Parked in the happening downtown of a small neighborhood suburb of Charlotte, NC (NC’s biggest city) is The String Bean, a delightful cafe and deli that can supply any wine, beer, meat, hummus, cheese need that you have in your life on any given night.
A friend of mine, with ties to the areas GG Boutique (right around the corner from The String Bean), took me here. She knew I loved local, healthy, fresh, different food. This place has it all.
We started with a cabernet and the hummus platter. Cabernet was a nice robust start with a sweet finish. Great wine. The hummus platter (I could eat hummus every day of my life) was a chunkier one. Nice bite to it on the way down. Served with a warm pita (which we had to get a double order of and was graciously awarded one) and a spectacular cheese – some of the best I’ve had. Can someone from the market tell me what it was? (Saturday night, October 9)
For our meal we shared the garlic pesto flatbread. Delicious. Chicken, pesto, garlic, caramelized onions – nothing bad on this plate.
Dessert – or no dessert. Well, dessert of course (especially with the dessert guy standing at the front counter). We chose the seasonal specialty of the beer spice cake. The glazed IPA nuts I could eat by the palmful, but I just picked off the top of the beer ricotta and cream cheese icing. So good. Pale in color – very fitting for the cool evening.
The setting was a calm, refreshing evening. We could have sat there all evening. Speaking with other diners, feeling right at home, hearing about the boom boom shrimp which was great if it got all over your hands because you didn’t mind the smell because they were so good, conversations with the staff and owners. Waltzing through the extensive wine and beer collection (which they would happily open a bottle for you to have with your dinner).
There was outdoor seating, indoor pub tables or bench seating, a wide variety of take home deli needs. They have wine tastings and have splendid, friendly service. Great prices as well.
So, go here. I will be going back I’m sure of it. Love treasures like the String Bean.
(Only thing I would change is have more lighting at night in the dining room so I can come back and take better pictures. Since I don’t like flash – I would like more lighting. That’s all. Thank you!)

A few Sundays ago I got to to get a taste of the nations by heading downtown Raleigh to the 2010 International Festival. One of the joys was seeing all the flags flying high in the new Raleigh Convention Center. That is one of the things I love about RDU – the nations come here.
I ate in Lebanon that day with a great falafel sandwich. The falafel was good (Grape Leaf’s may be better, though) but the bread was outstanding! Nice and warm. I had a taste of France’s desserts and they were good – nothing like the best I’ve had in the world, though.
Other newsworthy things: the dress (every age of participants dressed in country garb), the dance (looks so much fun), and the price (7$ to get in, plus parking). Great deal for a Sunday afternoon.

Any crab dip and sunset lovers out there? This is your place.
Located on the banks of the Cape River in the downtown district of Wilmington lies a great local restaurant with captivating views of the beautiful setting sun. And some mouth-watering crab dip.
The croutons to go with it are so crunchy and buttery and teamed perfectly with the hot silver bowl of crab delight goodness. Since a friend and I shared it, we got salads too. Perfect, crisp, flavorful, and a good “side dish” for the crab dip – which we know is the star of the show.
Courteous waitstaff. Good porch view of the river. Go early. Ask for outside tables (if the weather is good). Decent prices. Enjoy. That’s all you need to know.

I couldn’t wait to start my first journey to the Outer Banks on Sunday for the rest of the Labor Day weekend. So, this restaurant was going to get marked off the list of the Top 100 in 100 Counties.
We asked some other locals in the places we stopped what they thought of S&0 and we got mixed reviews. They kept saying “Oh, that’s a OBX staple, good food, okay food, its been around a long time.” If it weren’t for the sake of marking it off my list, I may not have gone, but you do what you gotta do.
On a Sunday night this place was packed, so other people must really like it. We had what was told to us a 35 minute wait, which we enjoyed outside in the beautiful “sunset light”. Turned in to a 50 minute wait, good thing I had good company and we were practicing our vertical push ups on the rail and our pigeon poses. Finally we got seated.
We chose to split what we ordered.
Rach got the Sam & Omie’s burger: great flavor, cooked just the way we wanted, onions, tomato, lettuce. Came with fries. Definitely the winner of the two – best thing of the experience.
I ordered the fish of the day sandwich – which was flounder. The batter nor the fish had any flaovr. It was a long piece of fish served on a round hamburger bun (again, nothing special) – should have been served on a hoagie, at least toasted. Came with all the fixins – the tarter sauce was really yummy. We got the onion rings on that order – and Hot Dog World’s was better.
Our waitress was good but not overly friendly, I would describe her as matter of fact. It was freezing in there. But, we marked it off the list.
So, this won’t win the Best of the 100 Award.

There are several places in North Carolina that one just has to go to, at least once, to say they’ve been there. Chimney Rock is one of those places. Beautiful even in the summer – much more so I can only imagine if it were the fall.
God created a beautiful world for us to enjoy and by which to praise Him in our enjoyment. I loved being at the top of Exclamation Point and being blown over by the wind, hearing children laugh with excitement, having time to listen to Aquafina music (insert laugh), and just to be on top of a mountain looking down on to Lake Lure or looking across the gorgeous mountains of our state. Longings just to climb rocks and the sheer sides of a waterfall plague visitors.
Only two complaints about the whole time there:
1. 14$ to get in. I still loved being in KY when all state parks were free.
2. Two lane road to get in – 1 in each direction. Oh, well. Testing my patience huh?
What I really enjoyed:
1. Their organization (knowing when the upper parking lot was full so they would start to shuttle patrons and hikers again from the bottom of the mountain).
2. Trail guides for whatever length of stay you wanted. That was very helpful.
3. Pure beauty of the location.
Enjoy the photos.

