Devour - Spring & Summer 2014

Four new brewpubs help put Wilmington on the craft-beer map

MAY - AUGUST, 2014 | DEVOUR 1

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

MAG

Divulge.

Devour.

EDITOR Shea Carver ASSISTANT EDITOR Christian Podgaysky

t

ART DIRECTOR Kyle Peeler

he gardens are sprouting, the farmers’ markets are open, and the numerous outdoor barbecues and celebrations have begun. Finally, after one of the chilliest winters southeastern NC has endured on record, we can let the sun shine in as we enjoy beach picnics with family and July 4th celebrations with neighbors.

Just in time for those many gatherings, Wilmington is welcoming a slew of new brewpubs and breweries to the area, exponentially increasing our choices in craft beer during warmer months. Be sure to check out our cover story on pages 28-31, and meet the folks opening Broomtail Craft Brewery, Flytrap Brewing, Wilmington Brewing Company, and Good Vibes Brewing Company. Also in our spring and summer edition, Shannon Rae Gentry goes into the minds of three local chefs, all working in various parts of Wilmington to bring great food to the masses. Meet Kirsten Mitchell of 1900 Lounge, Christi Ferretti of Pine Valley Market, and Josh Woo of YoSake, The Balcony at Dock and The Husk.

Two more ladies are capitalizing on a unique blend of foodie culture and local tourism, as Liz Biro, trained chef and food writer, hosts numerous food walking tours across town. Gwenyfar Rohler spoke with her about her business, Culinary Adventures with Liz Biro, to find out what tourists learn while eating their way through Wilmington. Shea Carver interviewed TheatreNOW proprietor Alisa Harris about her decision to open Wilmington’s first dinner theatre (pgs 10-12), and how combining her passions for food and acting means more delicious entertainment for Wilmington.

Of course, we have all of our normal readings which make Devour taste even more divine on our local culinary scene. Enjoy our take on food porn in “What We Love to Eat” (pgs 18-21), featuring a dozen dishes from local eateries which keep us salivating and going back for more. Plus, we’ve interviewed Morgan Milne of Red Beard Farms about being a tenant-farmer of local land (p.gs. 14-15). To tempt your taste buds, we have four new recipes from Food Your Feelings blogger Emily Caulfield, which will taste like one big party in your mouth (pgs. 22-23). Don’t forget the wine suggestions and food-pairings (recipes included) from the folks at Taste the Olive and The Olive Cafe and Wine Bar (pgs. 26-27).

Speaking of wine, Joel Finsel captivates all-things vino is his current fiction (or not?) piece about life as a bartender, in “Cocktails and Conversations” (pgs. 24-25). Progressive Gardens’ owner Evan Folds gives us a science lesson on eating and growing bioenergetic foods (pgs. 34-35). Oh, and if you’re looking for those proverbial beach reads this summer, allow Old Books on Front owner Gwenyfar Rohler to point you in the tastiest of directions with her reviews on some of our favorite current and old books within the vast culinary field (pgs. 32-33).

It’s all to be divulged. It’s all to be devoured.

We can’t wait to tempt your tastebuds even more come August! Until then, scoop it all up here, check in with us online (devourilm.com), and send us feedback on what’s keeping you happily sated.

G/ SPRIN ER SUMM 2014

2 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

Eat & drink across southeastern NC

ADVERTISING Shea Carver, Rose Thompson, John Hitt, Kris Beasley CONTRIBUTORS Rosa Bianca, Evan Folds, Bethany Turner, Joel Finsel, Emily Caulfield, John Burke, Shannon Gentry, Gwenyfar Rohler, Ryann Harris, Kymberlei DiNapoli PHOTOGRAPHY Holland Dotts Trent Williams

DEVOUR

is published by HP Media quarterly and covers the greater southeastern NC region. To subscribe to the print publication, the cost is $20 a year for four editions. Folks can sign up to subscribe at www.devourwilmington. com. The website is updated with local culinary news, reviews, events and happenings frequently.

ADVERTISING To find out how your restaurant can be included in Devour, go online to www. devourwilmington.com to download a media kit. Feel free to call HP Media at 910-791-0688 or email shea@encorepub. com. HP Media also offers advertising packages for Devour and its parent publication, encore magazine.

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EAT

16-17 | Latin-American eatery San Juan Cafe dishes out authentic mofongo, and transforms any humdrum meal into something extraordinary.

Chef Billy Quetel pulverizes plaintains for mofongo. Photo by Holland Dotts Cover /contents photos: Holland Dotts

6-8 INDUSTRY Chef Profiles

Meet three of Wilmington’s chefs from 1900 Lounge, Pine Valley Market, and YoSake, The Balcony at Dock and The Husk. Kirsten Mitchell, Christi Ferretti, and Josh Woo dish all-things food and business.

24-25 IMBIBE Cocktails and Conversation

ON THE COVER 28-31 |

Beer. It’s all the rage in Wilmington currently, as summertime will welcome not one, not two, not three, but the opening of four new brewpubs. Broomtail Craft Brewery remains one, as owners Barry and Lisa Owings transform their love for suds into a livelihood. Read Bethany Turner’s interviews with the newest entrepreneurs on the port city’s craft beer scene.

Joel Finsel churns out a dose of fiction—or is it non?—from behind the bar, this time around focusing on wine. Also, enjoy his recipe for a wine cocktail from the 1890s, the New York Sour.

32-33 FEATURE Book Reviews

Gwenyfar Rohler breaks down the food processing industry with her review of “Salt Sugar Fat,” plus indulges some tasty leftovers we love to read again and again, with “Uncommon Ground” and “Bringing It to the Table.”

ALSO INSIDE: Foodie entrepreneurs, pgs. 10-12 • Farm profile, pgs. 14-15 • What We Love to Eat, pgs. 18-21

Recipes, pgs. 22-23 • Spring wine and food pairings, pgs. 26-27 • Learning about bioenergy, 34-35 • Culinary calendar, pgs. 37-39

4 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

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Inside the Kitchen A look at a local chefs, their inspirations and backgrounds

a

BY Shannon Gentry ● Devour contributor and freelance writer

t 29 years old, Executive Chef Kirsten Mitchell has been with 1900 Restaurant and Lounge in Lumina Station for four years. Yet, she has held a position in a kitchen since she was 18. It all started with her father’s fine-dining establishment, Morel’s, in Banner Elk, NC. From there, she went on to work for Disney and even as a private chef. Though all of her kitchen work varied, Mitchell found the expectations remained the same: to make a good product.

“It’s just different levels of stress,” she quips. “It’s kind of the same thing at every restaurant, just different amounts of people you actually cook for. Everywhere you go you’re going to get in the weeds at some point!”

As a third-generation chef, Mitchell did not attend culinary school. Yet, she watched and learned from her father, Dean Mitchell, an acclaimed French chef. “I spent a lot of my childhood under the wait station,” she says with a laugh. “I’ve been in the business forever, and I love it.”

Mitchell moved to southeastern NC to run the kitchen of French restaurant Bouchée in 2010. After the eatery closed, the chef found a new home at Cameo 1900, then owned

by Brian Parke. In 2013, Ken Oliver bought the establishment and renamed it 1900 Restaurant and Lounge; Mitchell stayed as the driving force in the kitchen. Since working on Wilmington’s culinary scene, she’s watched a growing craft beer and “foodie” movement sweep over the region.

“I think all of North Carolina, right now, is zeroing in on [state-procured] products, which is great, because we have an amazing state for them,” she asserts. “And the NC Department of Agriculture has really stepped in and gotten involved with the whole farm-

6 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

“People, especially downtown, kind of look out for one another. We borrow from each other, send business to each other if we can’t accommodate, other chefs come here to eat, and I go to their restaurants.”—Josh Woo, YoSake, The Husk and The Balcony at Dock

INDUSTRY [better exploring] how we source our proteins.”

Just keeping up with the ever-changing industry trends that happen outside of her kitchen stands as inspiration. Plus, she reads magazines like The Local Palate or Garden & Gun. T overcome any creative rut in the kitchen, she’ll venture to other cities to reinvigorate herself.

“I’ve been lucky because I’ve gotten so much exposure to restaurants and food, because we base the majority of our travel around dinner,” she says. “I like to travel around—anywhere from Kinston, NC, to New York City—and eat as much as I can. It’s really the best way to re-inspire yourself, get an idea or just make going back to work exciting.”

“I think food in general is evolving in a very good way, especially now that we’re getting back to helping local farmers, and [better exploring] how we source our proteins.”

—Kirsten Mitchell, 1900 Restaurant & Lounge to-table movement. So, it’s a cool state to be in now.”

Small plates are 1900’s signature, not necessarily Spanish-inspired tapas dishes but rather lighter portions boasting an American twist.

Mitchell changes the menu four times a year. Currently, she’s incorporated spring’s seasonal flavors, from a seared mahi-mahi with Bloody Mary marinade and island succotash to lamb t-bones with almond farro and spring pea shoots.

“Spring is my favorite because I do a lot of pea shoots,” she laughs.

“They’re fun and have a really nice flavor, as well as other spring vegetables. It’s all very ‘springy,’ Right now, we’re also serving scallops with green tomatoes, country ham and ham broth.”

Nothing makes it to the menu that isn’t a favorite of Mitchell’s.

As a self-described seafood person, she’s always had a soft spot for scallops. “They’re instant gratification,” she notes with a smile.

“They don’t take long to cook and they’re always pretty.”

Though the overall menu may rotate, staples remain. Mitchell’s famed mac n’ cheese, tuna tartare, and lobster spring rolls steadily top off as bestsellers and fan-favorites. She also works to incoporate an array of flavor profiles not easily pin-pointed to one specific region.

“I put a lot of ‘worldly’ flavors into the menu, with seafood or game, but sometime just random stuff,” she admits. Currently, diners can taste her version of Korean BBQ octopus tacos, served with kimchee, carrot salad and radish. “I used to get kangaroo in, and we did rattlesnake once,” she adds. “But I just try to keep it fun and innovative as much as I can.”

Mitchell eventually would like to incorporate more of her Southern roots and flair into her dishes. She’s tossed around ideas for utilizing boiled peanuts for chutneys or sauces. That fine dining has changed over the past couple of decades excites the chef, as it has become more eclectic and accessible to more people.

“I think food in general is evolving in a very good way, “ she notes, “especially now that we’re getting back to helping local farmers, and

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On the corner of Front Street, sandwiched between The Husk and The Balcony on Dock Street, sits YoSake Downtown Sushi Lounge.

Besides residing in the same historic building, each restaurant has something else in common: Executive Chef Josh Woo. Everything comes out of YoSake’s second-floor kitchen for the three establishments. While the bar on the first floor is mostly known for showing sports games and serving craft beers on tap, Woo recently developed a basic pub menu featuring staples like wings, hot dogs and fries.

“It’s a whole different package upstairs,” he explains of The Balcony. “We offer a couple of things from YoSake on our catering menu just so people know we’re connected to the Balcony.” The Firecracker Shrimp and sushi platters are a big hit. “Other than that, it’s a more high-end take on simple foods,” Woo says.

Catering events anywhere from 50 to 200 people, the chef specializes in delicate portions of tomato soup “shots” with grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken and pancakes with bacon and fig jam, traditional shrimp and grits, and the crème de la crème: mac ‘n’ cheese muffins. “They’re delicious, but a pain,” he jokes, “just to get the perfect consistency to make the outside crispy and hold like a muffin, but not overcook it or burn the top.”

Through catering Woo often has a chance to serve other business people throughout town. Most recently, he hosted local catering company Pine Valley Market’s soirée: owners Christi Ferretti and Kathy Webb married at the Balcony. “It was really fun and we were happy to do it,” he tells. “And my [wife] is the event coordinator at 128 South. We used their chef, Shannon [Pitts], to do our catering for our March wedding.”

The sense of a community and unity among restaurateurs and chefs appeals to Woo. Professional rivalry takes a back seat to camaraderie. “People, especially downtown, kind of look out for one another,” he says. “We borrow from each other, send business to others if we can’t accommodate, other chefs come here to eat, and I go to their restaurants.”

It was Woo’s father—a chef-turned-firefighter—who inspired him to light the stove. Since his early 20s, Woo’s fallen into various roles and duties in the kitchen. “When I moved here, I worked in a couple of places washing dishes, doing prep work, and really doing whatever I could, until I ended up at Port Land Grille,” he continues. After about three years working with Port Land’s chef, Shawn Wellersdick, Woo enrolled in the Culinary Institute of Charleston, SC. He moved back to Wilmington and helped open YoSake.

MAY - AUGUST, 2014 | DEVOUR 7

INDUSTRY Many diners come for YoSake’s happy-hour menu of sushi rolls, yet Woo’s Southern and Asian themes collide and titillate the palate. Items like the Southern egg rolls or Sriracha mac and cheese, made with crushed Sriracha peas, are popular. “I really wanted to do a take on ramen noodles, with different garnishes and seasonings, but it never really caught on, [like] YoSake’s curries or Pad Thai,” he says. “The menu changes pretty frequently.”

It definitely takes a lot of forethought and planning to wear Woo’s chef coat. It can be a big game day in the bar downstairs, while 100 reservations are booked for dinner, while a large event starts at 5 p.m. at The Balcony. For Woo, it’s just a normal day in the kitchen; he simply takes it all in stride.

“Any day of the week I come in to do prep work in the morning for YoSake’s lunch, then transition to a wedding upstairs, then come back down and roll sushi for dinner,” he reviews. “You have to constantly change gears, [but] I’ve got a great staff, good managers, good owners, and everyone just works together. It’s also fun. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it.” *

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Co-owner and chef Christi Ferretti from Pine Valley Market has had a lot on her plate lately. Between having her wedding with business partner and now wife Kathy Webb, wrangling their 6-year-old son, Alex, and operating the ever-growing endeavors of the market and their high-volume caterings, Ferretti manages to discuss food and the 12-year evolution of their café, butcher, and wine shop.

