I think anyone with taste knows that a small non-chain restaurant, stall, or cart will have much better food than some corporate chain crap food made with industrially sourced ‘ingredients.’
Personally, I’m always looking for the small restaurants that serve food on Styrofoam or paper plates. Bonus points if it’s attached to a gas station or the owner’s little kids are in the dining room or kitchen playing and coloring.
Ethnicity doesn’t matter, it can be a barbecue joint or some sort of Asian culture I’m ignorant of.
You see a little kid quietly coloring in a booth by themselves, you know that shit is going to be good.