I love traveling with adventurous people. Saturday was one of those days. I brought along my Our State magazine (just in case). When my friends and I were discussing lunch desires, they allowed me to look through that. When you can eat at a fabulous local dessert caterer and cafe – who wants to eat at Taco Bell or McD’s?
Ketchie’s is just that place. Located only about 1 mile off 40, its a great location for travelers (once you know about it, and now you do). It looks very business/caterer like from the outside (they’ve been in this location about 12 years I think). But, the inside opens up into a bright world os fun colors, smells, cakes, designs, tea, decorations, etc. Very girlie but the food doesn’t make only a chick-food place.
Our three meals: spinach quiche and pastrami (hands down was the winner by all three of us. I took one bite of the quiche – it was possibly the best quiche I’ve tasted – EVER). Popeye would have been proud is a direct quote from the guy who ordered it. Perfect blend of the cheeses that didn’t wasn’t overwhelmed by the spinach – and all balanced out with a light and flaky crust. Another friend had the chicken salad on greens with a fruit salad. I had the chicken salad on croissant and a side salad. My favorite part was the croissant and the croutons! These meals were all around 7$ – which is what you would pay for at Panera or a place like it – but you have more options on the cafe side – and on the bakery side.
The bakery was the winner part of this cafe. Gorgeous cakes lined the cafe cases. Cupcakes, cookies, bars, anything you could think of. Engaged couples were there ordering their wedding cakes, many folks came in to pick up specialty cakes while we were there. They were hopping for a Saturday. Their bakery does a lot of business.
We had: a cream horn (thicker, richer (but not overly sweet cream); a coconut turtle blondie (my opinion it would have been better served room temp, but it was chilled – but still chewy and yummy which is what a blondie should be), and mine – the 5 flavor pound cake (which is what they are known for). If I had 10 times to choose a dessert and pound cake was an option – it would probably be the last one I pick. This one would be the first one I pick almost every time. Vanilla, almond, rum, coconut and lemon with a delicious and thick cream cheese frosting – not a glaze – a frosting. So good. It finally got eaten (about 1 am – all of it). WE all shared the desserts – and loved each of them.
The owner of the restaurant was out serving and working along with his wait staff which was a refreshing sight. Gerald was a pleasing sight and told me about the bakery (in business for 27 years, so you know they are doing something right).
If I ever do get married – if a Publix isn’t in the area (please, NC) – maybe I’ll drive to Mocksville.

I’ve written about Foster’s Market before on my other blog, but I wanted to highlight it here. This is such a gem of a place to sit all day if you really wanted to:
1. Cup of coffee and the newspaper
2. An old friend over lunch
3. Dinner with the family
4. An afternoon smoothie out on the lawn (this was the second thing I had there, my first time at the Chapel Hill location)
5. A hot summer day with an iced latte under the covered patio.
6. Parking it at a table with lots of books and a laptop – or just a legal pad and a pen.

Sara Foster has done an amazing job creating two cafes that are as distinct as the cities they are in. Foster’s Durham is more of a home-town feel. Locals are from Durham, moms come in after dropping their kids off at school, young twenty-somethings hang here for lunch or for a coffee break from studying. At Foster’s Chapel Hill the cafe is always filled with students, professors, athletes, moms, the elderly.
This place is local in every sense of the word – even the employees being able to offer help with directions (always helpful).
The best things on the menu (from either personal experience or from other’s personal experience):
1. The breakfast burrito – the first thing I had, and probably the best thing I’ve had there.
2. the Spinach avocado BLT. Crunch bacon – basil pesto aoli – good eats.
3. Any of their scones or the chocolate whopper cookies
4. Snickerdoodle coffee – that you can buy by the lbs in whole bean.
You can find a plethora of spreads, jams, mixes to buy there – many of stonewall kitchen products. You can pick up dinner on your way home as they have many of their popular dishes available for take out by the pound. They have a whole slew of candy to pick from – a kid’s dream! They have luna pops – simply great for a hot summer day.
The other things I like about Foster’s:
1. You can find Sara at either of the cafes and she’ll talk with you and she is glad you are at her restaurant
2. Local ingredients and wines
3. Not expensive (I don’t think there is anything over 10$ on the menu)
4. Daily specials
5. Her cookbooks, and one forthcoming
6. Her good, stable, innovative food with fresh ingredients.

What is your favorite local place? (Even if its not in the Triangle…)

I don’t know if I appreciated farmers’ markets as much growing up as I do now. Yesterday, Mom and I headed over the NC State Farmers’ Market to pick up some vegetables for dinner. I traveled around, eyeing what everyone brought from their farms and orchards and vineyards. Tasted a peach. Looked longingly at the scuppernongs and muscadines and the brilliant colors from all the peppers. The sweet corn made my mouth water.
We stayed for a while speaking with Cathy who was a very nice customer service helper for Walker Farms. She told us all about their German Tomatoes (so good for dinner), their varieties of squash and zucchini (also a winner), Mr Stripey tomotoes, the 9 varieties of eggplant they grew, as well the 14 different kinds of peppers. Loved her knowledge and her kindness in sharing some recipes and tastes with me. We bought much for $3.35 cents (you can do that at most places) and journeyed on.
So…support your local farmers. Especially this one in Randolph County. Contact info:
(Booth at the NC State Farmers Market in Raleigh)

Franklinville, NC
Randolph County
919.728.6146
336.669.9379

I was out driving around the other day looking for a park to walk in. Came across this little church – and decided to come back the next day with my camera. Loved the brick and stained glass. Wish I could have gotten inside. You can see the beauiful (what looks like) cherry pews inside on the website linked above.
I look forward to finding more history in Raleigh.

Photograhs Taken: kd Sunday, August 8, 2010