“When we bought the store, it was in place as more of a market that had evolved from a butcher shop,” Ferretti explains. “My thought was to have a New York, Author Avenue-kind-of Italian deli, because that’s what I like. Then we realized that’s not really what people wanted. So, we just gutted it.”

Pine Valley Market has been known for carrying gourmet products, such as Stonewall Kitchen or locally made items like Angela’s Peppered Pickled Foods. While their catering business has boomed, they realized their storefront needed restructuring for in-house dining a couple years ago. “At first it was literally like a hodgepodge, nothing even matched,” Ferretti tells of the renovations, “and that grew into what we have now.”

Today, they offer seated breakfasts, lunches, and early dinners (they close at 7 p.m.), in addition to their meat market and food retail. But for those who want freshly sliced ribeye, their butcher shop can accomodate, and customers who wish to forego their own hands in the kitchen can buy one of their many homemade meals on-the-go.

“We were making casseroles for people all the time,” Ferretti muses, “and it turned from two or three kinds of casseroles to 20 different meals.” They serve everything from gumbo, to lasagna, to eggplant Parmesan, chicken pot pie, and spinach cannelloni. “Everything is made just like you make it in your house,” Ferretti promises, “and I think that’s the nice thing, versus buying something with a ton of preservatives.”

Though the Florida native has a degree in education, Ferretti says she has always been prepared for the heat of a kitchen more so than the classroom. Having a large Italian family and father who nurtured her passion for food supplemented any formal training she may lack.

“He started the [Italian American Food Festival], cooking for thousands,” she tells, “and when I was 9-years-old, I worked the Coke 8 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

“It’s the simple stuff that people go crazy over, but we have a lot of fun when somebody gives us the creative freedom to go outside of the box.”

—Christi Ferretti, Pine Valley Market booth because that was all he’d let me do. I obviously had a passion for it all, but I asked a lot of questions over the years and retained it, so that’s really my training.”

It wasn’t until an 80-person catering gig, at a house party for a friend, that Ferretti found her niche. Shortly after, she was asked to do a wedding, then another party, and another. Just like that she found success by word-of-mouth.

Her wife, Webb, originally from NC, wanted to move closer to family. Webb was the former owner of a café in St. Petersburg, and when the ladies visited friends in Wilmington, they found Pine Valley on the market from then-owner Lauren “LoLo” Shannon. They couldn’t resist its charm, and upon taking over the business, they found a stronghold in Chef Silverio “Smokey” Masters. Masters has been with the market since 2004, minus a brief hiatus in Charleston.

“We couldn’t do it all without Smokey,” Ferretti asserts. The Johnson and Wales graduate knows Southern cuisine to a tee, and often is hailed for his ham biscuits and shrimp and grits—a few of their most requested items. Yet, Ferretti is noticing new and welcomed trends.

“People are starting to take a more ‘foodie’ approach to their weddings, by having smaller ceremonies and spending a little more on the food,” she says. “It’s the simple stuff that people go crazy over, but we have a lot of fun when somebody gives us the creative freedom to go outside of the box.”

At the market’s daily service, Ferretti focuses on local and regional foods always. She utilizes Feast Down East in the summer for fresh produce from local farmers. She also works with Seaview Crab Company or Greenville Loop Seafood for fish. Additionally, she will introduce a line of meats from Mills Family Farm in Mooresville, NC. “They’re organically grown in NC, all grass-fed and free-to-roam beef products,” she explains. “The challenge is that it comes in loins, and if we cut it, put it in the case, and it doesn’t sell, it’s a waste. So, what I’m hoping to do is gather a list of people from Facebook who are really interested in it and have a set day that we have the orders ready.”

While Ferretti says the gourmet meats and catering tends to set the café a part, the prepared meals—which started upon Smokey’s arrived—have made their lives easier. “I feel like we’ve found a good niche here,” she says, “and we’re trying to be less of a secret.”

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Foodie Biz

Local business owners spoon out tasty livelihoods

BY Gwenyfar Rohler and Shea Carver ● Devour contributors Hybrid foods are slated to be all the rage in 2014. Trending items include BrusselsKale (Brussels sprouts and kale—also called “kale sprouts,” “flower sprouts” and “lollipop kale”) or ramen burgers (yes, ramen noodle-buns made for burgers). James Beard Foundation’s VP, Mitchell Davis, even noted in March how a Soho pastry chef, Dominique Ansel, set the foundation with last year’s cronut (croissant crossed with donut). In 2014 Davis predicts chefs worldwide will take on numerous modifications of ingredients in their own kitchens, working like mad scientists to concoct the next, new tasty craze. Locally, two business women are putting forth their own mashups of foodie-inspired ideas into Wilmington’s ether. Food writer and trained chef Liz Biro decided a few years ago to blend her adoration for food and Wilmington’s heedy market of tourism into a winning business model. She founded Culinary Adventures with Liz Biro, a walking expedition which allows tourists a chance to taste their way through Wilmington. Likewise, self-proclaimed foodie Alisa Harris decided to marry her passion for theatre and food by upstarting Wilmington’s first dinner theater off Dock and 10th streets.

Devour interviewed the ladies about spooning out tasty livelihoods full of creativity.

Above: Liz Biro talks to the folks from Lewis Farms during her Saturday Farmers’ Market Tour ● Photo by Gwenyfar Rohler 10 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

INDUSTRY those she could feed.

Liz Biro Biro’s tours present the perfect platform Culinary Adventures with Liz Biro to showcase restaurants and chefs, and re“I wanted people to have an exally shine a light on what they do and how perience, to learn something,” Biro hard it is. She relates a story about guidsays, as we trek downtown Wilming a group and encountering a bartender ington one bright Saturday morning who was having a rough time getting set during her Top Chef Farmers’ Market up for the day. Biro decided to educate Tour and Cooking Class, one of many everyone about the realities of bartendoffered through Culinary Adventures ing. with Liz Biro. “I wanted them to taste “This is life as a bartender; it’s not all something. I wanted them to meet glamour,” she says. Biro recalls his apolopeople. I wanted them to walk away getic explanation—he cued them in on his with an experience that would stay opening duties with setting up the bar, with them.” and how late nights and heavy lifting ofFor all appearances, she has sucten got the best of him. “They loved it!” ceeded. The farmers’ market tour “TheatreNOW is truly a collabora- Biro exclaims. takes visitors for coffee and sweet tive effort. Some of our most fun and Biro lets the tour groups know about treats to Hot Pink Cake Stand or Port City Java. Armed with caffeine, creative menu pairings are around our the restaurants they will be visiting, but she also fills them in on others they won’t the group then strolls to the RiverHalloween-themed shows.” —Alisa Harris have time to see. Too many wonderful esfront Farmers’ Market to learn about tablishments exist locally to cover in one how to shop like a chef. Then, once the fresh vegetables and what-have-yous are purchased, they go tour—not to mention the many legendary restaurants which are no around the block to Aubriana’s for a hands-on cooking class with longer here, she explains. Her walking tours combine histories of the eateries and the contributions they made to life in southeastern NC. Chef Tyson Amick.

Biro’s tours were the last plank in the bridge she carefully has been Biro also personalizes the stories to represent the chefs or owners and building between people who make food and people who eat food. the many awards they might have won.

“I’ve tried to create something more than, ‘OK, now we are at this Perhaps she is most well-known for her regular foodie news and feature stories from her eight years of writing at the StarNews and now restaurant and here’s a taste of this; now, we are at this restaurant and with the Wilmington Business Journal. She also has her own blog, here’s a taste of this,’” she explains. “Along the way, I share a lot of Daily Dish. Biro quickly points our how her idea for the tour really local food history and ‘restaurant dish.’”

A goal of her tours is to shed light on the business side of running a came from writing about chefs and restaurateurs and building careful restaurant: why they open and close, and the details of what working relationships with them.

It was 2008 and the recession was setting in. “I thought, This is go- in the industry is really like. It appears to be an insight which appeals ing to be so hard on these places,” Biro explains. “They contributed to outsiders who are always hungry to learn more.

To say Biro has found her calling in life would be an understateso much to me, as a food writer, by sharing their stories.”

Given the busy, hectic nature of the restaurant business, she was ment. The reality is: She is a food-enabler. The many facets of her fully aware how they very easily could have brushed her off. Instead, livelihood fit together: writing about food, teaching through tours and time and time again, busy restaurant owners and cooks would sit classes, and most of all bringing people together.

“To me that’s what it’s all about: to show people the genuine spirit down and talk with her at length. “I wanted to give them something that goes into food and drink,” she shares. —Gwenyfar Rohler back,” she expresses.

Biro’s tours currently crisscross downtown and include a Downtown Wilmington Restaurant Walking Tour, Drinks Downtown, Cas- Alisa Harris tle Street Antiques and Brunch Stroll, and she’s even expanded to TheatreNOW Alisa Harris is used to the grind of the service-industry world. She the Wrightsville Beach area with Feasting at The Forum. Custom and special group tours also are offered. “I’m known for down- helped her father, O’Dell, run bars and restaurants he owned acorss town, because I live here and I am most visible here,” Biro says, the mountains and foothills of NC during youth. “I grew up with the smell of stale beer and cigarettes while helping clean bars on the “but I am everywhere.”

Her incredible vitality and assurance comes through in her tour lec- weekends,” Harris quips. “I got to keep whatever money I found. It’s tures. A petite woman with deep olive skin owing to her Italian heri- a nostalgic smell for me, actually.”

From cleaning shrimp for her father’s nightly seafood cocktail, to tage, she is magnetic. She also expresses a genuine enthusiasm for doing silver-service tea catering and bartending in London, or running her topic, which compels her tourists.

“My interest in food goes way back.” Biro smiles. “When I was a a liquor store in Boston during college, Harris garnered a deep-seated kid, while other kids were playing outside, I was in the house making understanding of the late nights and early mornings often mandatory in the field. “One of my first jobs in Wilmington was waiting tables at French pastries.”

By pastry, she means things like Chantilly creams and petit choux. Paddy’s Hollow,” she notes.

Her mother’s love for theatre and acting make it seem seredipitous “I still have that little French cookbook,” Biro confesses. “We bought that Harris one day would run a dinner theater. But, according to the it at Hickory Farms.”

Her early love has carried through to her adult life. She went to cu- former marketing director and graphic designer, she never had this linary school and even opened her own catering business. But writing career path in her plan.

“Spurred by the loss of my mother, local actress MC Erny, to cancer about food allowed her to share her love with more people than just

MAY - AUGUST, 2014 | DEVOUR 11

INDUSTRY in 2010, I decided I should create a space where performers are paid regularly,” Harris explains. “The best format I’d seen to date was the dinner-theater model.”

Harris always had been in love with stage-acting during youth. After retiring as a talent agent for film and TV, she began performing with local dinner theater companies in Wilmington. She also wrote and directed a few shows and thrived from the kindred spirit it generated.

“Dinner theater is often seen as the redheaded stepchild of performance,” she admits, “but I enjoyed myself and audiences enjoyed themselves, too. I also noted that all of us actors were paid something and that struck a chord with me.”

Harris—who happened to be in the process of adopting and rearing a newborn during July 2012—wanted to create something beyond mere food and fun. She hoped to see a nonprofit erect from it. Thus, Theatre Network of Wilmington (TheatreNOW) became an arts education center for local youth when opened its doors two summers ago. Not only does it host numerous shows a year to entertain audiences, but monies generated help fund programs and in-house theatre classes held at 10th and Dock streets.

Having worked in the field of advertising, Harris’ understanding of the Alcohol Law Enforcement rules and of theatre management certainly helped from a business perspective. Though a self-proclained foodie, she still needed creative hands to help tantalize the taste buds and serve customers. “I had to rely heavily on the experience of my staff to keep the restaurant and bar aspect of the operation going,” Harries notes.

She found Johnson and Wales of Rhode Island graduate Denise Gordon via Craigslist, and learned the chef had worked in DC restau-

12 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

rants, as well as owned her own eatery out of Paducah, KY. Gordon secured a TheatreNOW toque after doing a three-course cookoff in Harris’ home kitchen among two contenders. The hire has paid off, as Chef Gordon won bronze and silver awards in 2012 and 2013 for TheatreNOW at Wilmington’s Epicurean Evening. “She has hosted students from CFCC on tours of TheatreNOW and used interns in our kitchen as well,” Harris explains of the chef’s community ties.

Gordon’s approach to cooking certainly stands a bit different from most chefs. She thematically devises menus according to locally written shows, which usually run around six weeks. The chef and bar manager, Boney Ives, get the scripts in advance so they can plan what foods and beverages to concoct. Productions often include references to eating to transition each course smoothly. “It’s a truly a collaborative effort from all the staff,” Harris says. “Some of our most fun and creative menu pairings are around our Halloween-themed shows.”

Items like Bat’s Blood—a beet soup with spider-web crème fraîche —Mrs. Lovett’s Meat Pies—served with bloody carrot “fingers”—and Pumpkinhead Creme Brûlée all have been a hit with diners who want to have a little fun with their food. “I always love our New Year’s Eve six-course French meal,” Harris explains. “It goes with our cabaretthemed show. We get a lot fancier then.”

Next on the docket will be a summer production titled “The Theatre of Food.” Harris says it will focus on real culinary stories and the history of coastal NC pirates. Gordon and Ives will devise a tasting meal around what swashbucklers ate and drank some 100 or more years ago, and the show will run from June through October 2014.

