Tallahassee's restaurant scene reflects its dual identity as a government town and a university city. Capital Circle NE and the area around Midtown have the most reliable restaurants; Tennessee Street is where FSU students eat cheaply. The South Monroe Street corridor has seen some improvement in recent years.
Southern cooking — fried chicken, collard greens, black-eyed peas, biscuits — is the food of north Florida rather than the Cuban and seafood culture of the peninsula. Look for it in the older, locally-owned places rather than the chain-heavy strips.