You’re right to assume that I had selfish intentions when I assigned myself a food- and drink-themed road trip across North Carolina. If barbecue speaks to you like it does to me, then the state’s hallowed, well-documented and contested trail is reason enough to go on a pilgrimage. But having lived almost all my life throughout North Carolina, I know that even if pulled pork is a tie that binds, it’s only the beginning in terms of what the state—especially less urban areas—has to offer.
In fact, one of the goals of this recent trip was to avoid those mostly urban spots like Durham, Chapel Hill, Raleigh (aka the Triangle) and Asheville since they rightfully get much of the food media attention they deserve. Most folks (myself included) who let Eater heatmaps, the Times’ “36 Hours” column and the James Beard Awards guide their travel, or maybe at least have family who have retired there, know that the culinary talent in these areas is on par with larger cities nationwide. In the best sense, these cities now do craft cocktail bars, wood-fired specialty pizzas and international fusion like New York does barbecue and fried chicken. The trends are there in other words, and the state does them well.
With these well-publicized areas (including Kinston’s Chef & the Farmer of PBS Series fame) mostly off my list, the goal of my trip was to chart a delicious and travel-worthy road map from the coast to the mountains. I thought this would be easy enough, but as soon as I posted my mission to social media for recommendations, it was abundantly clear that I would need at least a month on the road and only pants with elastic waistbands if I wanted to try every suggestion. Soliciting family, friends and local media left me with an embarrassment of choices, so with the help of Bit & Grain, a North Carolina–focused online publication, I whittled it down to a week’s worth of excellent eating and drinking.
There are many, many versions of this drive, which you can do as single stops, day-trips or in one fell swoop. My final itinerary is a mix of institutions that I grew up with as well as new destinations that are reimagining local flavors. You can expect old-school stomping grounds, like a beachfront doughnut shop and a drive-thru biscuit kitchen, alongside emerging small-town butchers and new breweries that forage ingredients to make Appalachian-inspired beer. Each is a worthy North Carolina food emblem in its own way, and if you’re seeking a deeper, more complex and ultimately more modern understanding of the state, here’s where I suggest you start:
Catch
Seasonal ingredients shine on chef Keith Rhodes daily menus. Photo credit: Baxter Miller.
6623 Market St., Wilmington
Catch is one of those exceptional restaurants tucked inside in a nondescript strip mall. In a large space away from the coastal city’s bustling downtown, chef and owner Keith Rhodes—a 2011 James Beard nominee for Best Chef Southeast and a Season 9 Top Chef contestant—transforms local seafood and produce with international inspiration. Depending on the season, you can expect dishes like chilled Jarrett Bay oysters on the half shell topped with chopped black radish and paired with a Champagne ginger peppercorn mignonette, as well as seafood bucatini with crab roe, mountain magic tomatoes, garlic scapes and dark opal basil.
Manna
Manna’s bartenders crave curious patrons and are eager to share their encyclopedic drink knowledge. Photo credit: Baxter Miller.
123 Princess St., Wilmington
The Frank Sinatra quote at the bottom of Manna’s cocktail menu accurately captures the bar’s attitude: “Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the Bible says love your enemy.” Having tasted a few of their drinks, it’s obvious that Manna’s dapper bartenders care equally about about how they execute both the classics and their own concoctions. Ask the sprightly “director of distillates” Ian Murray to make you an Old Fashioned and it’ll stand up to its fiercest peers anywhere. Ask him to make whatever he wants based on your general preferences, and he’ll excitedly whip out his arsenal of homemade bitters, shrubs and tinctures (keep an eye out for “Napalm 666” if you like heat). Baxter, my photographer and travel companion, and I opted for the latter and gladly drank at least two more drinks than we’d originally planned.
Britt’s Donut Shop
Britt’s Donut’s recipe has remained a secret for nearly eight decades. Photo credit: Baxter Miller.
11 Carolina Beach Ave. N, Carolina Beach
Before you drive inland, make time to meander 30 minutes north to the Carolina Beach Boardwalk. Here, even on a weekday morning, you’ll likely see a steady line streaming out of the 77-year-old business. Their menu lists four choices—donuts, drinks, coffee and milk—and no single item costs more than $1.25. The namesake pastry only comes one way: lightly glazed and freshly fried. I ordered a half-dozen and would have licked the paper bag clean if a rightful seagull hadn’t clawed one of the palm-size rings from my sticky fingers. Consider yourself warned: They’re only open during the summer, so best plan accordingly.
B’s Barbecue
B’s closes when they run out of food, which regularly happens before noon. Photo credit: Baxter Miller.
751 B’s Barbecue Rd., Greenville
Ok, sue me: Baxter and I stopped for barbecue after I said we wouldn’t. I bet you would too for B’s, though. At the end of its own road, the family restaurant has smoked and chopped whole hog barbecue since the late 1970s. Three sisters own and operate the modest cinder-block institution that closes each day— usually not long after noon—when the food runs out. You can get perfectly delicious chicken, but I’d recommend the vinegar-splashed pulled pork (bread optional) with coleslaw and their signature “corn sticks,” which are long, hush-puppy-like fries.
Skylight Inn
Skylight Inn’s proprietors sure do display a lot of pride for serving such a humble dish. Photo credit: Baxter Miller.