“With any culinary-type establishment, you gotta have your niche,” Harris says. “Just saying you have good food isn’t enough. In marketing, we call it your positioning statement: what makes you different than anyone else. [Even though] I’m the only one of my kind around here, I still wanted to tailor TheatreNOW for this particular location— creating customized shows that reflect the area’s attractions, and showcase food and drinks that fit those themes.” —Shea Carver

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Red Beard, Green Thumb: Young farmer pulls up his boot straps on Red Beard Farm

BY Christian Podgaysky ● Devour contributor

“The only way to know where your food is coming from is to know the person that grows it,” Morgan Milne muses. With a red beard and a green thumb, he is responsible for the harvests at Red Beard Farm, formerly Swart’s Farm. Depending on the time of year, Milne staffs two to eight people to man up to eight acres of land. When they’re operating in their primary season, he occasionally takes on volunteers—some weekly and some randomly.

Ultimately, the operation thrives in simplicity. It takes consumers back to a day and age where people could visualize where there food came from without the idea of 18 wheelers shipping unripened tomatoes across the country, or dangerous pesticides covering plots of crops far and wide.

Above: Farm manager Nick Simon and farm liason Katrin Rahe, with Red Beard’s mascot, Rocky. ● Photo by Holland Dotts 14 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

INDUSTRY With the crowing of the rooster, the NC State graduate, who majored in agriculture, rises to nurture his crops. His day begins with the feeding of the animals—turkeys, chickens, pigs and the like—even spending a little time with them for some tender love and care. The personal touch largely epitomizes his approach to farming. He then washes up and assesses the state of his fields. Is the soil wet or dry? Is it a harvest or delivery day? These factors all influence the trajectory of his day. “It can be exciting and challenging to manage on days when you have a lot going on,” he details. “I normally end the day the way I began [it], except I don’t start the day with a beer.”

Prior to undertaking Red Beard Farm, Milne interned for the Bramble Breeding Program at NC State and for Kellem-Wyatt Farm in Raleigh. He held an apprenticeship at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems small farm unit, and boasted the moniker “farm manager” for OBX Organics. He happened into his current position when a friend informed him that the Swarts were looking for someone to take over their farm.

Since working at Red Beard, Milne has made a few changes. At first, he intended to keep everything the same. As the old adage goes, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” Swart’s Farm used to be open to the public and house a nursery; however, he soon found that both features were time-consuming. He decided to forego the two hindrances, and, instead, focused on farming and providing top-notch produce for his customers.

For the past two years, Milne has purveyed his products in downtown Wilmington’s and Wrightsville Beach farmers’ markets. Additionally, his renderings are occasionally vended at the Poplar Grove and Southport farmers’ markets and summer, spring and fall community supported agriculture (CSA) events. Though he used to set up a produce stand at the Goat & Compass, now it serves as a pick-up spot for the Red Beard CSA. Milne also finds support from other local farmers, such as Kyle Sternson of Humble Roots Farm and Margaret Shelton of Shelton Herb Farm. Local chefs utilize his products, such as James Doss from Pembroke’s and Rx, and chefs Matthew Gould, Simon Arnold and Stephen Wine of Canapé.

For Milne, people come first. Interacting with the buyers of his products—carrots, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, heirloom tomatoes, sweet corn, collards, and okra—remains a driving force in his efforts.

At the markets and through the CSA, he often gets inquiries on preparation, too.

“Often times, we have a product that someone is unfamiliar with,” he elaborates. “Normally, they ask how to cook it. With our more normal veggies, we get great feedback on both quality and flavor. It’s funny: We grow the food, and folks ask us how to cook it.”

He also fields questions about proper care maintenance for home gardens. Milne always offers a simple, tried-but-true tidbit: “Put [it] where it will get the most sun and good airflow.”

Milne’s interest in farming spurred by a permaculture class he took with professor Will Hooker during his time at NC State. He developed more passion after realizing the extent to which consumers can’t trust food labels. “Organic” no longer entails the earnest farmer Bill cultivating the land in his blue overalls; rather, it connotes a factory-managed farm that meets a flimsy set of requirements dispensed by the government.

“Look into it,” Milne urges. “You will find there are conventional chemicals allowed in ‘organic’ production today, because even ‘organic’ factory farms are still monoculturalist farms and, eventually, rely on human-influenced science to achieve their goal.”

In particular, Milne warns against sustainable agriculture company Monsanto and their corporate ties to the government. Their monopolistic control of America’s food supply is largely influenced by greed

rather than concern for the food industry.

Though Red Beard Farm utilizes pesticides, Milne only uses allnatural varieties, manufactured by Mother Nature—and strictly as a last-case scenario. “Therefore, it breaks down in our ecosystem with ease and quickness, unlike chemical pesticides,” he explains.

He also encourages beneficial insects on the farm. Though it may result in the loss of a few veggies, it seems to work in generating an agrarian alternative for keeping the number of impeding forces down. That a farmer must divulge how letting nature take its course can be positive for crop production demonstrates how far farming has diverged from its roots (pun intended). His farm manager, Nick Simon, along with Milne’s girlfriend and farm liason, Katrin Rahe, often help with scouting and monitoring the farm to control pests and disease in a natural fashion. “You want to do more good than harm and be a good-steward of the land,” Milne champions. “Most importantly, the more you take care of it, the more it will take care of you.”

Looking toward the future, he hopes to purchase some land near Burgaw. He plans to take the Red Beard Farm namesake with him and embark on farming as a land-owner rather than a tenant-farmer.

Milne, too, will strive to grow year-round and produce farm-raised meat—particularly pigs, goats and turkeys.

Continuing to support and serve the patronage he’s accumulated over the years ultimately embodies his short-term goals. Milne revels in getting residents interested in and informed on locally grown produce. “Before food became an industry, we only ate what grew around us,” he concludes. “That is how humans were meant to eat, and that is what is best for us and our community. It is ultimately cheaper and healthier!”

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Fawning Over Mofongo Exploring a versatile side dish at San Juan Cafe

BY John Burke ● Devour contributor and encore magazine restaurant critic

i

’m going to tell you about the simplest side dish that you’re not making at home. Mofongo (moh-FON-goh), a Puerto Rican specialty, is a delicious alternative to some of the conventional starches you’re already whipping up for meal time. Locally, I’ve only found it offered at San Juan Cafe; if it’s featured elsewhere, please, feel free to let me know.

Mofongo is plantain-based. For the average consumer, plantains are just those banana things that have to be cooked to be enjoyed. But in the culinary traditions of some cultures, plantains are a staple.

Mofongo’s roots are African and Spanish, making it a popular choice on many islands, including Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.

Unlike other side dishes in both preparation and execution, Mofongo proves to be both labor-intensive and incredibly quick to make, with a shelf life of mere minutes. It is simultaneously sweet and savory. It has a rich texture without leaving diner’s feeling overfed.

I decided the best way to approach this age-old dish—though new to me—was to dive right in. So, I drove up to San Juan Cafe and ordered one for lunch. Having recently been voted the number-one Latin-American Mofongo, mashed plantains and garlic, served with shrimp. Photo by Holland Dotts restaurant by Trip Advisor in eastern NC, San Juan owners Danny Keegan and Billy Quetel Mofongo is unlike other side dishes in hail from the islands—Keegan is from Puerto Rico and Quetel, from the Virgin Islands. I’d both preparation and execution. It is both say if anyone in town is making mofongo authentically, it would be these two chefs. labor-intensive and incredibly quick to I went with beef, which only made the plantain dish seem richer. It does have a

make, with a shelf life of mere minutes.

16 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

EAT can be confident the plantain was in its skin no more than 10 minutes before forking it. While a lot of effort goes into the dish, it is condensed into a small pocket of time.

Quetel says another major mistake novice mofongo fryers make is using ripe or overripe plantains. In order to maintain consistency, the fruit should be at least a little bit green in the skin. Yellow or browning skin means too much sugar and too mealy a consistency. “I guess you could make a dessert out of it,” Quetel concedes. “I wouldn’t add anything to it, like chocolate. I’d probably just dust it with powdered sugar.” mouthfeel similar to mashed pota“I guess you could make a I suspect you might want to skip toes, and the garlic will only cement the garlic if attempting a mofongo that connection in the minds of a dessert of it. I wouldn’t add dessert. lot of American diners. But mashed anything to it, like chocolate.

Though a versatile side, in some white potatoes will never have that variations, mofongo can become hint of fruity sweetness that plantains I’d probably just dust it with the centerpiece of a meal. By addoffer. It felt familiar and exotic all at once. powdered sugar.” —Billy Quetel, ing other ingredients into the mixture, it can resemble a casserole After trying it for the first time, I chef, San Juan Cafe more than anything. Barbecued had to know more. I sat down with Quetel to discuss the unique treat. chicken seems to be a big favorite First, the chef went over the basics: pairing, according to various food The plantains’ skins are slit, then the fruit is thrown into the fryer. This blogs. Yet, fish works well, and vegetarians can get a similar effect by won’t take long, a couple of minutes at most. Thankfully, nature has using chickpeas. Also, mofongo can be made with other root vegprovided a built-in timer; they’re done frying when they rise to the etables for folks who want to pass over the plantains; both bread surface. fruit and cassava (yuca) have been used.

Once fried, the meat of the plantain is separated from the skin A worthwhile kitchen adventure for any aspiring foodie, I haven’t and placed in a mortar and pestle (called a pilón) where it gets quite worked up the courage to make mofongo for myself yet. mashed with olive oil, garlic, and other desired spices. Traditional Though the experimentation seems endlessly delicious and fun, versions of mofongo include bacon or pork crackling, but Que- sometimes it’s best just to let the pros do it. tel gave up including swine in deference to his significant vegPlus, I’m not one for doing dishes. etarian clientele (if you haven’t tried San Juan’s vegetarian beans, do that, too, while you’re there for the mofongo). After the ingredients are combined, Quetel molds the mixture into the shape of a bowl, which will hold the beef, shrimp, or vegetables.

My own research finds pictures of mofongo served similarly to scoops of mashed potatoes. And there are no rules from using chicken, or just about any other protein. Some times it’s served in a broth.

The biggest mistake people make with mofongo, according to Quetel, is trying to make it ahead of time.

“People call me to ask how it’s made,” he explains. “Then they tell me they’re bringing it to a party later. I just say: ‘You’re bringing mofongo you made at your house to a party at someone else’s house? They’re going to look at you like you’re an idiot.’”

Apparently, mofongo falls apart very quickly. It can’t be frozen and reconstituted.

Every mofongo dish at San Juan is made fresh to order. So, when diners order it, they

Top: Shrimp sauteeing for mofongo. Bottom: Chefs Danny Keegan and Billy Quetel, owners of San Juan. ● Photos by Holland Dotts MAY - AUGUST, 2014 | DEVOUR 17

what we LOVE TO EAT

Photos by Holland Dotts

HORSERADISH TUNA

DIM SUM

Bridge Tender 1414 Airlie Rd. • (910) 256-4519

Double Happiness 4403 Wrightsville Ave. • (910) 313-1088

Located on the Intracoastal Waterway with breathtaking views, the Bridge Tender serves delightful sea fare, including a horseradish-encrusted tuna entree, served with soy-ginger glaze, wasabi aioli, sticky white rice and sautéed spinach. $29

Truly, Double Happiness is the only restaurant in Wilmington which offers a full dim sum menu. Their double steamer serves up a little of everything—from shrimp, chicken and vegetable dumplings to seafood shumai. They also offer a variety of steamed buns and fried balls in seafood and red bean paste flavors. $3-$8.50

GROUPER CHEEKS

BLACK AND BLUE BURGER

Fish Bites 6132 Carolina Beach Rd #11 • (910) 791-1117

Hell’s Kitchen 118 Princess St. • (910) 763-4133

Quite a decadent part of the fish and bursting with flavor are the delicate cheeks. At Fish Bites, they fry the grouper cheeks and serve with their homemade tartar sauce. It’s a lovely appetizer to start off any meal. $9.50

They’ll cook it to order as they grind the meat on premise. So if you want it bloody rare, go for it! One of our faves is their blackened burger, topped with crumbled bleu cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion, served with fries. $9.50 (or $6.66 on Tuesdays)

18 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

what we LOVE TO EAT

Photos by Holland Dotts

CAROLINA OSSO BUCCO MAPLE LEAF FARMS' DUCK Pilot House 2 Ann St. • (910) 343-0200 While The Pilot House boasts seafood, they also make one mean medium-rare duck breast entree not to be missed. The all natural boneless breast of duck comes chargrilled, and served with a blackberry cognac sauce, with julienne veggies and potatoes. $18.95

PARMESAN SEA BASS

The George 128 S Water St. • (910) 763-2052

After you dock your boat on the Cape Fear River, head over to The George, perfectly situated downtown on the Riverwalk. Order the parmesan-encrusted sea bass, served with mushroom risotto, steamed asparagus, topped with a sundried tomato pesto and a parmesan wheel. $26

South Beach Grill 100 S Lumina Ave. • (910) 256-4646 Chef James Rivenbark is cooking up Southern delights at Wrightsville Beach’s South Beach Grill. Try his linguini tossed with fresh arugula, spinach, and roasted sweet red peppers in a butterherb and Chardonnay wine sauce topped with pork osso bucco. $19.95

CRAB BURGER Fish House Grill 1410 Airlie Rd. • (910) 256-3693 Along the scenic Intraocastal Waterway is Fish House Grill, where diners can watch boats dock and enjoy fresh seafood and a beer before hitting the water. The restaurant’s crab burger remains a filling choice, featuring their homemade lump crabcake served with melted cheese on a pretzel rolll. $11 MAY - AUGUST, 2014 | DEVOUR 19

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2 Ann St. Wilmington, NC • 910-343-1448

what we LOVE TO EAT

Photos by Holland Dotts

creme brulee Kornerstone Bistro 8262 Market St. • (910) 686-2296

PULLED CHICKEN NACHOS Front Street Brewery 9 N. Front St. • (910) 251-1935 The anchor brewery of Wilmington not only is revered for its house brews but also for its pub grub, which includes a pile of pulled chicken nachos. The lightly sweetened, slow-cooked, handpulled chicken is shreeded atop cheese, queso sauce, jalapeños, diced tomatoes, spicy sour cream, and corn tortilla chips. $8.99

CHARCUTERIE Canapé Restaurant 1001. N. 4th St. • (910) 769-3713 What started as Wilmington’s first pop-up has transformed into a brick-and-mortar in the up-and-coming Brooklyn Arts District.

