by David Cecelski On the way to a 60th wedding anniversary party the other day, we stopped at Bread of Heaven Bakery in Goldsboro. This is one of my favorite bakeries. Located in a little strip mall at 301 South Ash Street, Bread of Heaven has the feeling of a dessert table at a big church supper. They… Read More →
Aunt Dot’s Squash Casserole
By David Cecelski One of the things I most like to do this time of year is sit out by the garden at dusk and watch the fireflies. I like the summer air and I like the way the silhouettes of the garden’s architecture look in the fading light: the trellis that… Read More →
Mulberry Season
by David Cecelski The first mulberries are ripe now and yesterday we went picking, me, my daughter, my daughter’s friend, and my little nephew. We walked to our favorite tree, a stalwart young thing across the road from the city park nearest us. The tree was just full of the sweet, dark berries. Mulberry trees—the… Read More →
St. Nicholas Greek Festival, Wilmington
by David Cecelski I happened to be in Wilmington the other day during St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church’s Greek Festival. I had been there once before, a year or two ago, and had a wonderful time, so I took my lunch break there on Saturday. There was traditional Greek music, dancing, and crafts, tours of the church,… Read More →
Eagle Island Produce and Seafood Market
by David Cecelski What a strange and wonderful place this is. It’s an old roadside produce stand, fish market, and general merchandise store a stone’s throw from the Northeast Cape Fear River, on a lonely stretch of Highway 421 that otherwise is home only to endless miles of marsh and a bleak industrial landscape. You… Read More →
At the Statesville Rotary Farmers’ Market
by David Cecelski One of the really exciting things I saw at the Statesville Rotary Farmer’s Market the other day was Floyd and Rita Hager’s homemade sauerkraut. That fermented cabbage dish was once a staple across rural America, especially in places that had a lot of settlers fromGermany, Russia, Poland, or other sauerkraut-loving countries.IredellCounty, where Statesville is, is one of those… Read More →
Miss Peggy O’Neal’s Fishcakes
by David Cecelski While we were on OcracokeIsland, my daughter and I discovered Peggy O’Neal’s fishcakes. They were the breakfast special at the Pony Island Restaurant, a friendly mom-and-pop place that has been serving island locals and visitors since 1959. Everything on the restaurant’s menu is hearty and wholesome, but the really exciting thing to me… Read More →
Hot Pepper Vinegar, Oyster Stew, and Cheese Biscuits
by David Cecelski One night last week my daughter and I decided last minute that we needed to go to PortsmouthIsland. By dawn the next morning, we were 125 miles down the road at Pam’s Diner, in little Washington. Pam’s has been one of my favorite country cooking places for 25 years and has hardly changed at… Read More →
Mermaid Point
by David Cecelski My old swamping buddy and I headed toward SilerCity, veered off onto Hwy. 902, then cut south on back roads down to the old coal mining villages along the Deep River. You don’t get a sunny, 75-degree day every day, so we decided last minute to grab a boat and go. We left one… Read More →
Lovick’s Cafe, Kinston
One of my favorite places to be in Eastern North Carolina on a Saturday morning is Lovick’s Cafe in Kinston. Located on Herritage St., a stone’s throw from the NeuseRiver, Lovick’s is the kind of place where everybody feels at home. When you walk in the door, you’ll find the joint hopping—every table full, customers shouting greetings to old friends… Read More →