Melanie Mitchell grew up like most Italian Americans, eating dishes that challenged your stomach. When her mother re-married Ray, a Texan, they all learned very quickly about each other’s cultures through food. Christmases were spent eating everything from pasta to barbeque, which is now what you get at their Franklin County restaurant, Napoli Cowboy.

Mitchell tells us, “What we have always eaten and kind of how our families have merged, and I know it sounds crazy when you say it. But when you look at the menu, it kind of makes sense.” Their top sellers range from lasagna to oysters and two different types of chicken; the Napoli Chicken and the Chicken Amatriciana. Then, you can get their house-smoked ribs.