Canapé’s charcuterie plate is available during dinner, with housemade pâté, duck prosciutto and fresh cured meats out of Burgaw, NC. Pickles, mustards, and breads are made in-house, too. $8-$12

Kornerstone has cornered pizza and pasta most definitely. But their desserts also cannot be overlooked, from homemade cannolis to tiramisu. Or go for the traditional creme brulee, a rich custard, topped with caramelized sugar. And the selection changes daily, according to the chef’s mood. $7

NAM TOK Thai Spice 5552 Carolina Beach Rd. • (910) 791-0044 While we can indulge in just about everything at any Thai restaurant, we assuredly adore the Nam Tok from Thai Spice. It’s a perfect light dish for the warmer season, with strips of lean beef, ground roasted rice and red onions in a Thai dressing. $8.99 MAY - AUGUST, 2014 | DEVOUR 21

TO

EAT! Recipes to try at home

Food Your Feelings: Local blogger shares latest round of recipes from her kitchen

BY Emily Caulfield ● Devour contributor, Food Your Feelings blogger, http://dearemilycaulfield.wordpress.com.

Despite my family’s total lack of interest in cooking during my childhood, somewhere along the line, I have become obsessed with the legacy of a kitchen, of how a family’s story can be told through meals, rustic home and street food, and the golden shimmering alchemy of cooking. It is a mad scientist’s power that comes from making something wonderful, and entirely new, out of nothing really at all. In the kitchen, it really is a carnival. It is one of the ways I fill my life with warmth and light. It is a remarkable thing to be confident in providing for yourself—not just surviving, but creating, out of so little, a magical feast of food.

It’s just abut the alchemy of cooking.

SPICY SAUSAGE SAMMIES WITH PEPPERS AND ONIONS INGREDIENTS: Hot Italian sausage White onion, sliced thinly Green bell peppers, sliced thinly Small, unsliced sub rolls (i.e. Bolillos from the Mexican market) Pinch fennel seeds, smashed into oblivion Pinch dried oregano, crushed into a powder Pinch dried chili flakes Salt and pepper Extra virgin olive oil Dry vermouth, or lemon with water, for deglazing Spicy mustard for serving METHOD: First, caramelize the onions. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium, and throw in onions and salt. Sweat them a bit until they’re soft, about 5 minutes or less. Add fennel, oregano, and chili flakes, and continue cooking a few more minutes. Add the peppers and adjust seasonings. Cook until they begin to soften and sweeten.

Meanwhile, heat a small pan over medium high to fry the sausages until they’re halfway cooked. Brown and blister them on each side, then turn the heat down to medium low and cook for a few minutes. Dump them in the pan with the veggies and cover with a lid or aluminum foil.

Deglaze the pan with dry vermouth or lemon and water, and pour the good bits over the sausage-onion-pepper party, and give 22 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

everything a good turn. Cover again, and let it all sizzle for about 15 minutes, during which time you can heat them rolls.

Preheat oven to 300 and pop in the Bollilos. Let them warm for a bit, while the rest continues cooking, and you’re almost there!

When ready, assemble these suckers by splitting the roll carefully down the middle, and leave about a half inch un-split on either end. Line that baby with mustard, and some peppers and onions, then wedge the sausage into a new little pocket of a secret, awesome sandwich. Top with more mustard and close it up. Hide from enemies. Enjoy on the sly.

LEMON CORNMEAL COOKIES WITH BLACKBERRY JAM INGREDIENTS: 1 1/2 c all purpose flour 1/2 c yellow cornmeal 1 1/2 sticks room-temp salted butter 1/3 cups powdered sugar Zest of one entire lemon, plus a couple good squeezes 1/4 c veggie or coconut oil 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped out (or a tsp of pure vanilla extract) For the jam: We boil about a cup of frozen blackberries with a squeeze of lemon and a dash of cinnamon sugar, then let it chill.

METHOD: Cream together butter and sugar. Add vanilla, zest, juice, and oil, and mix until well-blended. You can see the zest scraps and vanilla bean well-distributed throughout, a good sign you’re done mixing. Quickly sift the flour and cornmeal together and add them to the wet ingredients. Blend until you have a nubbly kind of Play

EAT

Doh. Pat it into a ball, roll into two long logs and chill in the fridge until firm, about 20 mins.

Take out of fridge and slice into about 1/2 inch rounds. When they’ve softened a bit, after slicing, press your thumb (or whatever finger you want) gently into the middle to create what I’ve just now christened as a “jam divet.” Put a tiny dollop of jam into each spot. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, and take out when the edges just start to turn gold. So light and gold and all done!

MORRISON’S MOROCCAN VEGETABLE COUS COUS WITH HARISSA INGREDIENTS: 2 zucchinis, sliced into into rings 1 yellow squash, sliced into rings 1 large red bell pepper, hollowed and halved 1 large shallot, or small red onion, peeled and quartered 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 3/4 -1 cup raisins or sultanas (I know this is bold but I prefer raisins to the original, honestly.)

A heaping cup of cous cous (Israeli cous cous or quinoa works) 1 large bunch cilantro, washed and rinsed Quickie harrisa receipe I do at home all the time: Extra virgin olive oil Turmeric Dried mint Garlic powder Salt Cumin Coriander Cayenne

METHOD: To make the harissa: Take a quarter cup of olive oil and adjust spices until you have a thick paste. The extra you don’t use here will keep a few weeks in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 425 and cut up the red pepper and shallot. Toss them in a tiny dash of olive oil. Set aside.

Preheat a grill pan or a regular frying pan while you slice your zucchinis and squash, and toss them in a tiny dash of olive oil.

Pop your red pepper and shallot in the oven on a baking sheet or tinfoil, and let them roast and blister for 10 minutes, while you “grill” your squash and zucchinis on the stove top for about the same time. Once you have some color on your vegetables, remove them all and set aside.

Make cous cous according to the box directions, and pour into a large bowl, and refrigerate.

On a large cutting board, dump all those roasted vegetables and chop. You can just hack away, really, until you have bite-size pieces. Grab your raisins/sultanas and give those a good chop. Do the same with the cilantro, and add it all to the cous cous. Mix in your harissa and toss until well-blended.

CURRIED CARROT SOUP INGREDIENTS: 2 lbs carrots, peeled and chopped into 1” pieces 4 c veggie or chicken stock (not water) 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk 1 half large white onion, diced Juice of half a lemon, plus more to taste 1 tbsp olive oil 4 tsp curry powder 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp fenugreek 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp turmeric Salt and pepper METHOD: Warm olive oil over medium and sweat the chopped onion with a little salt for about 5 minutes, or until fragrant and translucent.

Peel and chop carrots and add to the onions, stirring to coat all the pieces with oil. Add curry, cumin, cinnamon, fenugreek, garlic powder, and turmeric. Give it another stir, and cook for about 5 more minutes. Add stock and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for a half hour, stirring often.

Take off the heat, add the coconut milk and lemon, and blend with hand-held immersion blender, or puree in small batches in a regular blender. The hot liquid expands so don’t overfill the regular blender or it will explode—which might be fun. But not as fun as having soup.

MAY - AUGUST, 2014 | DEVOUR 23

Cocktails and Conversations The noblest grape

s

BY Joel Finsel ● Devour contributor, mixologist and author of ‘Cockatils and Conversations from the Astral Plane’

teve, the wine merchant, came in early one evening during a recent snow. His cheeks were red, and he blew his nose into a handkerchief while rolling his suitcase through the door.

Another man, dressed more casually, followed behind. At first I wondered why he was still out in the cold, then I remembered his suitcase was full of wine.

Tall, with 50ish features and streaks of silver in his hair, Steve comes off as a sophisticated Viking: well-groomed, affable, a hint of Sean Connery in his voice. In his 30s he moved to Hollywood to become an actor. At 40, he divorced and wrote a science-fiction novel about discovering a gateway to hell somewhere in space. It took him 18 revisions of his query letter before a small Canadian press picked it up.

“How’shh it going?” Steve asked, before introducing me to his friend. “This issh Ron from Vine Canyon in Napa. We jushhht happened to have these open, and thought we’d stop in to let you shhample some interesting juiceshh.”

“By all means,” I said.

“How about thisshhh weather?” he said, unfurling his coat as if delivering a reindeer carcass slung over his shoulder. “We have some fantashhhtic grapes—I’m talking truly shhhpectacular.”

He lined up the bottles.

Joel Finsel tends the bar at downtown’s Manna. Photo by Trent Williams “I’m telling you, thisshhh shhhChardonnay is exshhellent!” Steve poured me a glass. I swirled the yellow amber liquid around the “O thou invisible spirit of wine, if rim of the glass, releasing the aroma. During thou hast no name to be known by, let relaxed moments like these, I couldn’t help but wonder which noblewoman’s breast was us call thee devil.” the mold for the glass from which I’m about to sip.

—William Shakespeare

24 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

IMBIBE “It was smooth. Slight oak, a “Wine Shhhpectator gave it a 93.”

Ron was quick to change the subject.

It was smooth. Slight oak, a hint “Moving on to our Cab Franc,” he said, hint of honey, but the final thrust of honey, but the final thrust set it as he poured a generous sample into my apart. Long after the sip was over, a set it apart. Long after the sip was class. “A lot of people think of cabernet round intensity remained, envelopover, a round intensity remained, sauvignon as the noblest grape, the origiing my mouth. nal progenitor so-to-speak, but from DNA “Very nice,” I said, complimenting enveloping my mouth.” analysis, we now know that it is actually the grower. the product of cross pollination between Like so many things in life, Ron unCab Franc, and sav blanc.” derstood the balancing act of makFor the next few minutes, we tasted from the rest of the bottles in ing great wine. It’s like learning to ride a motorcycle—mastering the Steve’s case, kicking back as if we were alone in our own galaxy created torque, clutch, gas, and breaks all are important. You can’t ride without out of malolactic fermentation. Then, my first customer came in from any of them, but each also has to know its place. Same with baking a the cold. I poured him a beer and came back to see Steve and Ron crust—dealing with flour, butter, yeast, and soda. If one is a little out of gathering their things. I placed an order with Steve, and before long whack, the whole enterprise is ruined. With wine, the balance of the they were ready to make tracks in the snow. fruit (sugar), tannins (skins), acid, and, in cases when complementing “It was very good to meet you,” Ron said. “If I ever make it to wine meals, the food is priority. The vintner must pick the fruit at the right country, stop in for a tour. We have bocce ball.” He made a snowball point of complementary sugar and acid. Thus, the sugar turns to alcoand tossed it underhanded at Steve. hol after yeast is added, and the final product refrains from being sour “I’ll do that,” I said. and better served clearing a clogged drain.

He handed me the just-opened bottle of Merlot with a smile, and “We are proud of it,” Ron said. they were off.

I leafed through his vineyard’s pamphlet of photographs. Steve sat back, relaxed.

“We have been there about 15 years now,” Ron said. “It belonged how to taste wine 1. Pour into a glass and take a good look at it. What color is it? to a man who used to own a small hotel. About that time, I was in Bordeaux, touring the Christian Moueix, and we tipped the vintner to Look beyond red, white or blush. If it’s a red wine, is the color maroon, introduce us to the family. We ended up taking them to lunch, and, purple, ruby, garnet, red, or even brownish? If it’s white, is it clear, strawlike, golden, light green, pale yellow, or brown? after a few bottles of wine, they gave us two sprigs…”

Steve cut him off. “Did you say Chrishhtian Moueix? I’ve been hang2. Is it clear, cloudy, transparent, or opaque? Tilt your glass a bit; give ing out with you all day and this ishh the first time I’m hearing thishh?” it a little swirl.

His salesman instincts were upset.

3. Smell is critical. After gently swirling your glass, take a quick whiff Ron nodded, smiling. “Yeah, to them it was just a piece of wood. But to gain a first impression. to us…” He shook his head with pride. “Each sprig contained about 10 4. Come back to it a few seconds later and stick your nose down into dormant blossoms, and when we got back to our hotel, I overnighted the glass, and take in a deep inhale. What are your second impressions? them to a friend in California. I added a little root hormone, and each Do you smell oak, berry, flowers, vanilla, or citrus? year thereafter, they multiplied.”

5. Finally, take a taste. Start with a small sip, and let it roll around Steve seemed dumbfounded. “Petrussh? You have to be kid- your tongue. ding me. You’re saying that these grapes have been grown from 6. Many aficionados will now take in a small breath of air and let the Petrussh clones?” wine mingle with the air. This will allow you to taste the flavors more “What’s Petrus?” I asked, happy to play along. fully. What do you taste?

“I’ll shhow you,” Steve said, flipping through his catalogue. “For in7. Finish: The wine’s finish is how long the flavor lasts after it is swalstance, this one goes for—ohhhh, I’m not even going to say it. You are lowed. Did it last several seconds? Was it light-bodied (like water) or going to have to shhee it for yourshhelf.” full-bodied (more viscous, like milk)?

The listing cost $2,400.

