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March is National Women’s History Month, an opportunity to celebrate the contributions and achievements of women. Here, we recognize a fresh crop of female icons emerging within industries that literally feed humanity. Really, anywhere a foodie traveler explores, women graciously invite all to their tables. While many more women deserve appreciation and notice, we trust those featured here will inspire your future culinary travel.
It could be said that food is our most important love language. “Mother Nature isn’t just a circle of life, it’s a circle of love—and one to be most revered,” says Sylvia Ganier, who works diligently on her organic farm in Nashville, Tennessee. Cultivating food is labor-intensive work with a low monetary yield; it’s ultimately a labor of love.
My adopted home state of North Carolina is a food lover’s fantasy land. There’s more outstanding barbecue than you can shake a rib at. Everywhere along the coast the fish shacks, oyster bars and sushi restaurants make the most of what’s caught on the line and in the net. Forests and fields deliver surprises to chefs from the mountains to the sea. And the beer scene—we can’t even go there right now, but do yourself a favor and come thirsty. Most of all, come hungry. Come to Wilmington hungry. This city in the southeastern corner of the state has a food scene that’s got its fair share of names and accolades, from James Beard Award nominees and winners to a AAA Four Diamond restaurant to faces you might recognize from Bravo’s Top Chef and a raft of up and comers. Break out the bib, put on your loosest pants, and get ready to feast. These are the eight must-eat restaurants in Wilmington (right now).
There’s a refreshing sense of freedom that comes with dining outdoors—the combination of scrumptious food and bright sunshine satisfies hunger as well as the soul—pandemic or not. While much of the country retreats indoors to avoid cold weather, Jacksonville, Florida always seems to have perfect al fresco dining weather, even in the midst of winter.
If your mental image of a dairy farmer is someone perched on a three-legged stool to milk cows by hand, visit Hillcrest Farms for an update. The first robotic dairy farm in the state of Georgia is now giving tours at its fourth-generation farm in Dearing, a small community in McDuffie County near Augusta. Take part in a 90-minute tour and you’ll come face-to-face with cows, learn how the high-tech approach to milking has been implemented and how the cows have reacted (spoiler alert: they’re happy!), learn something new, spend time with nature, and bring new meaning to the phrase ‘farm-to-table.’
Have you ever dreamed about visiting one of those picturesque towns featured in a Hallmark movie? A place where you can walk up and down Main Street—lined with eclectic boutiques and local restaurants—and there’s not a fast food joint or chain store in sight. Townspeople are friendly and greet you as you walk by or enter their shops. Blowing Rock, North Carolina is just that kind of town.
Cornbread is a quintessential American dish with many different interpretations, from savory to sweet. For many Americans, it’s a tradition, a reminder of home, a family recipe, a tasty way to bring memories of meals with loved ones to life.
If real estate is all about location, location, location, then dining out is all about presentation, presentation, presentation. You eat with your eyes first. We’ve all been in a restaurant when a server walks by with a plate of food and said to ourselves, “That looks good!” These five restaurants create visually-appealing food that not only entertains, but exceeds expectations and feeds the soul.
Whether you’re hungry for outdoor adventure or Southern cuisine, the beautiful community of Brevard, North Carolina has you covered. Brevard is an outdoor paradise. Hit the trails on a mountain bike or your own two feet and explore forests peppered with waterfalls, rivers and streams, stunning vistas, and abundant fresh air. Go fly fishing. Saddle up for horseback riding. Try your luck at gem mining. Enjoy bird watching. Paddle the French Broad River. Play golf. And so much more!
In my home kitchen I aim to make as much as possible from scratch, but coronavirus has expanded my definition of the word “possible.” With more time at home, I’ve had time to experiment with even basic ingredients that I previously bought at the grocery store. I recently received a copy of Welcome to Buttermilk Kitchen, the new cookbook by Chef Suzanne Vizethann, whose Buttermilk Kitchen brunch and lunch restaurant is wildly popular in Atlanta, Georgia. Thumbing through the cookbook, I was impressed. It presents easy-to-follow recipes and delves deep into upscale basics of Southern cuisine, including mayonnaise, pickles, infused salts, biscuits, fried chicken, and other Southern favorites.
