(FORTUNE Magazine) – How do you find good down-home food? Follow your nose, for one, but don't forget your eyes. Four rules for the road:

1. Stop at any restaurant named after an individual. I'm not thinking Morton's here. I'm thinking Duke's, in Elkins, W. Va., home of the Pap Special, a monstrous steak sandwich topped with cheese, grilled hot peppers, and onions.

2. Park anywhere you'll have to eat in your car. Peter's, in Calgary, comes to mind, with its creme de menthe milk shakes.

3. Brake for ceramic animals. At the Hilltop Steak House in Saugus, Mass., a herd of cattle grazes under a huge neon-green cactus. The cows are fake, but the 22-ounce steaks are real--and delicious.

4. Look for laundry. In the parking lot of the Shady Grove in Austin, Texas, sits an old Airstream, with laundry fluttering in the breeze. Small wonder: The catfish po' boys and hippie sandwiches (grilled eggplant, oven-roasted bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, arugula, tomato, and mozzarella) are messy indeed.

--DAVID SHRIBMAN