8. Did you like it? Do you think it would taste better with cheese, “And that’s not a caseshh,” he clarified. “That’s per bottle.” bread or a heavy meal? Would you buy it? If so, take a picture of the “It’s also illegal,” Ron said.

Downing his cup, Steve hit his companion jovially on the shoulder, label for future reference.

“You’re like a pirate.”

“I wouldn’t say so,” Ron noted. “They’re just a couple pieces of wood.”

“So, you grow from the same vines that produce wine that sells for thousands of dollars?” I asked admirably, wondering if Steve was genuinely surprised, or if this was a sales technique they’d been putting on all day.

“A pirate,” Steve repeated, patting him on the back.

“No, I don’t like to think of it that way,” Ron said. “More like a smuggler.”

“A shhhmoozing shhhmuggler, then.” Steve patted him on the back.

“Like Han Solo,” I said.

NEW YORK SOUR (circa 1870) 2 oz whiskey, preferably rye 1 oz lemon juice ¾ oz simple syrup Red wine Lemon wedge for garnish Add whiskey, lemon juice and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker. Add ice, shake and strain into a Collins glass filled with crushed ice. Float red wine on top and garnish with a lemon wedge. To do so, simply hold a spoon upside down over the glass and slowly pour the wine onto the spoon’s backside, letting it cascade in.

MAY - AUGUST, 2014 | DEVOUR 25

UN

CORKED! Reviews and rambles on vino

Al Fresco Dining at its Best: Exploring wine pairings with delicious foods for spring and summer

BY Ryan Harris and Kymberlei DiNapoli ● From Taste the Olive and The Olive Café and Wine Bar

When the chill of winter has finally faded, springtime blooms with plentiful opportunities for enjoying the beautiful outdoors.

It is the time to dust off that patio, invite friends over, and enjoy some sunshine on your skin. With the prospect of summer rapidly approaching, many of us curtail our hearty cold-weather stews and opt for lighter fare to ensure a bathing suit body when beach time arrives.

For your next evening soiree, wow your guests with a couple of dishes that are both flavorful and healthful. More so, enjoy it all paired with wines that capture the sunshine of Italy.

Taste the Olive and The Olive Café and Wine Bar offer a slew of wines and products, like whole fruit-fused extra virgin olive oil and white balsamic vinegar, to make the simplest of dishes carry a punch of flavor without hours of effort. For instance, the roasted salmon with avocado and grapefruit salsa, is jampacked full of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins. This is food designed to both nourish your body and satisfy your soul.

A perfect wine pairing will highlight both the cuisine and the wine itself. Flavors in a sauce— as in this case, salsa—can be good indicators of what wine to choose. The bright citrus and creamy avocado in the salmon dish begs for a wine that can deliver both crisp acidity and fruitfocused aromas.

Try the 2012 Alois Lageder Pinot Bianco for

26 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

its clean, mouth-watering finish, and peach and apple aromas. Hailing from Alto-Adige in northern Italy, the wine is extremely food-friendly and crowd-pleasing, and a great value at $14.95 Outdoor barbecues are de riguer during the warmer months. Those who cannot wait to fire up the grill should try Taste the Olive’s black-cherry chipotle glaze—a sweet and smoky sauce perfect to upgrade any grilling meat. The glaze is bursting with the dark, sweet flavor of cherry coupled with smoky notes of paprika and chipotle. Even when using it on white meats, such as chicken or pork tenderloin, a red wine pairing will stand up to its bold flavors.

Instantly transport guests to Tuscany by opening a bottle of 2012 Le Maestrelle Toscana Red, a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot, and Syrah. This wine is a perfect balance of bright cherry fruit and acid with spicy, smoky notes from the Syrah. Another great value at $16.95, this wine, made by the famous Antinori family, is an approachable way to introduce Italian red wine to your menu.

So grab a corkscrew and savor a meal al fresco this season. Bring fine-dining home with an adventurous wine pairing. Focus on fun this spring, enjoy your food and wine and, above all, the company of your loved ones!

Roasted Salmon with Avocado and Grapefruit Salsa (serves 4) Courtesy Kymberlei DiNapoli 1 ½ pound wild salmon filet(s), cut 1 ½ in. thick 6 tbsp of Taste the Olive Blood Orange Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 tbsps of Taste the Olive “Oh My Pineapple” White Balsamic Vinegar 2 large grapefruits 2 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled and cubed 1 jalapeño chili, seeded and minced 6 tbsps minced red onion

IMBIBE

4 tbsps minced fresh cilantro Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 2 tsps ancho chili powder 2 limes, juiced Preheat the oven to 375 F. Place the salmon in a small baking pan and brush the blood orange olive oil on both sides. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and ancho chili powder. Place in the oven and roast until almost opaque in the center, about 18 minutes.

Meanwhile, using a sharp knife, cut off the peel, and all of the white pith from around the grapefruit. Working over a small bowl, use the knife to cut between the membranes to release the grapefruit segments into the bowl. Squeeze the juice into the bowl, and remove the grapefruit segments from the bowl. Cut segments crosswise into ½-inch pieces and return to the bowl. Gently mix in the avocado, jalapeño, onion, cilantro, and lime juice. Season the salsa to taste with salt and pepper.

Cut the filet(s) into 4 and divide. Spoon the salsa right over the top and drizzle “Oh My Pineapple” white balsamic over the finished product.

BLACK CHERRY CHIPOTLE GLAZE Courtesy Kymberlei DiNapoli 1 ½ cups Taste The Olive’s™ Black Cherry Bing Balsamic Vinegar 1 tbsp Taste the Olive’s Caliente Chipotle Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 garlic cloves, roasted 2 shallots, diced ½ cup Dos Equis lager, or similar 2 tbsp honey ½ small can of tomato paste 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp fennel seeds 1 tbsp smoked paprika Dash of thyme In a small pan, toast cumin and fennel seeds until fragrant.

Dice shallots, place in sauce pan and sauté in chipotle olive oil until caramelized. Add toasted seeds, smoked paprika seasoning and tomato paste to pan, and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add in black cherry balsamic, Dos Equis, honey, garlic cloves, and chili and boil on high until reduced to syrup. Stir in thyme and a dash of sea salt and remove from heat.

Add syrup to food processor and pulse until pureed (add water if mixture is too thick, ½ cup at most). Add chipotle olive oil and 1 tbsp cherry balsamic, pulse for another 5-10 seconds.

Reserve in bowl until meat is nearly finished, brush over meat during last 5-10 minutes of cooking.

Serve on the side for extra dipping.

www.devourilm.com

Devour Book Club

May - The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee June - Cooked by Michael Pollan July - How to Cook a Wolf by Jennifer 8 Lee August - My Life in France by Michael Pollan

Meets the last Tuesday of the month at 6:30 PM at Old Books on Front St. 249 North Front Street downtown Wilmington MAY - AUGUST, 2014 | DEVOUR 27

Wilmington’s Most Wanted: Four new brewpubs help put Wilmington on the craft-beer map

BY Bethany Turner ● Devour freelancer In 1995, before craft brewing became a household name—nay, a movement—Front Street Brewery settled in downtown Wilmington as the area’s first and only microbrewery. Almost two decades later, craft brewing accounts for over 90 percent of American breweries, according to “The Oxford Companion to Beer.” It was only a matter of time until Wilmington would find itself a part of the progression. As Asheville, NC, is renowned for having more breweries per capita than any other city in the U.S., soon, too, its coastal neighbor will boast a craft-beer coterie.

John Savard of Wilmington Brewing Company ● All photos by Holland Dotts 28 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

Flytrap Brewing 319 Walnut St. • Downtown Mike Barlas is no stranger to the pages of Devour. He was featured as a top homebrewer in our port city last summer. Not even a year later, the man who only “daydreamed about going pro” is in the throes of transforming an old office building into a craft-brew haven.

At 319 Walnut Street, two blocks south of the Brooklyn Arts Center on Fourth Street, Barlas works daily amongst sawdust and concrete. His pup, Boone, keeps a watchful eye from the front door. Unaware passersby may never assume the small white building would be in the midst of such a change. Where there was once a drop ceiling, carpet and multiple walls, Barlas is hand-building a wooden bar. “I’m doing as much of the work as I can, the physical stuff,” he admits. “Carpet’s not ideal for a tap room or a brewing space. So it was a lot of demolition and just now rebuilding.”

Flytrap will focus on a small-batch business model. Barlas wanted a place that could sustain in-house sales, plus he wanted to be downtown.

“This location is walkable to a lot of the shopping and a lot of the new apartments that are being built,” he says. “I knew the north side of town was really getting ready to change.”

He will oversee brewing in the back of the building, while serving tanks will be in a walk-in cooler between the bar and brewhouse. Patrons will be able to see where the beer is brewed, too, thanks to windows cut into the walk-in cooler. “They’re 62-gallon batches, which is two barrels,” Barlas states. “To give you some perspective, Front Street Brewery does a 10-barrel system, so Flytrap is a fifth of the size. I’ll be serving directly out of the 62-gallon tanks. If you wanted to keg it off, you would get about four big kegs.”

Regular kegs are half-barrels, at about 15.5 gallons. Barlas will be working with sixth barrels (or sixtels); each of his batches will yield 12 sixtels.

Flytrap will serve 12 taps to start, though not all of them will be created

by Barlas. Guest taps will feature local beers from area breweries, as well as craft beers from within and outside of NC. “There’ll be some core beers that are here all the time, and then there’ll be some rotating beers that are new and small-batch,” he says. “I’ll brew one batch and you’ll have to come get it before it’s gone forever. I’m still finalizing the actual line-up and the naming, but it will feature a blend of Belgian-style and American ales.”

He also plans on doing a stout, IPA, Belgian blond, and a hoppy Belgia, along with a red ale. Barlas says the beer will have a medium alcohol range so it’s easy to drink. “It’s going to be called Rehder’s Red for Stanley Rehder, who was a big advocate for the Venus Flytrap,” he shares.

“He’s a well-known local guy; the Carnivorous Plant Garden behind Alderman Park is named after him.”

The name Flytrap Brewing is a tool to raise awareness for the Venus Flytrap, which is a native only of this area. Barlas has been working on a partnership with the Nature Conservancy and the Land Trust. He plans to host fundraising events where a portion of the night’s proceeds will benefit an organization.

“Our area in general has an amazing ecosystem, and there are a lot of things here that aren’t anywhere else,” he says. “There needs to be concern about protecting what we do have that’s valuable and making sure it stays around, and growing and prospering as a city but not doing it in a detrimental way to our environment.”

Originally from Pennsylvania, Barlas went to college in Maryland; though, he vacationed in Wilmington during youth. When he graduated he wanted to live near the beach, so he moved and even earned his MBA from UNCW. Today, it’s helping him realize his dream.

“It’s been important from the beginning to be involved with the community,” Barlas says. “I love brewing beer, and the craft-beer scene is so collaborative. It’s a very cool industry to be a part of, but it’s also important to me for the business to be a beneficial part of the community.”

All of the street parking surrounding Flytrap is non-metered, a plus for any downtown location. The pub will have its own parking lot as well, to which Barlas has invited local food trucks to gather during operating hours. He’s been in talks with area restaurants to host special features, such as a dedicated sushi night. The tap room will house tables and

IMBIBE games, too. “I’m working on locating a game called ‘shuffle bowling,’” he explains. “It’s like shuffleboard, but there are pins involved. I’ll try to make it comfortable, including free WiFi and places to plug-in so guests can hang out.”

Wilmington Brewing Company 824 S. Kerr Ave. John and Michelle Savard have become stewards for Wilmington’s sudsy scene since March 2012. John, who worked at Craggie Brewing Company since his freshman year at UNC Asheville, toured Europe’s renowned breweries with Michelle after their graduation. Returning to their native home, the couple opened Wilmington Homebrew Supply as a way to create jobs for themselves in a niche that was lacking.

“Everyone was drinking craft beer in Asheville,” John recalls. “When I was working at a brewery, I kept thinking, This is what I would do differently. We moved here, and there wasn’t a shop for homebrewers. We

“I’ll brew one batch and you’ll have to come and get it before it’s gone forever. I’m still finalizing the actual lineup and naming but it will feature a blend of Belgian-style and American ales.” —Mike Barlas, Flytrap Brewing

MAY - AUGUST, 2014 | DEVOUR 29

IMBIBE went for it and lucked out. We’re way more successful than we thought we were going to be thanks to Wilmington just absorbing it.”

In fact, the Savards doubled their inventory within three months. John says despite pondering the prospect of owning his own brewery, he never thought it was actually going to happen—or that it would happen this quickly. By saving every penny of profit from the homebrew store—and living just off of Michelle’s salary from another job—by November 2013 the Savards bought most of the brewing tanks for what would become Wilmington Brewing Company (WBC). It took nine months for the duo to find a location suited for a brewery. “A realtor told me, ‘You’re looking for something that doesn’t exist,’” Michelle mused.

They needed a space that was zoned correctly, and featured room for a shop, a separate space for a tap room and for a brewhouse.

About a mile from their original homebrew store, the couple stumbled upon 824 S. Kerr Avenue, a warehouse behind Harris Teeter and Dicks Sporting Goods. The Savards contacted the owner, who was using the space for storage, and they worked out an incremental 18-year lease as soon as possible.

Working on construction since October, the couple hopes to open the new business in May. “The only thing is we have to be completely permitted to do anything,” John cautions.

The new digs will up the size from 950 square feet to 11,800. Even with a new shop and tap room, there will be space leftover for WBC to grow.

“Ideally we’d like to turn it into an event space,” Michelle notes. “For now we can host yard games inside, or show football. If we find we need more beer, we can use it for that.”

They want to host a beer garden, sheltered between the brewery and an expanse of forest, out back. “It’s like a German-style outdoor beer hall,” John says. “It’ll be a bunch of pergolas and picnic tables. We are going to grow hops out here, but we aren’t going to harvest them.”

