We collect "favorite restaurants" the way some people collect refrigerator magnets. These are a few from here and there, starting with "back home" (greater Cleveland, OH):
Don's Pomeroy House: Elegance in setting and food, this was one of our favorites back home. Alas, their dinner prices have gone from an "every once in a while" range to "very special occasion only, maybe" price.
Built in 1847, it was a stop along the Underground Railway.
White Oaks: Reputed to be a speakeasy during Prohibition, we know it as a place with excellent food and wonderful ambiance. Our favorite dining room has both a fireplace and nearly floor-to-ceiling windows. Makes for a great anniversary dinner setting in late November. We celebrated our 10th there.
We've eaten our way up and down the eastern seaboard, and across the center of the country from shore-to-shore. There are two in the southeast that we really enjoy and have dined at several times:
Poogan's Porch is one of the renowned restaurants in Charleston SC. We were so impressed on our first visit that we made sure our schedule landed us there for our 40th wedding anniversary dinner. By the way, "Poogan" was the neighborhood dog that came with the house when it was sold to become a restaurant. Apparently his owners didn't want to move him, poor doggy.
Dixie Crossroads is as kitschy as they come, but the food has always been good when we've been there. It's been a while since we've been there, so we might make an out-of-the-way stop during our next trip to FL.
There were four favorite places we've eaten at when driving from OH to CA and back to MA. One is gone (Lena's Home Cooking in Tucomcari, NM), another two will never be found again if they still exist at all (Santa Fe, NM and Kansas - your guess if it's in MO or KS). Finally, there was a coffee stand in LA's Farmers' Market that sold beignets "just like they make in New Orleans" per Himself. I'm still waiting for us to get around to vacationing in the the Big Easy.
...There is a good family style restaurant in Wheatland, WY...but that is over an hour drive for breakfast or dinner.
You could make and clean up from dinner twice over in the time it would take to drive out and back!