NC Eatin’: Pender County

Sunday, June 21, 2009
Harvey’s Deli & Tavern
108 West Freemont Street
Burgaw, NC

On our way home from Sunset Beach, we drove through a couple small towns trying to find somewhere good for dinner.  Finally we hit paydirt in Burgaw.  Burgaw is the county seat of Pender County and had a population of just a bit over 3,300 as of the 2000 census.  The homes we saw were small but very well maintained, and the main street is adorable.

We wandered into Harvey’s, which is a cute local pub.  They have a decent beer selection, and a good variety of the sort of food you want if you’re eating at a local pub.  We had fried cheesesticks to start and then burgers.  It was all good even though it came out a bit slowly.  No wonder!  We think there were just 2 people working the place when we visited.  But they were nice, and it wasn’t ridiculously slow.  I’d definitely return here if we passed through Burgaw again.

NC Eatin’: Brunswick County

Saturday, June 20, 2009
Boundary House
1045 River Road
Calabash, NC

Calabash Creamery
9910 Beach Dr SW
Calabash, NC 28467

I went to Sunset Beach, North Carolina, with a bunch of friends to celebrate one friend’s 30th birthday.  We stayed at the Sea Trail Resort.  On Saturday, some folks went to the beach and the rest of us hung out at the house and by the pool.  It was very nice.   By the time the evening rolled around, we were totally ready to head for Boundary House for dinner.

 

The atmosphere was what you’d expect from a seafood restaurant near the beach – there’s a huge boat suspended from the ceiling and everything’s a bit rustic.  The menu is as you would expect as well.  But then you eat the food… and you’re so happy!  They start you off with these amazing croissants with honey butter.  Yummm.  If your meal comes with a salad, you should be pretty pleased with that as well.  I’m not much for seafood (hate the smell, let alone the taste), so I ordered baby back ribbs.  Turns out those were pretty darned good.  I’d definitely recommend visiting Boundary House for dinner.

After dinner, we poked around a bit at the nearby shops until they closed.  Then it was time for the Calabash Creamery.  “Calabash Gourmet Ice Cream is made daily on premises. The twenty-four flavors consist of the finest, freshest ingredients and contains 16% butter-fat. In addition, ‘no-sugar added’ is offered along with soft-serve ice cream, hand packed pints and quarts, ice cream cakes, pies and cookie sandwiches. Varied flavors rotate, with a featured flavor every month. Locally grown ingredients are always incorporated, i.e. strawberries, cantaloupe, peaches, sweet potatoes (sweet potato soufflé), apples, etc.”  (-Creamery website)  Visiting the Creamery is an absolute must if you’re in the area – even if you’re lactose intolerant.  It’s worth it.  See the pictures below. 

NC Eatin’: Iredell County

Sunday, March 22, 2009
I Bambini Italian Restaurant
2785 Charlotte Hwy # 2785
Mooresville, North Carolina

On our way home on Sunday after the scrapbooking event, we passed through Mooresville to visit with a friend who lives there.  Funnily enough, another friend of ours from the Triangle was also visiting our Mooresville friend that day.

Our Mooresville friend had intended to try I Bambini for a while, so that’s what we did.  One friend got the Sunday champagne brunch buffet for $11.95 after being tempted by the lobster tails.  He was disappointed to figure out that the lobster tails contained only a smidge of lobster meat and mostly other stuff.  He said the rest of the buffet was fine, though he probably wouldn’t choose it again because of the price.  I had the gnocchi with alfredo sauce.  The sauce was decent, but the gnocchi was bad – very gummy.  I prefer it to be fluffy/al dente.  The local and my girl friend liked their dishes though, so it just depends on what you order whether or not you’ll enjoy your food.

Mooresville is an interesting town – it’s known as Race City, USA.  Race City, USA. It is home to more than 60 NASCAR teams and racing related businesses.  It also has two important racing museums – Memory Lane Motorsports and Historical Automotive Museum and the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame.  Additionally, there’s the NASCAR Technical Institute and a NASCAR pit crew training school.

