jason Frye

Subscribe
Our State Travel Club

Get our most popular weekly newsletter: This is NC

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
SEE ALL OUR NEWSLETTERS >

subscribe MANAGE MY ACCOUNT
FOLLOW US
  • Videos
  • Podcasts
  • Games
  • Playlists
  • Sponsored Content
  • Tar Heel Towns
  • Newsletters
  • Our State Archives
  • Our State Store
  • Our State Trips & Events
  • Contests & Promotions
  • Best of Our State on PBS NC
  • Magazine Finder
  • The Story of Our State
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • Advertise With Our State
  • Ad Specs
  • Submit an Event
  • Letter to the Editor
  • Reader Comments
  • Contributor Guidelines
  • Reprint / Reuse Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© Our State Magazine 2026, All rights reserved. | Website by Web Publisher PRO