Tag: North Carolina

Fall Potpourri: Eating & Viewing

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THANKSGIVING IN NORTH CAROLINA

We spent Thanksgiving week in North Carolina. I was pleased to see burnished fall colors on the trees as we landed at RDU.  That’s something I miss about living in Florida.  But it was a cold week, and this Florida wimp wore many layers to stay warm, even on the afternoon we explored a new park in Cary.

There was plenty of warmth on Turkey Day with several generations of family celebrating.  Our granddaughters and our son and daughter-in-law, my two sisters and spouses, along with nieces and spouses and one other kid.  We toasted with mimosas and sparkling cider and nibbled at an assortment of fine cheeses, jalapeno popcorn, and chips before attacking the table’s bounty.  With roast turkey and a ham, tasty sides (including mac and cheese), and a choice of pecan pie, apple cake, and yummy cookies to finish, there was no cause for complaint.  We had much for which to be thankful—not least the sheer joy of being together.

DINING HERE AND THERE

Magone Italian Grill & Pizza, Chapel Hill

As an antidote to turkey, many of us decamped to Magone Italian Grill the next day for dinner.  This unprepossessing place appeared casual in the extreme.  It looked like they focused on takeout business.  I explained that we were going to be 10 people and was it possible to have a table.  The young waitress quickly sprang into action, leading me toward the back, pushing two tables together, and offering to bring water for everyone.  

The menu is long and extensive, making one initially wonder if they would deliver on quality.  We were not disappointed.  My chicken piccata with angel hair pasta was delicious, while others enjoyed shrimp with pesto over penne, a pizza with pepperoni and fresh basil, and other classic dishes.  Throughout, our server was pleasant and helpful.  It was a relaxed dining experience, and I’d happily return!

BESO, Sarasota

(scenesarasota.com)

The Chief Penguin and I had a favorite Spanish restaurant in San Francisco, Coqueta, near the Ferry Building.  In Manhattan, we were regulars at family-owned El Porron until they closed due to the pandemic.  Consequently, we were delighted to read about the opening of BESO (kiss in Spanish), a tapas restaurant in The Mark in downtown Sarasota.  We had dinner here with friends and were wowed by the food, the space, and the service.  

Had I not been so involved in sampling what we ordered, I would have taken a photo or two.  As it was, we tried the patatas bravas (best I’ve had), mini pork & chorizo meatballs, shrimps in garlic oil, croquetas, fried artichokes, and bread with olive tapenade.  Portions are small as tapas are meant to be, and we happily shared what we ordered among the four of us.  

The menu includes a variety of Spanish wines by the glass or bottle, cocktails, and, of course, several flavors of sangria.  For those who want a more leisurely experience, it’s possible to order one of three paellas (allow 45 minutes.). I can easily envision this restaurant becoming a favorite!  It fills a hole in the local dining scene.  

VIEWING—FOR FANS OF BRIDGERTON

The Buccaneers (Apple TV+)

Nan in center with her compatriots (Hollywood Reporter)

Loosely based (very loosely) on Edith Wharton’s unfinished novel of the same name, The Buccaneers is an exuberant series of high emotion and high society.  The time is the 1870’s.  Five young women, daughters of rich American fathers, have journeyed from New York to London. They have hopes of snaring a duke or a lord as a husband.  Unlike the more reserved English girls, these Americans romp and run around outside, feet off the ground, arms high in the air.  

The central focus is on Nan (Annabel) who attracts the attention of two worthy men, one a duke, the other simply impoverished. Nan has a rich father, but she is not entirely whom she seems.  One friend, Conchita, marries quickly and just as quickly discovers marriage is not all that she expected.  Her British in-laws expect her to be demure and subdued.

Jinny, Nan’s sister, follows with a wedding to Lord Seadown, a controlling figure.  Others in the group are not sure men are what is needed in their lives.  What begins as balls and parties and gaiety soon dissolves into the messiness of life and unrealistic or unfulfilled expectations.

The gorgeous costumes, the lavish settings, and the modern musical soundtrack provide a wonderful backdrop to the dramas being played out.  

The series runs to 8 episodes with new ones released weekly.  I have watched the first four episodes, enjoying the series more as the five women are more individually defined.   Indulgent, fun, and occasionally poignant!  Recommended!  

Seen in Fearrington Village

Note: All unattributed photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

North Carolina Interlude

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BOOK NOTE

Lest anyone think I haven’t read any books lately, here’s one I wanted to like more than I did.

