Culinary Trail

If you like food, you’ll love Pure Carolina. Everywhere you turn, there are farmers markets, country markets, and roadside stands offering homemade baked goods and a variety of locally-grown produce. Fruit is also feted at the area’s cider mills and wineries. In fact, there are a surprising number of vineyards in the region.

Of course, this region is better known for its down-home cooking. Western-style (as in western North Carolina) barbecue tops the menu. What makes this brand of barbecue unique? Prepared primarily from pork shoulder, the dish is coated with a vinegar and tomato-based, ketchup-like sauce. It’s finger lickin’ good.

Fish camps are a big part of the local food folklore as well. Camps date back to the 1930s, when Carolinians would fry their fresh-caught fish in small sheds. Fish camps morphed into restaurants in the 1950s. Found throughout the Piedmont region, the common denominators are fish fried in heavy batter, sides like coleslaw and hushpuppies, and a down-home, no-frills atmosphere.

But don’t kid yourself. Just because the area likes to celebrate its culinary traditions doesn’t mean it’s stuck in the past. Pure Carolina restaurants offer gourmet delights whipped up with fresh, local ingredients. What’s more, satays and sushi are becoming almost as commonplace as collard greens and cornbread. Still, you don’t want to miss good uniquely Southern favorites like fried chicken, ham and biscuits, and fruit cobblers, all washed down with huge gulps of sweetened ice tea. Drink up--refills are usually free.