"`Mom's'--we have to try that..."

"`Egg Roll Express'--I bet they serve a mean plate of Chicken Lo Mein..."

"`Taco Bell' anyone? Only 49 cents a taco!"

My companions with bird-like appetites laughed and ignored my pleas, satisfied that an appropriate restaurant would cross our path at mealtime.

I got my way in the end, though--we did eat at many of the places I'd been lobbying for all day.

But inevitably the anticipation of sampling exotic Southern menus killed the actual experience. The scallop and crab casserole at the Rice Planters in Myrtle Beach was drowned in Old Bay seasoning, the fried alligator was too chewy and scaly at the snooty Poogan's Porch in Charleston, and the meatloaf and mashed potatoes at Wilson's Soul Food in Athens oozed with orange grease.

There were unexpected moments, however, of culinary joy. The fried chicken and applesauce at Po Folks in Somerville was delicious. But it took an unplanned stop on the road to Athens, Georgia to find the Perfect Meal.

There, in St. George, S.C., my lunch consisted of the perfect combination of starch, meat, and vegetables--perfectly spiced with hot salsa. The meat was tender, the vegetables fresh, and the dough moist. And It was all in the shadow of the golden arches.

They were two chicken fajitas from McDonald's that unlikeliest of sources for gourmet cooking. Julia Child, I suppose, would faint at the thought that chicken fajitas at McDonald's would be more satisfying than medallions of chicken wrapped in ham and covered in an orange cream sauce. But my mission had been accomplished, and my traveling companions were treated to a satisfied silence.

I learned much from my trip south. That the simplest foods are often the best. And that low expectations may lead to surprising results.

By the way, I've since re-narrowed my food quest. A perfect bowl of noodles.