In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende

This might be the first novel by Allende I’ve read or possibly the second.  It brings together an unlikely trio to deal with an out-of-the-ordinary surprise.  Fussy, academic Richard Bowmaster rents his basement apartment to Lucia Maraz, a professor from Chile who also teaches at NYU.  He is intrigued by her and attracted to her, but has done nothing about it.  She is lonely and would like to further her acquaintance with him beyond their professional relationship.  None of this is likely to happen until, undocumented nanny, Evelyn Ortega, shows up on his Brooklyn doorstep on a bitterly cold winter night after a snowstorm.

Evelyn’s car, her employer’s, was hit by Richard in an accident and she seeks his help.  But the help goes beyond just the damage to the car as there is a body in the trunk.  How this ill prepared threesome handles this fact and journeys upstate to deal with the dead person makes up the crux of the novel.  We learn how Richard and Lucia’s relationship develops and we get the back story of each of these individuals before they came together and, in the process, learn about recent history in Chile and Argentina.

I liked the premise of this novel and the way that Richard, and especially Lucia, rise to the challenge of helping Evelyn, but much of the action takes place as straight narrative with almost no dialogue.  It is a static novel which tells more than shows.  Interesting, but not as engaging as I expected.  (~JW Farrington)

 

NORTH CAROLINA WITH FAMILY

The Chief Penguin and I spent an activity-filled week in North Carolina over Thanksgiving visiting my sisters and their families.  We sampled the delights of Greensboro (shops, parks and a favorite restaurant), ventured to Asheboro for lunch and wildlife, explored downtown Raleigh and the Ravenscroft School campus with my niece, and then decamped for Thanksgiving Day in Chapel Hill and several brisk chilly walks, a new restaurant, and a long bookstore browse.  Here are some of the specifics:

GREENSBORO

Scuppernong Books

This cozy bookstore cum café in downtown Greensboro has a nicely chosen selection of both new and used books.  Scuppernong is a type of muscadine grape native to the area, a word that might be hard to spell, but is certainly memorable!  I was especially pleased with their children’s section and had an informative chat with the woman who buys their children’s books.

Bog Garden

On this visit, I was impressed with the work of the Greensboro Parks & Recreation Department.  My sister and I walked in the Bog Garden, close to their home which we’ve visited many times, and also checked out the Tanger Family Bicentennial Garden and the David Caldwell Historic Park.  The bog garden has a raised boardwalk and is wilder and less manicured than one might expect of a garden.  In partnership with several Audubon members, the park is engaged in removing invasive plants and putting in native plants in their place.

Print Works Bistro

Adjacent to the Proximity Hotel, this restaurant is always good, be it for breakfast or dinner.  The dining room is large with high ceilings, but is sectioned off with floor-to-ceiling billowing fabric drapes and upholstery-covered chairs which provide overall softening.  I would call the menu sophisticated comfort food, and it ranges from items such as local trout and mussels to a shrimp risotto, meatloaf or chicken schnitzel.  Breakfast fare includes the standard eggs and bacon, but also duck confit hash and a bacon and Brussels sprouts quiche.

ASHEBORO 

After a good lunch of salads and sandwiches at The Table , we continued down the road to the North Carolina Zoo.  Some folks are not enamored of zoos in general, but this one is exceptional.  It’s located in the center of the state and has many hundreds of acres with lots of room for the animals in each habitat to roam.  You get around to key points by tram and within the North American and African Habitats there are meandering paved paths that take you to the various animal sites. 

Signage is good and, being in a woodsy environment as you wander, makes it a most pleasant experience.  I especially liked seeing all the tropical birds in The Aviary and having an almost nose-to-nose encounter with a chimp.

RALEIGH

Garland

Lunch at this Indian/Asian restaurant in downtown Raleigh was perfect for our group of seven.  We liked the beef and noodle salad, tofu salad, and the vegetarian daily special.  Portions were a generous size and fortified us for several hours of shopping and walking.

CHAPEL HILL AREA

McIntyre’s Books

Friends who know me well know that I seldom pass up an opportunity to visit a bookstore, particularly an independent one.  I’ve patronized McIntyre’s at Fearrington Village for many years and it’s always a pleasure to spend an hour here.  With the holidays soon upon us, the shelves and tables were overflowing with stock and notes of staff recommendations. It was very easy to find gifts for family as well as a paperback for myself!

