El cardenal
by Liza Roberts photographs by Nick Pironio Craig Rudewicz stirred up his first batch of bitters behind the bar he managed at Little Hen restaurant in Apex a few years ago. Inspired by the cinnamon and clove flavors of the…
Category: Food & Drink
Spotlight: Dinner and a show
by Mimi Montgomery After serving as executive chef at The Umstead’s Herons restaurant, Scott Crawford opened Standard Foods last fall with business partner John Holmes. The space is a hybrid restaurant, grocery, and butcher shop, featuring a variety of ingredients…
David Mao’s journey home
by Dean McCord photographs by Lissa Gotwals For nearly 50 years, chef David Mao has been on a journey to a destination that cannot be found on a map; a trip that cannot be measured in miles. It has been a sojourn…
Liquid gold
by Kaitlyn Goalen photographs by Jillian Clark We live in an age in which craftsmanship is cool. “Small-batch” and “handmade” are buzzwords that indicate value and authenticity. This is especially true in the world of food, where the very idea suggests…
Let’s get fizzy
by Mimi Montgomery photographs by Kelsey Hanrahan David and Lily Ballance have been in the local restaurant and bar scene for over 20 years. Their resume is peppered with familiar names like Five Star and White Collar Crime, and they helped to…
Preserving friendship and pickles
by Tracy Davis photographs by Jillian Clark Raleigh native Louis Wooten has been a bread-and-butter pickle fan since childhood. About 20 years ago, when he was in his early 30s, he decided to make some for himself. His mother fished…
A sweet-tooth truce
by Kaitlyn Goalen photographs by Jillian Clark Some houses are divided by sports team affiliations or politics. My house is divided by dessert. I’ve always been a loyal cake fan, preferring a fat slice of carrot cake or a dense…
Switch it up
by Kevin Barrett photographs by Nick Pironio Happy Holidays. It’s the time of year to eat, drink, spend too much money, then go on a diet, join a gym, detox your liver, and make resolutions to save more and spend less….
Chef Ryan Conklin’s haute hospital cuisine
by Katherine Connor photographs by Lissa Gotwals In the coming season of celebration and indulgence, a visit to the hospital is not on most folks’ to-do list. But for some savvy Raleighites, the hospital is exactly where they’re headed, and…
Talkin’ Turkey
by Kaitlyn Goalen photographs by Jillian Clark Each year around October, I begin to think about what I’d like to make for Thanksgiving. There are some stalwarts that make it into the menu every year (my grandmother’s chile-cheese dip, a sweet…
A second home
by Dean McCord photographs by Nick Pironio We go to restaurants for a lot of reasons. We want to be fed something decent, something tasty and nourishing. Sometimes we want to try out a hot new joint so we can tell…
Punch for the in-laws
by Kevin Barrett illustrations by Amy Richards Let’s cut to the chase, mostly because I couldn’t think of an opening to this article. It’s Thanksgiving. I can’t help you with the food. That’s for the men and women who don’t mind burning…
Celebrating our roots
by Cokie Roberts Despite the muzak in the malls, I’m dreaming of a green Christmas, just just like the ones I used to know. Until I had children of my own, every year my family trekked from Washington, D.C. to…
May peas be with you
by Dean McCord It all started at Crook’s Corner. My obsession with rice and peas, tomatoes and cheese, bacon and onions, and, of course, a topping of scallions. Mmmmm. Hoppin’ John. It’s quite simple really, a rustic assembly of everyday…