Currently the plan is to host 15 taps: nine dedicated to WBC and the rest for guests. A good friend, who may become the assistant brewer for the company, will have a rotating experimental tap solely to himself.

Homebrewers may even get to brew their own recipes in-house after a sampling by the Savards. John’s imperial IPA will be a regular draft, as well as an extra pale ale, and perhaps an English mild. The couple hasn’t yet agreed on the style for an expected saison and stout. They just want their brews to be far-reaching.

“We’re trying to have drinkable beers,” John tells. “All of our beers are not going to be 10-percent ABV, but we will do some weird beers.

We have eight sour tanks; it will take a year for some of them to become drinkable; they just take so long to mature.”

Additionally, the homebrew shop will continue its Saturday demo class.

They’ll also do a larger 10-gallon batch which will be tapped siz weeks later in what they call a “firkin.” A firkin is a small cask that will hold 80 pints, and the beer will be available one day only.

“It’s like a keg you turn on its side, and you can fill it from the side,” John says. “You put sugar in it and it carbonates naturally inside the keg.

Then you put it on top of the bar in a bunch of ice, and you tap it with a spigot and a wooden mallet. It’s really old school.”

Any beer made by the Savards likely will be featured in a recipe book.

“So you can taste the beer, see what’s in it, see the process, and if you want to brew it, you can get the ingredients and make the same beer at your house—full transparency,” John shares.

“I’m excited about that, because I feel like we’ve kind of evolved into that from the beginning,” Michelle says.

John and friends have been in construction mode at the new digs while Michelle holds down the fort at the old shop. Wood repurposed from other areas of the building was used to make the store’s counter, while a friend’s extra oak flooring serves as the front of the counter. All of the display shelves are built from 2x4s and plywood—cost effective but

30 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

beautiful with a rustic appeal. “We have buddies, customers who have become good friends of ours, who come every single Sunday to hang out and help with construction,” John reveals.

Even local artist Erin Hinson, who has experience with set design at Screen Gems, painted their logo on the front of the building. Her husband is a homebrewer and friend of the Savards. “We’re actually getting more business [at the old store] because people didn’t know we were there until they saw the sign in our new location and Google’d us,” John quips. “Two years in, they’re still finding us.”

Good Vibes Brewing Company 115 N. Second Street • Downtown Founded in the summer of 2010 by Paige Snow and head brewmaster Ethan Hall, Good Vibes is not a brewing company, but they have had beer made and distributed throughout the Carolinas by way of contract brewing. In the past four years they have worked through Thomas Creek Brewery in Greenville, SC, as well as Natty Greene’s in Greensboro, NC, and as of late through Beer Army in New Bern.

“Beer Army was doing beer festivals the year after we started ours,” Snow tells. “We had a good relationship, and they ended up finding the funding to set up a brewery before we did. They leased Ethan’s equipment from [his now-defunct] Azalea Coast Brewing for three years. Part of the deal was they’d help us continue keeping beer on the market.”

While outputting 30 barrels per month through distributor R.A. Jeffreys, folks in the area got a taste of Good Vibes’ double IPA, The Experience, which was the first beer they ever made. While Orange Kush was supposed to be a summer seasonal, the citrus-laden pale ale became a fan favorite, and now it’s a part of the regular line-up.

Though Good Vibes will keep their contracts brewing outside of Wilmington, soon they’ll have a home downtown to call their own. Conveniently positioned across from the Second Street Parking Deck, folks can visit 115 N. Second Street for a pint of the good stuff this summer.

“I think for this region we might’ve been ahead of the curve because it was really only in the past couple years that craft beer hit this area,” Paige concedes. “I’d like to think we helped bring that to Wilmington.”

In the two-story building, Good Vibes will have 20-barrel fermentation tanks. Upon filling them, they’ll churn out 60 barrels every two weeks. “That puts us at about 120 barrels per month,” Snow explains. “In comparison, Front Street only has 100 barrels per month.

When we open, we’ll have room to add four more tanks, so that will put us at huge numbers.”

Good Vibes’ goal is to be the largest manufacturer of beer in Wilmington. They already have a signature to delineate them from the bunch.

“We want people to recognize our glass-blown tap handles across the state,” Snow says, “and associate it with their trip to Wilmington. There’s nobody else who’s ready to be that, so we’re stepping up and saying, we get to be that brewery. That’s us.”

Those who visit the brewery in town will note two very different levels.

On the bottom floor, the brewery itself will be the focus, amongst reclaimed windows from the Masonic Temple building, as well as salvaged marble for windowsills.

“There will be a 42-inch wall that separates the brewing equipment from the bar, so you can actually sit and watch the brewing being done,” Snow notes. “There will be no glass—I want you to be in it. You will feel like you’re in a brewery.”

Upstairs, local art, reclaimed mantels, comfortable seating and beer aging in barrels from Trey Herring’s Carolina Bourbon will give the feel of a lounge. “In 1925 when the building was built, it was a Dodge dealership,” Snow informs. “The second floor was actually the garage. Downstairs was the showroom. So the flooring they pulled from here was three boards deep, criss-crossed. They have all the character; there are still oil stains. So we’re reclaiming and using that in a lot of trim work and into the making of bars.”

The upstairs bar will feature 30 taps that spout off eight or so of Good Vibes’ cold ones, certainly including Orange Kush—which will be made into 16-ounce cans at Thomas Creek to be sold at the brewery. They’ll

IMBIBE

“I think for this region we might’ve been ahead of the curve, because it was really only in the past couple years that craft beer hit this area. I’d like to think we helped bring that to Wilmington..” —Ethan Hall and Paige Snow, Good Vibes Brewing Company likely bring back The Experience, too.

“We’ve got a whole list of new ideas that we haven’t put on the market yet, like Shakedown Brown,” Snow says. “It’s actually a Northern brown ale brewed with hemp nuts. We’ve got a Scottish ale, a doppel, and our bourbon-barrel-aged beers. As that happens, we’ll constantly be evolving and making new beers.”

Hall says he’s located tequila and rum barrels online that he would like to experiment with, too. What started as a kitchen table conversation between the entreprenuers a half a decade ago doesn’t feel real.

“We had absolutely no money going into it, just a lot of blood, sweat, tears and energy for the first couple years,” Snow reveals. “It ain’t real yet. I’ve walked through this building a million times and I’ve seen stuff happening. I don’t know when it will hit me. When I see a big sign on the front, and we have people sitting in here having beer, that’s when it gets real.”

Broomtail Craft Brewery Dutch Sqaure Industrial Park • 6404 Amsterdam Way, Ste. 100 (Cover Photo) Barry and Lisa Owings describe their latest endeavor, Broomtail Craft Brewery, as their love and not just their livelihood. While they’ve become friends with other local brewers, who are in their 30s, the Owings are at a different stage in life. They have a 21-year-old daughter at NC State. “We can do this as we want,” Barry, the brewmaster, assures.

Named for the Owings’ love of horses, Broomtail will be the first of the four tap rooms to open in coming weeks. The couple already was brewing its first batch of beer in late March—an Acerbic IPA. They brewed the second batch on April 5th and will probably open in May. Though they’ll only feature two beers, Barry can’t wait another month to start on his next concoction. On the early lineup will be Moe Beer, a hoppy brown ale named after the Owings’ dog, Moses. Shortly thereafter, the tap room’s four flagships will be rounded off by Ares, a single-hop pale ale, using Zeus hops, and a blond ale. Two more taps will be dedicated

to off-the-wall experiments—ideas offered up by CEO Lisa and carried out by Barry in recipes. Flavors such as candy apple, strawberry shortcake, pomegranate and creme brûlée have been on the drawing board. “That’s the cool thing about craft beer: There are infinite styles and flavors,” Lisa muses. “That’s what’s going to be so fun about this.”

The final three taps within Broomtail’s pub will be featured drafts from Flytrap Brewing, Good Vibes Brewing Company, and Wilmington Brewing Company, all slated to open shortly after Broomtail Operating on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only, Broomtail will make local distribution its focus.

“As long as we can self-distribute at restaurants and bars, we will,” Barry tells. “That’s just a little bit of profit we don’t have to share with somebody else. Carolina Beach and Southport are probably as far as we’ll go for now. We feel pretty confident, but we’ll max that system out at probably 35 or 40 small sixtel kegs a week, so we won’t over-commit.”

Barry’s affinity for perfection affords him the confidence in his beers’ success. He will use water that’s purified in-house. “My science background makes me like that, so my water and my brew methods are going to be the same every time,” he says. His process includes one day’s work making the wort before it transfers into the fermenter for a couple of weeks, then into a conditioning tank. The conditioning tank is a step Barry says most people skip.

“It’s called ‘fining,’ where the solids settle out,” Barry says. “Our beers are crystal clear—you’ll think they’re filtered but they’re not. Most people would do it in the fermenter, but I like to get the beer really clear, so I let it fine for a week by chilling it down to 35 degrees, so everything will settle out. Then we’ll decant the beer off of one line for the next stage and dump the solids. It goes into the bright tank for carbonation, and then into kegs for the front pub or out to local bars.”

Broomtail was one of the first of the four to open in Wilmington. In fact, when the Owings approached the county about a brewery, they were met with some confusion. “The county acted like they didn’t know what to tell me,” Barry says. “A lady looked everything up and said it has to be zoned industrial; that’s the main thing. So she said, ‘These are the areas that you can pick, these industrial parks.’ Lisa and I drove all around.”

“We took a sheet that was highlighted with all the areas,” Lisa adds. “I told Barry I really wanted to be in the [north Wilmington area], as we live off Middle Sound Loop. It’s a great location for us. It fit what we needed.”

The space, which used to house offices, came with white walls and blue commercial carpeting. The couple removed doors, laid down hardwood floors and crafted all the molding. “Last summer was spent sweating and painting and scraping,” Lisa muses.

Lagunitas, one of Barry’s favorite breweries, is located in an industrial park out west, too. “People will go wherever for good beer,” the brewmaster notes.

Once all four beers are ready to go, Broomtail will offer flights in their tap room at the same price as a pint. They’ll also offer growlers; the pub is also licensed to carry wine.

“We’re excited about the camaraderie with the other breweries opening,” Lisa shares. “It would be nice for Wilmington to be known as Asheville is. It’s a good tourist draw, and we’re at the beach—plus there’s the river. It’s the perfect environment.”

MAY - AUGUST, 2014 | DEVOUR 31

TO

READ! Cookbooks and other reviews

Devouring Everyday Staples: A few book reviews that expose common items found in the kitchen

BY Gwenyfar Rohler ● Devour columnist, freelance writer and business owner of Old Books on Front Street Sugar Salt Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us

By Michael Moss Random House, 2013

I assumed that once I read “Salt Sugar Fat” I would stop eating everything that I love because it would gross me out too much. So, I was really surprised that while reading the book I actually found myself craving the food Moss described. His access to people willing to discuss their work, past and present, stuns. He has truly built a stable of inside sources that make the food industry of the last 80 years in America pulse, breathe and sometimes scream on the page. The deep conflict between knowledge for the sake of knowledge, and the actual ramifications of their work that many of the scientists and even industry pros express is gratifying even if saddening.

Is it disturbing to know just how easily we and our food supply are both manipulated purely for profit?

Outrage aside, it is also incredibly interesting to learn the history of “The Cereal Wars,” the impact of the tobacco lawsuits on food corporations, the targeted and intentional demise of home economics in our schools, and the development of products that are such staples in our lives. For instance, let’s take cheese— something as a processed food, when, in fact, it’s actively manipulated by the food giants. Though sodas are covered under the “sugar” section, they could, in fact, warrant an entire book themselves, and I would be surprised if Moss did not pursue that further.

He has a wonderful narrative voice that makes the book move along at a fast and captivating pace, while still managing to pack an incredible amount of information on each page. In addition, he explains the science and chemistry in terms that are “liberal arts-major friendly.”

I don’t have a child in my life to feed and prepare school lunches for, but the information of marketing to not just children but to parents astounds. Advertising aimed at children has been a top32 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

ic for discussion since the ‘70s, but the manipulative marketing aimed at parents regarding children’s food is really eye-opening.

If anything this book is surprising and fascinating, I highly recommend it before the next trip you take to the grocery store.

Perhaps the most surprising part of the book was the salt portion. Any home-baker knows that a tiny addition of salt to a recipe (like bread or cookie dough) catapults the flavor. But why?

Reading the scientific explanation of the way our body registers a salty taste might be one of the most fascinating and surprising

FEATURE realizations.

Equally interesting, but much more frightening, is the information about the commodity giant Cargill, and their ability to manipulate food consumers across the world to meet the needs of their profit streams. Cargill needs to sell more salt? We will eat more salt. They have a replacement for sodium? We will eat that instead. Campbell Soups’ refusal to kowtow to the “sodium reduction” demands of, among others, Mayor Bloomberg, fascinates. Anyone pondering how science and big business intersect need look no further. This is an industry where the scientists do the bidding of business, but business is dependent upon the

constraints of the laboratory to meet their demands.

I did expect this book to motivate me even more to embrace “farm to table” practices of cooking with real food from real farms. But I was surprised at how compelling the writing and arguments were. In the fat section, where the gross-out factor could have been an easy crutch to lean on to convert his audience to his thesis, Moss demonstrates that the real story is far more convincing than the sensory response.

If you have any curiosity about how any part of our food chain works from framers to packagers to grocery stores, this is the book to answer all questions.

TASTY LEFTOVERS Books we love to indulge in again and again!

Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How it Transformed the World

By Mark Pendergrast Basic Books, 2010

Everyone’s favorite addiction captured between the covers! Given the prominence that coffee has in my daily life, this seemed like a required read. It turned out to be thorough but also a little dry and textbook like. Is it a bad sign that I needed a cup of coffee while reading it— not because it evoked the aromas and flavors of coffee, but because I needed a little help concentrating? Still, it was illuminating to really understand the history of this plant/ beverage and the impact it has had on world economics—not just recently with the Fair Trade Movement—but for the last 200-plus years. The complicated world of growing, harvesting, and processing coffee—all of which happens before it hits the world market—will change the way that steaming mug of brown liquid is viewed.

It actually made a great companion volume to “Salt Sugar Fat.” Both books deal with the addictive nature of food, and the incredible efforts spent perfecting and marketing our comestibles. Maxwell House, Folgers, Kellogg’s and Post all get plenty of page-space in both books, but from different angles. These books perfectly complement each other.

Bringing It to the Table: On Farming and Food

By Wendell Berry Counterpoint Press, 2009

“Bringing It to the Table” is a wonderful collection of Berry’s essays and short fiction about farming and food from 40 years of his writing life. It also includes the time he has tended his family farm in Kentucky.

This is, perhaps, the book that brings the other two books full-circle.

Berry began addressing the links between the oil industry and farming years before anyone else was writing about the topic. It is fascinating to see how his mind has ticked over on the topics continually for so long. If anything this collection illustrates his own maturation. “In Let the Farm Judge” (1997), the process of finding and cultivating the sheep most suited to his particular farm is dissected and reviewed as a vehicle to discuss the dangers of national mono-croping of plants and animals. “A Defense of the Family Farm” (1986) is an almost Jane-Jacobs-like look at rural America, and how to think about long-term planning, so the rural communities are more livable—rather than geared at management and production.

For fans of Berry, it is a wonderful collection of his writing. For those not familiar with his work, but curious about the real issues facing farmers in America, there could few better introductions than this book. —Gwenyfar Rohler

MAY - AUGUST, 2014 | DEVOUR 33

Self-Sustaining

Growing and eating bioenergetic food

BY Evan Folds � Devour contributor and owner of Progressive Gardens, www.progressivegardens.com Life is alive. That sounds totally obvious, but ponder for a moment: What is it that actually makes life alive? This isn’t a riddle; this is serious stuff. All witchcraft and woo woo aside, most everyone would agree that there is more to life than what is physically here. This may not be news to most, but rarely do we apply this knowledge in the garden or the food we eat in any sort of practical way.

The great Viktor Schauberger provides some insight into this idea when he observed how much time we spend thinking about how an apple fell and hit Newton on his head when he first considered gravity but relatively no time addressing how the apple got up there in the first place.

Graphic by Kyle Peeler 34 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

FEATURE The force of levity—or life force—is The life force of food is not even the autism spectrum. New data from simply not considered in the equation March 2014 reveals that the number is of humans and their surroundings. close to the conversation happen- now one in 68—a 30 percent increase The scientific method is based on in only two years. It was one in 10,000 repetition when Mother Nature rarely ing in mainstream food production. in 1950. Shocking. repeats herself. People are taught in The cynic will throw the baby out ways that are opposite the mechawith the bath water here, but those Food is no longer a vitamin. nisms of the natural world and never of genuine curiosity will recognize asked to imagine the consequences. that some of the great minds of the past did not spend their lives Food is grown for shelf life and yield. The way the USDA sub- researching these concepts for nothing. Schauberger was known sidy program is set up we actually actively incentivize farmers to as the “Water Wizard” and championed the concept of implosive grow crops, like corn or soybeans, that cost more than they can energy. He made many inventions that capitalized on the regenbe sold for on the market. And most of these are for meat from erative forces of implosion, most of which are unknown to the animals. The result of this completely misguided approach to public, having been swallowed by the US government before he growing food is that the life force of food is not even close to the died. Rudolf Steiner was a spiritual scientist that created the Bioconversation happening in mainstream food production. Food is Dynamic method of agriculture in 1924 when he delivered a series no longer a vitamin. of lectures in response to the requests of farmers now known as The country can thank Richard Nixon’s Agriculture Secretary Earl “The Agriculture Course” that represented the very first reaction Butz and his assault on agriculture for the foolish farm bill, but the to chemical farming. Wilhelm Reich discovered the bion and Nikola issue also holds a strong personal layer. It is no longer enough to Tesla the secrets of free energy. The list goes on. complain about lacking access to thriving foods when personal susPeople have developed a means of communicating and working tainability is within reach. with these concepts from a platform called “bioenergetic agriculThe most obvious solution is to plant one’s own food. It has been ture.” The concept is that living systems retain a physical, mineral, proven that a family can nourish themselves on as little as a quar- biological, and energetic component. Not addressing all of them ter of an acre. There are even Community Supported Agriculture means the potential of the system is not being maximized.

(CSA) and food lawn programs in the area for those that want to Conventional agriculture is physical and mineral: plowing and take part but have no time to farm themselves. Even people who fertilizing. Organic agriculture begins to incorporate the biological choose to not take an active part can use buying power to encour- component. Both methods of growing completely ignore the enerage the food market. getic element of life. Think of it this way: Conventional growing is Or how about growing sprouts or microgreens? They are packed drowning, organics is treading water, and bioenergetic growing is full of nourishment and are typically served alive or from a micro- swimming where you want to go. local farmer due to spoilage issues. Or wheatgrass: It is estimated The subtle energies that act as the glue to physical reality are that one ounce of juice packs the nutritional punch of two and a taken for granted mostly because they cannot be seen, but they exist in the same way that stars exist in the sky on a sunny day. half pounds of vegetables. Now that is potency!

In fact, in the wheatgrass world there is actually a name for the They can be measured through techniques, such as dowsing, chroqualitative benefits of living food. It’s called the “grass juice fac- matography or kirlian photography; however, these techniques are tor,” and essentially it says that it is not one individual ingredient not accepted by modern popular science.

They can certainly be enjoyed in the garden and at the dinner that creates the therapeutic effect, but the synergy of living ingredients working together. The moral of the story is that one should table. The realm of subtle energies is the new frontier of farming not try and rip things apart to find the truth, as the forest cannot and can just as easily be experienced in the home garden. The be seen from the trees. concepts of vortexing, resonance, implosion, homeopathy, potenWith modern diets, it’s difficult to even pinpoint a facet that con- tization, vibration, and frequency will make more sense once they tains living food. Food begins to break down and lose life force are experienced. Once someone has experienced them, there is within fifteen minutes of harvesting. Even the apple from the gro- no going back. cery store can be over a year old when you eat it. This doesn’t The real question is not who is right or wrong, but what is the make old food bad for you, just not as good. industry missing by having small minds overlook these fascinating Admittedly, discussing life force is a difficult subject. We are not and profound subjects. Why is the modern world not learning how collectively comfortable with the idea of energy or vibration being to vortex field sprays and researching the inventions of Nikola Tesla so influential on plants and living systems. We are much more con- in grade school?

I didn’t believe any of this myself before I experienced it. I have tent believing that life is static and composed of only what is physical, replicable and can be measured. But life doesn’t work that way. finally reached a point in all of my passion for this subject that I am The more a person aims to “prove,” the more backed into a corner not concerned with trying to convince people. I’m content enjoying they become; thus, the more burden of proof we must carry. So these secrets on my own, spreading the love, and letting people either some really connected and hip people are completely wast- take it for what it is worth. Besides, such principles and techniques ing their time, or the majority of the population is too stubborn to have been utilized by countless civilizations across time, and have engage an idea that is outside of the box they have been handed. a much longer track record than we do with the short 100-year The world is growing near a point where it’s clear the current experiment with artificial agriculture and food science.

The point is: If you apply the static scientific method to a dytrajectory of the food industry is wrong.The way people farm and eat is no longer acceptable or sufficient to support our lifestyle. namic reality, you are always going to end up using science to unFor instance, autism is an affliction where antibodies attack the dermine the value of the wholistic system. But it is a choice. Think brain; essentially, the human body is becoming so toxic it attacks it- about it and let’s put will into action.

What we think, we grow. self. The CDC reported two years ago there were one in 88 kids on

MAY - AUGUST, 2014 | DEVOUR 35

sophisticated food...casual style

Grow Your Own!!

PROGRESSIVE

GARDENS

AS K US AB O UT FO O D LA W N S!

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36 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

✓ Grow Lights & Hydroponic Supplies ✓ Indoor & Outdoor Greenhouses Try Compo ✓ Worms & Composting Supplies st Tea ✓ Organic Seeds, Soils & Fertilizers FRE ✓ Wheatgrass & Sprouting Supplies E ✓ Ladybug & Beneficial Insects ✓ Aquaponics & Homesteading Supplies ✓ Rain Barrels, Science Projects & MUCH MORE!! “ Been eyeballing this place for months, finally stopped in today and was amazed. Any person who even so much as has one house plant must visit this shop!” - LeeAnne B.

6005 Oleander Dr. • 910.395.1156 www.ProgressiveGardens.com

OPEN: Mon-Fri: 10am-6pm Sat: 11am-5pm • Sun: 11am – 3pm

C hoice Indulgences Culinary calendar of events

~events & happenings~ NC BLUEBERRY FESTIVAL Celebrate the historic, economic and cultural significance of blueberries in the southeastern region of our state. Entertainment and artisans nestled around the courthouse square. Antique cars line the streets of Burgaw; food vendors , one of a kind arts and crafts and blueberries! More than 20 events ranging from the street fair to a recipe contest, barbeque cook-off, a 5K run, special exhibits and more. Fri, 6/20 - Sat., 6/21, 9am-9pm. Pender County Courthouse Square, Burgaw, NC. 910-259-4844. www.ncblueberryfestival.com

MOTHER'S DAY BRUNCH 5/11, noon: Celebrate Mother’s Day at TheatreNOW, 19 S. 10th Street, with Brazillian jazz from Lee Venters and Vermillion Sands.

A plated three-cousre will will be served. Tickets are $15-$20.

CAROLINA STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL Carolina Strawberry Festival— Held 5/9-5/10, the event offers music, food and fun. There will be a BBQ cookoff, nearly 100 strawberry vendors, a beer and wine garden, and much more!

When visitors aren’t enjoying the festival’s delectibles, they can enjoy the beauty pageant, car show, and carnival rides and games. As well, a 5k run/walk will take place at 7:30am on 5/10.

Race registration is $30 and proceeds benefit the athletic program at Wallace Elementary School. Event takes place in on Main Street in Wallace, NC. Contact Curt Simpson at (910) 290-2194 or curt.simpson@gmail.com. www.carolinastrawberryfestival.com.

LOBSTER FEST For 30 years now, the Church of the Servant has been holding an annual Lobster Fest. People can order their lobsters in advance for carryout, or to dine-in at the church’s newly expanded lobster shack. They even crack open the lobsters. For those planning to host a lobster party, free delivery comes with an order of 10 or more lobsters. Averaging 1.25 pounds, the fresh Atlantic lobsters are available live ($19) or cooked ($21). There are also two meal selections: cooked lobster, cole slaw, corn on the cob and a roll ($24) or add sausage and new potatoes for the COS Boil ($25).

SPRING FLEA AT BAC The Spring Flea hosted by the Brooklyn Arts Center, 516 North 4th Street, will feature a plethora of vendors with vintage, retro, or upcycled goods. As well, the event will boast some of the finest foodtrucks. One can also enjoy the courtyard coffee shop and cash bar. 6/6-8, Admission is $5. Contact Rich Rich Leder at (910) 538-2939 or rich@brooklynartsnc.com. www.brooklynartsnc.com

CAPE FEAR BBQ FESTIVAL 6/7-8, 9am-6pm; 9am-5pm: BBQ and Festival lovers should indulge in the first annual Cape Fear BBQ Festival at Old River Farms, 8711 Old River Road, Burgaw, NC. Throughout the event there will be a BBQ cookoff, an antique truck and tractor display, arts and crafts, commercial vendors, plants and flowers, a children’s entertainment zone and lots of good old Southern BBQ. The Imitations will perform. Nate Gordon will play bluegrass and Southern gospel. The gate entry fee is $5 a car, truck or buggy load. Learn more details at www.capefearbbqfestival.com.

ST. NICHOLAS GREEK FESTIVAL Since 1992, the annual Greek Festival has been holding their annual cultural celebration. Serving items such as Greek pizza, dolmathes, Spanakopita, Greek roast leg of lamb, and more to choose from, all proceeds benefit the Good Shepherd Center.

Each year nearly 20,000 people pour into St. Nicholas Orthodox Church at 608 S. College Rd. The event will be held on 5/16-17 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and on 5/18 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information head over to www.stnicholasgreekfest.com.

HOMESTEAD FARM DINNER Fri. 5/7, 4:30pm: Home to the Burket Family, Greenlands Farm, 668 Midway Road SE, in Bolivia, NC will host a dinner that begins with hors d’oeuvres, and a farm tour that showcases vegetables, flocks and herds. The farm chef will prepare an heirloom dinner from select farm ingredients including some products from other local farmers and fishers. As well, there will be evening wines choMAY - AUGUST, 2014 | DEVOUR 37

sen by a local wine connoisseur based on the chef’s creations.

The evening will end with with a hay ride to the farm store. Sat., 6/28 at 4pm: An opportunity for the kiddies to collect eggs, pick veggies, and eat them as part of a special two-course dinner. Kids will be able to meet rescued farm animals, take a farm tour, and go on a hay ride. (910) 253-7934. info@greenlandsfarmstore.info. www.greenlandsfarmstore.info.

NC FOURTH OF JULY FESTIVAL Held 6/28-7/4, the event will offer entertainment abound. Located in Downtown Southport on Nash and Howe Streets there will be arts & crafts, a parade, 5K run, food, live entertainment, children’s games, naturalization ceremony, fireworks, and more.