Venable Rotisserie Bistro

A new restaurant in Carrboro recommended by my sister and brother-in-law who’d dined there once before, Venable was a great place for the day after Thanksgiving.  Casual with wood flooring and bare wood tables, family groups and couples were scattered around the dining room.  Two of us tucked into the chipotle glazed salmon on a bed of spinach with sinfully rich whipped potatoes while the men enjoyed fried chicken (really a breaded chicken paillard with arugula) and North Carolina trout topped with bok choy.  Very good “elevated comfort food” as the restaurant calls it!

Photos by JWFarrington.

North Carolina Spring: The Triangle to the Piedmont

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GARDENS

The greens are different in North Carolina and spring is softer than Florida.  We were in Chapel Hill and Greensboro over the Easter weekend visiting my two sisters and their families.  Lots of laughter, plenty of good food, and a chance to wander in several gardens.  All the trees had leafed out, but the shade was between the yellow green (lime) of early spring and the robust hunter green of high summer.  The azaleas were in full flower, iris too, with only the late variety tulips still hanging on.  On our way to Winston-Salem, we stopped in the small town of Kernersville and explored the Paul J. Ciener Botanical Gardens, a small public garden with lots of potential.  The visitors’ center is closed on weekends (strange, we thought), but we’d been told there were still tulips in bloom.  The first beds we came upon were disappointing, but then on another side of the property were beds and beds of tulips still upright and mostly intact.  A pleasing array of color.  In Winston-Salem, we wandered around the Reynolda Gardens, on the former estate of R. J. Reynolds.  Aside from the trailing wisteria, there was more to see inside the conservatory than outside. I was particularly struck by the bold gerbera daisies.

 
  

EATING AND SHOPPING

It was a family tradition for many years that every Hancock Reunion (held in the summertime) included a ham dinner.  That was roast ham served with scalloped potatoes, a vegetable such as green beans or corn, and, most likely, a green salad.  For dinner with my sisters, their husbands and my niece and her husband one night, it was potluck style.  Ham provided by the hosts was the centerpiece (Honey-baked), along with a salad of greens and herbs from one sister’s garden, and a porcini mushroom rice dish from my niece and nephew, followed by brownies and lemon squares for dessert.  Times do evolve; the previous generation would not have related to those mushrooms!

In Kernersville after the Ciener garden, we had lunch at a small place called Bistro B.  Their claim to fame seems to be specialty wine dinners with a set menu and also a nice selection of tapas.  Our lunch was simpler fare, but very satisfying.  I had their grilled chicken panini while others enjoyed a classic Reuben and a Cubano sandwich.   All were enhanced with beer from their wide range of choices.

Pittsboro is a very small town south of Chapel Hill.  Founded in 1787, it’s the county seat for Chatham County.  Along with some attractive historic buildings, it boasts a street of arty shops and an old-timey soda shop.  It was the S & T Soda Shoppe that drew us back for our third or fourth visit.  Re-created to look old fashioned, it has a wooden counter and a series of booths and tables.  Menu items are mostly sandwiches and burgers and a host of ice cream flavors.  Their tuna melt on sunflower bread is consistently good as are the hot dog and the cheeseburger (my choice).  We were there on Good Friday and followed our post working life rule of “always be early.”  Arriving at 11:30 we had our choice of booths.  Half an hour later, the place was packed with family groups waiting.

After lunch, we did the shops—that is, my sister and I.  The men mostly sat on one of the several benches on main street.  Several shops include artists’ note cards and other gift items along with painting and sculpture.  French Connections is a treasure trove of French fabrics and table linens, statues and art work from Africa, lawn art, and baskets, while Circle City Books Music, ostensibly a used bookstore, had more new books than one would expect.  

I’ve touted this other bookstore in the past, but it’s such a great store, I have to mention it again.  It’s McIntyre Books in Fearrington Village (a bit south of Chapel Hill) and it’s a wonderfully well-stocked independent bookseller.  We spent a good hour browsing and then, of course, buying!  I picked up several paperback novels for myself, a children’s book for my granddaughter as well as several note cards.  Simply heaven!

On our last evening in North Carolina, we were back in the Triangle area and enjoyed a lovely dinner at a small French restaurant, Rue Cler, in downtown Durham.  We had the place mostly to ourselves and appreciated host Ryan’s warm welcome and friendly, efficient service.  The black North Carolina sea bass entrée I had was superb!  The fish was sautéed and served on a bed of spinach and capers with roasted potato cubes crusted with grainy mustard.  Equally pleasing were the scallops of salmon with béarnaise sauce and the beef.  To start, some of us had the house green salad, while others liked the frisee with French fries and the onion soup.

Images:  All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved)