It’s no surprise to anyone who knows me that I basically ate my way my through my recent trip to North Carolina. My friend Elizabeth and I stayed in Kill Devil Hills and spent our days sunning on the beach and evenings eating delicious food from some great local haunts. Here are the highlights:
SWEETS
I’m a sucker for anything sweet. So when I smelled the sinful aroma of fresh made donuts and saw the stream of visitors walking to and from a small shop in Duck, NC I knew I had to stop in to Duck Donuts. First, the donuts are made fresh and fried right before your eyes. Then you have the option of adding 8 icings and 4 toppings from coconut to sprinkles or peanuts. After one bite on the deck overlooking the sound you’ll fall in love with the warm, deliciousness just like I did. There are 4 locations in the Outer Banks area.
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EATS
First I’ll drop a few names: Thomas Keller, Keith McNally and Tom Colicchio. Co-owners of The Brine and Bottle Andrew and Ashley have worked for these and other talented chefs in their careers as executive chef and sommelier. So you know the food is gonna be good. Their well-edited menu showcases seasonal, local dishes on small plates - many of which feature some of their pickled veggies and jams. We ordered fried dill pickles (sliced thin like potato chips) with dill dipping sauce, shrimp and grit cakes, seared tuna (like a deconstructed nicoise salad) and blueberry cobbler to finish. My friend would have finished 3 more orders of shrimp and grits if her tummy could have handled it. For me, it took all my strength to stop from diving in to the hot goodness of the blueberry cobbler and permanently scald the roof of my mouth. It was made to order and every bite was worth the 20 minutes it took to prepare. When asked if it would be rude to lick the bowl, our gracious host encouraged it. If the food isn’t reason enough to dine at The Brine and Bottle, then go for the view. The restaurant has outdoor seating overlooking the sound - which was beautiful at sunset! Oh yeah, the wine selection and playlist on Ashley’s iPod was pretty dang good too. My one regret: I didn’t bring home a jar of the bacon jam available for sale along with other pickles and preserves served on their dishes. Thanks Mike from Blue Moon Beach Grill (also a delicious stop on our culinary tour of NC) for recommending it.
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7531 S Virginia Dare Trail, Nags Head, NC 2795
Located at The Caribbean Professional Center on the Causeway
(252)715-1818
(BOOZIN) TREATS
Outer Banks Brewing Station is a popular place for night life and live music in the Kill Devil Hills area. A half-dozen or so handcrafted brews on tap are made on site in the first wind powered brewery in the United States. Order glass by glass or try a flight. You can even order a bottle to go in their 2 liter growler. The bar staff was super cheeky and we loved it. It has a large “backyard” that has picnic tables, cornhole and other fun stuff - including a wooden pirate ship for kids or tipsy adults reliving their youth for an evening. Check the bar’s website for the weekly band line up.
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ABANDONED IN DEFEAT
Oh High Cotton how you eluded us! High Cotton BBQ was recommended by several locals as the place to go for good ‘ol North Carolina BBQ. That is if you can find. If anyone actually makes it to this mythical place give me a shout. Because my killer sense of direction and 2 GPS devices couldn’t seem to find it. So instead we had BBQ at Jockey’s Ribs Bar and Grill back down South Virginia Dare Trail. The barbecue ribs and North Carolina style pulled pork were as I remembered from my last trip to NC. I say go to Jockey’s Ribs instead of on an endless search for High Cotton.