Contact Megan Canny at (910) 457-6964 or events@southportoakisland.com. A full list of events can be found at www.nc4thofjuly.com.

~classes & workshops~ SERVSAFE ServSafe Food Safety Certification classes; 5/12, 5/13. All classes are from 8am-5pm. Held at the Wilmington-Courtyard Downtown, 229 N 2nd St. Call 704-574-8112, or email, servsafe@raisethe-grade.com. to reserve your seat. Prices range from $99-$179.

CAPE FEAR WINE AND FOOD CLUB Cape Fear Wine and Food Club (memberships $15/year) classes/ demonstrations include a generous portion of the menu items and wine pairing samples for adults. Takes place at Seasoned Gourmet, 1930 Eastwood Rd. • 5/9, 6:30pm: Date Night: Spring Wing Fling $90/couple. Learn to make wings with four seasonings: spicy dry-rubbed piri piri; Southern BBQ style; salt-free garlic sesame herb; and simple lemon pepper. • 5/11, 2pm: Lobster Heaven with Susan Boyles $45. Learn to prepare butter-poached lobster tail; grilled lobster tail served caribbean-Style with a pineapple pepper relish; and whole lobster boiled, shocked, shelled, and lightly dressed with mayo, herbs, and lemon for a Mainestyle lobster roll. • 5/14, 6:30pm: Chef Keith Rhodes from Catch and Phun Restaurants $45. Demonstrations by local chef Keith Rhodes. • 5/20, 6:30pm: “A Taste of Sicily” with Sheri Withorn of Ararat Imports $45. Feat. six different wines served with six different meals prepared in the demonstration kitchen. • 5/31, 11am: Gourmet Picnic with Susan Boyles $40. Make fun summer dishes for travel: easy tomato gazpacho with herb garlic oil; semi-homemade muffaletta wraps; curried mango chicken salad; mixed-herb pesto potato sala; and semi-homemade cheesecake cookie sandwiches. • 6/7, 2pm: Mile High Mushroom Quiche Free. Susan Boyles will show how to make a tasty quiche. • 6/11, 6:30pm: Demos by Chef Keith Rhodes from Catch and Phun restaurants $45. • 6/13:, 6:30pm: Date Night: Bigger, Better Burgers $90/couple. Learn how to make anything from turkey-apple burgers to Angus beef burgers. • 6/14, 11am: Master of the Grill with Susan Boyles $45. Part hands-on and part demo, learn to make appetizers using radishes and a juicy butterfield chicken with a signature Deep South dry rub. • 6/17, 6:30pm: Thai One On with Linda Issitt $45. Linda gives insights on some tasty Thai dishes.

• 6/19, 6:30pm: A Classy Event: Mexi-Cali Feast $40. Eat and take-home the recipes of some of Susan Boyles’ favorite Southern California cuisines. • 6/25, 6:30pm: A Fishy Celebration with Susan Boyles $45. Learn creative twists on local seafood dishes.

• 6/28, noon: Sushi 101 with Linda Issitt $45. Get hands on experience in the art of sushi. • 7/9, 6:30pm: Wok Like This with Linda Issitt $50. Issitt demonstrates how to prepare food without losing nutritional value. • 7/15, 6:30pm: “A Taste of Spain” with Mike Summerlin of Grapevine of NC $45. Food and wine-pairing 38 DEVOUR | MAY - AUGUST, 2014

demo, utilizing six different wines, coupled with cuisine from the region it’s made.

~tastings & things~ DUPLIN WINERY 5/9, 5-8pm: Club PickUp Party $20. Club members are invited to pick up wine and enjoy live music and hors de ’oeuvres. • 5/10,10am-2pm: Ann’s Art Class: Mother’s Day Craft $40. Craft a special gift for Mother’s Day with resident artist Ann Farrior while enjoying a glass of wine and lunch from their bistro. • 6/7, 4-8pm: Club Member Scavenger Hunt: Beaufort, NC $15. A treasure hunt for Duplin’s loyal members. • 7/12: 5-9pm: Exclusive Wine & Food Pairing $50. A special wine and food pairing dinner with live Jazz music. • 7/26, 3:30-9pm: Murder Mystery $55. Enjoy a wine tour and dinner, while trying to solve a murder.

SILVER COAST WINERY 5:30-9:30pm: Wine and beer tasting every Friday night, $4 a smaple. • Every Tues., 6-9pm: Open Mic night in the Southport Tasting Room. • Featured through 6/1: the Silver Coast Winery Artists Without Boarders work. • 5/8-12, 6pm: Strawberry Wine Fest $5. Enjoy wine tastings, strawberrys, craft vendors, and more. • 5/29-31: Wine Tour $519-$612. Private tours and tastings featuring selections from Childress, Raylen, Westbend, and Duplin wineries.

WILMINGTON WINE SHOP Join us to sample five new delicious wines we’ve brought in just for our customers during Free Friday Wine Tasting, 5-8pm. Have a bottle or glass of your favorite with friends afterwards in our cozy shop or on the back deck. And beer lovers don’t fret, we’ve got a fridge full of craft and micro-brews. 605 Castle St. 910-2024749. www.wilmingtonwine.net.

NONI BACCA WINERY Noni Baca Wine Tasting Room is open seven days a week, offering wine tasting, wine by the glass or bottle. Sample some of our International, award-winning wines! Mon-Sat 10am-9pm; Sun, noon-5pm. • Thursday, 7pm: Good friends and customers gather to socialize, enjoy great wine, cold beer and music. Friday and Saturday bar specials.

RED BANK WINE Red Bank’s wine of the week, Fri., 4-6pm. 1001 International Dr. 910-256-9480.

FORTUNATE GLASS Free Wine Tasting, Tues. 6-8 p.m. • Sparkling Wine Specials & Discounted Select Bottles, Wed. & Thurs. • Monthly Food & Wine Pairing Events. 29 South Front St.

WEEKLY WINE & BEER TASTING Come out to Fermental, 7250 Market St., every Friday night to start you weekend off right. Live music and samples of your favorite craft beers and fine wines every week beginning at 6pm. Free.

CAPE FEAR WINE AND BEER Mon Flight Night: $18 for nine 4 oz. samples of local, nationallyrenowned & international brews. Also, Massage Monday: $10 for a ten-minute shift with our licensed, registered therapist Josh Lentz. • Tues., DIY Trivia with our host Greg Jaeger. Prizes include beer from us and gift certificates from AzioMedia and Memory Lane Comics. 9 PM. $1 off all glasses of wine, ciders, and mead.

• Wed: YouTube Video Competition. Submit the wackiest, funniest, zaniest video & win a bomber of beer & a Chop’s Deli sandwich! Hosted by Captain Video. 9pm; select $10 pitchers. • Thurs:

Beer Infusement Thursday. Come see what ingredients Randall the Enamel Animal is enhancing upon delicious beer. 9pm. Also, Thrifty Thursday: select $3 bottles and $1 off select draft. • Fri.: Bartender’s pick. You never know what you’re gonna get! • Sat.: Think local, drink local. $1 off all bottled NC beers. • Sun: Beer Church Purchase select beer and keep your glass for free. 139 N. Front St.

THE WINE SAMPLER Every week we have five wines available to taste during sampling hours, Thurs., 3-8 pm, Fri., 3-8pm, and Sat., 11am-7pm. Each week we arrange a set of five wines, for which we offer a 10% discount as well toward purchase. 4107-C Oleander Dr. (910) 796-WINE (9463). thewinesampler.com

cruises, site seeing tours and a Wednesday Sunset Dinner Cruise June-Aug. On the riverfront. • April-Oct: Narrated sightseeing cruises 2:30pm 1-1/2 hours Tues., Thurs., Sat., and Sun., Narrated lunch cruises noon 1-1/2 hours Tues., Thurs., Sat. • May-Oct: Murder Mystery Dinner Cruises, Tuesday evening 2 hours 6:30 pm • May-Sept.: Black Water Sunset Cruise 2 hours 5:30pm; Apr-Dec: Friday evening dinner cruises 2-1/2 hours 6pm, 343-1611. cfrboats.com

TASTING HISTORY TOURS Tasting History Tours of Pleasure Island; guided walking tours. through 5-6 restaruants. Tuesdays 3:30-6pm, $32.04 (including service fees), www.tastinghistorytours.com. Afternoon of delicious food and education. 910 350-8901.

WINE TASTING WEDNESDAYS

CULINARY ADVENTURES TOUR

Sweet N’ Savory Cafe, 1611 Pavillion Place, holds a weekly wine tasting. Attendees get $5 off every bottle of wine. Held each Wed. 5pm - 6:30pm. Free.

Eat your way through Wilmington’s food history and delights!

Culinary Adventures Tour with food writer/chef Liz Biro; under a mile, wear comfortable shoes. Top Chef Farmers Market Tour and Cooking Class, Heart of Downtown, Drinks Downtown, Downtown Brunch Stroll, Foodie Shopping Tour, Custom and special group tours and more! $25 and up. www.lizbiro.com.

910-545-8055

~markets & tours~ FARMERS’ MARKETS Fruits, vegetables, plants, herbs, flowers, eggs, cheese, meats, seafood, honey and more! Schedule: Poplar Grove, Wed, 8 am1pm. Aso features fresh baked goods, pickled okra, peanuts and handcrafted one-of-a-kind gifts such as jewelry, woodcrafts and pottery. Poplar Grove Plantation, 910-686-9518. bjryan@poplargrove.orgwww.poplargrove.com • Riverfront Farmers’ Market open on Water St., downtown, every Sat., 8am-1pm. Food, arts & craft vendors and live music. www.wilmingtondowntown.com/ farmers-market • Carolina Beach Farmer’s Market every Sat., 8am1pm, around the lake in Carolina Beach. Free parking is provided.

Vendors align the lake and an nflux of artists and crafters of all types; live music. www.carolinabeachfarmersmarket.com or email Janet Knott, carolinabeachfarmersmarket@gmail.com. • Wrightsville Beach Farmers’ Market: 21 Causeway Dr. Fresh NC-grown produce, seafood and other locally produced consumables. A variety of unique craft vendors have also been added to the market this year. Monday, 8am-1pm, beginning the first Monday in May and continuing through Labor Day. • Town of Leland Farmers’ Market: Located at Leland Town Hall, this market is open the third Sun. of each month, 12-5pm, through the month of Oct. This market is focused on local food and agricultural products.

• Oak Island Farmers’ Market, Mondays, 7am-1pm. Middletown Park, Oak Island • Southport Waterfront Market, Wednesdays, 8am-1pm, through 9/25. Garrison Lawn in Southport, NC. • St. James Plantation Farmers’ Market, Thurs., 4-7pm, at the Park at Woodlands Park Soccer Field.

~clubs & organizations~ FEAST DOWN EAST BUYING CLUB It costs nothing to join. The benefits are immeasurable. It is a great way to eat healthier, while knowing you support your local farm families and community. Start buying fresh local food, sourced from Southeastern NC farms. Choose a pick-up spot, and check out at the online cashier and you are done! FeastDownEast.org.

PORT CITY SWAPPERS Port City Swappers is a monthly food and beverage swap where members of a community share homemade, homegrown, or foraged foods with each other. Swaps allow direct trades to take place between attendees, e.g., a loaf of bread for a jar of pickles.

No cash is exchanged, and no goods are sold. Diversify your pantry and go home happy and inspired while meeting your neighbors! facebook.com/PortCitySwappers. 5/25, 6/29, 7/27

FOOD PANTRIES

Get a behind the scenes look at the Wilmington’s go-to spot for coffee, seeing how the coffee is grown, harvested, processed, and roasted. Tickets cost $20. To take place on Saturday, May 10th, and Saturday, June 14th, 9 a.m. www.portcityjava.com.

Good Shepherd House Soup Kitchen, 811 Martin St. Pantry Hours: 7am-4pm everyday • Mother Hubbards Cupboards, 211N 2nd St. (910)762-2199. MTWFS,1-3pm • Bread of Life Immaculate Conception Church, 6650 Carolina Beach Rd. (910)791-1003.

Never had a food pantry, used to give food to the homeless on Saturdays but not anymore. • Catholic Social Ministries, 4006 Princess Dr. (910) 251-8130. Tues-Fri., 9-11:30am • First Fruit Ministries, 2750 Vance St. (910) 612-9353. Tues/Sat, 11am-1pm; Wed,10am-2pm. • Bethany Presbyterian Church, 2237 Castle Hayne Rd. (910) 762-7824. Wed, 1pm-4pm, Meals on Wheels every third Sunday • New Covenant Holiness Church, 1020 Dawson St. (910)762-7376

FSB BREWERY TOUR

FOOD BANK OF NC

PORT CITY JAVA ROASTERY TOUR

Learn how Front Street Brewery brews their beer. Tours given daily, 3-5pm, with brewer Kevin Kozak and assistant brewer Christopher McGarvey; samples provided. Tours take place at 3pm, 3:45pm and 4:30pm. Simply sign up at the host stand; 9 N. Front Street.

HENRIETTA III CRUISES An elegant, 3 tiered boat offering sight-seeing, lunch and dinner

The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina is a non-profit organization that provides food to people at risk of hunger in 34 counties. Stop Summer Hunger (formerly Kids Summer Stock) is a community-wide food and funds drive held during June and July to provide the additional food needed to support these children and their families, as well as supporting summer meals programs. http://wilmington.foodbankcenc.org MAY - AUGUST, 2014 | DEVOUR 39

come home to casey’s

Family owned & operated by Larry & Gena Casey

5559 Oleander drive • 910.798.2913

Between Dogwood Lane & French Street, across from the batting cages.

40 DEVOUR |best MAY - AUGUST, 2014 voted buffet & soul food by encore magazine readers