4618 S. Lee St., Ayden
I think I might be one of the few born and bred North Carolinians who had their first taste of Skylight Inn barbecue in New York City. Hear me out: The state might as well be split down a line that divides western tomato-based sauces from eastern vinegar-based ones and I grew up on the western side of that boundary. My barbecue world was so contained that it took Michael Pollan writing about this 2003 James Beard award winner for me to learn about it (my family has spent their entire lives in North Carolina and, until this story, had never heard of it). It’s legendary in the area, however, and like B’s, is a fundamental piece of the state’s barbecue bedrock.
"Frankly I wonder what the South Carolina folks were thinking" pic.twitter.com/wPGR5Tojn6
— Ariel Lauren Wilson (@ariellauren) June 22, 2016
The restaurant’s proprietors sure do display a lot of pride for serving such a humble dish. You’ll know you’ve arrived when you see a single-floor brick building with a makeshift United States Capitol–like dome that, perhaps fittingly, could be mistaken for a silver church steeple. They’re known for whole hog barbecue, which they smoke for hours over oak wood before seasoning, chopping (crispy skin included) and dousing with a spicy vinegar based sauce. If you’re a rookie like I was, get the classic “meat w/ bread & slaw.” It includes a thin slab of savory corn bread sandwiched between two red-gingham-print paper boats; the bottom one’s full of barbecue and the top holds the slightly creamy slaw. Add sauce to your liking.
Sam Jones BBQ
Go to Sam’s next-gen spot if you want a beer, spare ribs or an updated version of the burger Skylight Inn had on their menu back in 1947. Photo credit: Baxter Miller.
715 W. Fire Tower Rd., Winterville
Two barbecue restaurants (in less than 4 hours) in, we decided what the hell—if we’re here, might as well go to another for supper. Our third and last barbecue stop was at Sam Jones BBQ, which is owned and operated by said Sam, who also happens to be the grandson of Pete Jones, Skylight Inn’s founder and mastermind. While there are important differences between the two businesses (a loaded baked potato, a brand new barn-meets-steak-house-like restaurant, salads), the most important factor—the quality of the meat—is consistent. Otherwise, go to Sam’s next-gen spot if you want a beer, spare ribs or an updated version of the burger Skylight Inn had on their menu back in 1947.
Flo’s Ktichen
My photographer, Baxter, and I ordered a chicken cheese biscuit (right) and a fat back cheese biscuit (left). Photo credit: Baxter Miller.
1015 Goldsboro St. S, Wilson
If it weren’t for the relentless drive-thru line, Flo’s Kitchen could pass as a corner service station. It in fact was one before Florence “Flo” Williams started making and serving her cat-head biscuits there several decades ago. The biscuits get their name because of their size, and from one of their few tables that Baxter and I nabbed on a regularly busy Thursday, we watched the all-women staff knead and bake a calculated combination of flour, lard and buttermilk. They serve local delicacies like fatback and a “cup of molasses” that you’d be hard pressed to find elsewhere, so get them while you can. I also recommend the cheese biscuit, which they melt on the griddle.
Left Bank Butchery
Left Bank also operates a “mobile butcher trailer” that posts up for part of the year at the nearby Carrboro Farmers Market. Photo credit: Baxter Miller.
1729 Saxapahaw-Bethlehem Church Rd., Saxapahaw
A solid 20-minute drive west of Chapel Hill-Carrboro, the town of Saxapahaw (population 1,648 according to the 2010 census) has undergone a recent rural renaissance. The cotton mill that was the center of the town’s working life until it closed in 1994 has been resurrected to house a “5-star gas station,” thrift store, pub, three-story music venue/café and now a state-of-the-art whole-animal butcher shop. The overwhelming majority of Left Bank’s meat comes from three nearby “progressive” farms that keep as stringent environmental standards as the butchers maintain their craft. Go there for all your cuts, as well as any charcuterie, bread and pickle cravings. They make use of all the parts and have frequent specials to prove it.
Pizzeria Mercato
Named in honor of the nearby farmers market, Pizzeria Mercato has been warmly received for its Neapolitan-style pies and sides that change along with the seasons. Photo credit: Baxter Miller.
408 W. Weaver St., Carrboro
Although Carrboro is technically in the Triangle, I decided to include the town on my list for a couple reasons: 1. Tourists sometimes don’t recognize it as being separate and distinct from Chapel Hill, and 2. It’s home to one of this past year’s most anticipated openings. When Ben and Karen Barker, the first two North Carolina chefs to ever win James Beard awards, closed their landmark Durham restaurant Magnolia Grill in 2012, it was truly the end of an era. The institution pioneered a certain Southern farm-to-table ethos that’s come to dominate the state in recent decades, so when news spread that they had plans to help open a pizzeria helmed by their son Gabe (who worked at Delfina in San Francisco), fans were chomping at the bit.
Named in honor of the nearby farmers market, Pizzeria Mercato has been warmly received for its Neapolitan-style pies and sides that change along with the seasons; some late-summer highlights include a chickpea crepe with fairytale eggplant, Calabrian chile, ricotta and fresh herbs, as well as the salami pie that comes with tomatoes, fior di latte (a mozzarella-like cheese), salami Calabrese, red onion and spicy honey. Keeping with Karen’s great baking tradition, though, the desserts were the main event for my table. Order several if you can, and especially seasonal gelato, a slice of lemon curd cake and the salted chocolate chip cookie.
Bánh Mì Saigon Sandwiches & Bakery
in a greensboro strip mall: pulled rotisserie chicken bánh mì on a house made baguette for $3.75. wired on this vietnamese iced coffee and resisting taking one of their pork buns for the road