Text and photos by Sol Weiner When it gets as hot out as it’s been for the last few weeks, only a few slow, languid thoughts cross my mind. In addition to “where’s the nearest swimming hole?” and “when I get rich, I’m spending summers in Maine,” I often see a flashing neon sign that… Read More →
Poitín and The Great Wagon Road Distilling Company
Text and Photos by Caroline Miller The Great Wagon Road Distilling Company in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood is the first distillery in North Carolina to have its own bar, The Broken Spoke. My friends and I wandered into The Broken Spoke one summer afternoon after enjoying a delicious pint at Sugar Creek Brewery next door…. Read More →
Visit the Goats
Text and photos by Ray Linville If you like artisan cheese, visit the creamery where it’s made. Even better, get introduced to the animals. If you like chevre, a word we borrow from French for goat cheese, don’t forget to talk to the goats. When Paradox Farm held Spring Farm Day and opened its property… Read More →
Get Out Your Calendars!
It may be hard to believe while it’s still so cold outside, but fields, orchards, and arbors in North Carolina will soon be turning those amazing shades of young, bright green that last only a few precious days before the real warmth of spring sets in. Here at NC Folk we’re already thinking about… Read More →
Collard-Stealing Night
by Sarah Bryan Here in North Carolina we’ve eaten up the winter collard greens, and are eagerly anticipating the early spring crop. Thinking about collards put us in mind of a tradition we learned about some years back, Collard-Stealing Night. Though it may have been practiced in various parts of North Carolina, it seems to… Read More →
Livermush Monday at the Grocery Basket & Grill in Ferguson, NC
by Leanne E. Smith At the Grocery Basket & Grill in Ferguson, North Carolina, Labor Day Monday is Livermush Monday. On the day after the Happy Valley Fiddler’s Convention, Livermush Monday is a somewhat new music gathering celebrating an older foodways tradition and the longtime local eatery. Traveling from the festival towards Wilkesboro, the first… Read More →
Boiled Peanuts for Sale
by Ray Linville What makes boiled peanuts so enjoyable in the Old North State? “Boiling peanuts brings out a kind of mellowness to the nut which is … like tasting ripeness in a pear,” says food historian David Shields. Peanuts, planted in May, are ready for harvest in September and October. Although raw… Read More →
Ramp Seasoning
While I’ve been enjoying the sun of the last two days — walking down to the river by my house (accompanied by my two cats who stalk about like they think they are local bobcats), and especially enjoying the spectacular sunsets — my sister in Des Moines has been posting about the first major snow… Read More →
The 3 Bs of Snacky Time
by Evan Hatch Snacky time exists not on conventional timepieces, but everyone knows when it is. And when snacky time strikes, snacky place is the only destination. For NC Folk staff, snacky place was the baked goods aisle at the BP station’s Family Fare convenience store at the corner of Hillandale Drive and… Read More →
Big Oak Drive In & BBQ
by Deborah Miller A long weekend on Emerald Isle was in the works and as visions of sun, sand, and seafood swam in my imagination, a light bulb moment pushed through the haze of vacation anticipation. NC Food was about to publish a guest post by John E. Batchelor, author of Chefs of the Coast: Restaurants… Read More →