Barrel Monster in Raleigh

Check out the barrel monster that was spotted on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh (via New Raleigh):

Photo from nopromiseofsafety.com

Triangle: Got to Be NC Festival, May 29-31

Excerpt from In the Field about the event:

The Got to Be NC Festival will return to the State Fairgrounds Friday, May 29, through Sunday, May 31. With free admission, free parking, free bluegrass and beach music and free food samples from nearly 100 N.C. companies, it’ll be a fun place to wrap up your Memorial Holiday week.

…

You’ll want to come hungry and stop by the free Got to Be NC Food Expo. On Saturday, you can also get your fill of North Carolina BBQ as teams of Masons face off in the Carolina Pig Jig. Adults pay only $10 to sample as much BBQ as they can hold, and kids under 12 eat free. Looking for something a little more deep fried? The Got to Be NC Festival will feature some of your favorite “fair food” along with lots of rides and games from Brinkley’s Entertainment. And to get your motor running, you’ll want to attend the Draft Horse Pull on Friday night, the Tractor Pull on Saturday and the Lawnmower Race on Sunday. All events take place in the Grandstand and are $5 each.

Sounds like fun!  I’ll tweet about it if I decide to attend.

Triangle: Theatre in Oakwood Cemetery

Have you been to Raleigh’s historic Oakwood Cemetery?  If not, you should go!  I especially recommend visiting as part of the 2 hour Segway tour.  If you have been there, you’ll be intrigued by Burning Coal Theatre Company’s production this weekend – Lessons Learned: Stories from the Oakwood Cemetery.  This is actually the 5th play Ian Finley has written to be performed there.  (Source: WUNC.)

Image from CensusDiggins.

Triangle: Taste of Durham

Check out the fifth annual Taste of Durham at the Imperial Center tomorrow. 

What is it?  A food, wine, and beer tasting event with live entertainment.

When is it?  Tomorrow! Saturday, May 23, 2009, 11a-7p

How much is it? That’s a little more complex – it’s $4 in advance or $6 at the door to get in to the area.  Then you buy coins to pay for whatever tastings you want to do.  A coin is $1.  1 coin will buy a soda or water; restaurant samplings will be 1-5 coins; each beer or wine tasting table will be 1-2 coins; and beer/wine concessions will be 4-6 coins.

It sounds like a great thing to do tomorrow.  Have you been to one of the past events?  I wish they had more info on the website.  While they do have information about the food sampling,  they don’t have much info on the wine and beer side of things.  Frankly, those are the things that would get me to attend.  If you attend, let me know!  Hopefully I’ll find out some more info about this and attend next year.

Triangle: Durham’s City Guide

The fabulous Design*Sponge recently shared a guide to Durham from photographer, blogger, and Durhamite, Jessie Gladin-Kramer.  Check it out!  She tells you where to eat, shop, drink, and visit.  She also gives shout outs to a few blogs, including one of my new favorites, Carpe Durham (“Ramblings about food by people whose only qualification is that they eat a lot”).

Restaurant Week Review: Savoy

Last night I had dinner at Savoy (Raleigh, NC) with my husband and 5 of our friends.  Savoy is one of the participating restaurants in Triangle Restaurant Week, so it was 3 courses for $25.  We were all looking forward to trying a new restaurant, and we were even pretty excited about the menu.  The overall consensus was that the food was pretty good, the atmosphere was nice, and the service was pretty bad.

TTT: Restaurant Week

Triangle Restaurant Week is coming soon, so mark your calendars.  This year it’s May 11-17.  Several of my favorites and a few I want to try are on the list.  $15 for lunch and $20 for dinner = 1 app, 1 entree, 1 dessert.  Make reservations to guarantee your spot and don’t assume all the restaurants serve both lunch and dinner.

Check out info on restaurant week in other places at National Geographic’s Intelligent Travel blog.

TTT: Travel Tip Tuesday