NEW! FOOD LOVERS' GUIDE TO NC'S OUTER BANKS

Hey you beach lovers of the Outer Banks! Know where to find crab grenades?  Apple Uglies?  Hatteras Flats?  And fish so fresh the name of the fisherman who caught it is on the menu?

You'll find that, as well as where to sip local brews...... do wine tastings....... get dinner in flip flops and ON frisbees ...... have pizza delivered on the beach ..... where kids and large parties are accommodated .......food festivals to attend, culinary tours to take ....... kitchen stores with steamers and crab pickers ...... and anything and everything to do with food on the Outer Banks.  Even personal chefs who'll come to your rental kitchen, make and serve you dinner, then clean it all up.  You get a price range, what style of food, addresses and contact info.

And, there's a dozen great, simple recipes from chefs and foodies for you to try at home.

Here's a sampling of dishes and scenes you'll find on the Outer Banks:

                                          A Hatteras Flat, at Cafe 12 in Avon

 
                                   Tempura-fried soft shells over jasmine rice at Dajio on Ocracoke.......do you know what Dajio is an acronym for?

         
        Get to Ocracoke on a ferry, ditch your car, and ride a bike to dinner and everywhere!

                   This, folks, is what the food scene is all about on the Outer Banks!

               




       The herb and vegetable garden outside of Basnight's Lone Cedar Cafe

You'll find the fisherman's name on the menu who caught this fish at Basnight's Lone Cedar!

       

Scallops and greens at The Brine & The Bottle, Nags Head, on the Causeway

Beet juice flavors this John Dory caught in the Pamlico Sounds, served up at Ketch 55 in Avon

Fresh tuna at Blue Moon Beach Grill
        in Nags Head














Look for this logo at restaurants and markets while on Ocracoke Island












And there's so much more, about 200 restaurants, markets, and stores described, and a dozen great, simple recipes from chefs and foodies, and a heads-up on what kind of food you'll find, brief histories, and interesting food tidbits!

Email me for a signed copy, or get to your independent bookstore, or go online to your mega-favorite.

Carolina Foodie Goes Sailing

Okay, so I'm ruin't.  Last week I went even further south, to the British Virgin Islands, a favorite stomping ground where we can sail our chartered boat from island to island each night. 

I know it's not Carolina, even though we always meet somebody from our state.  May I share our culinary delights?  

ISLAND TREATS

Flying Fish sandwiches, crisply fried red snapper, grilled grouper, and spicy ribs were such treats the nights we went onshore.   But the absolute best were the hot, steaming spiny lobsters plucked from their cage right off the dock and served with lemon butter at Abe's, a simple little waterside place on Jost van Dyke.

We were told once by a prissy New Yorker that lobsters mate for life and walk hand in hand across the ocean floor.  My husband replied "that why you eat them in twos."  He's spent many hours searching for them among the rocks and coral heads, but has yet to pluck one from its hiding place. 

Saba Rock, above (photo snapped while on a hike over the island), is in the North Sound of Virgin Gorda, and serves THE best conch fritters and Painkillers.  Their fritters taste much like our hushpuppies, just with tiny chunks of conch, and usually served with a spicy aioli-type sauce.

HAPPY HOUR

I can really get into Happy Hour, when drinks are two for the price of one.  One of the BVI's specialities is a Painkiller, designed to either ease your pain or cause a great deal of it.

Try the recipe below.  They're deliciously addictive, so watch out!  And the freshly grated nutmeg is what really makes it.

BVI PAINKILLERS

1 ounce cream of coconut, like CocoLopez

1 ounce orange juice

3 ounces pineapple juice  (or use 4 oz of pineapple-orange juice)

2 ounces dark Rum

freshly grated nutmeg

Shake all ingredients together, and pour over ice. Grate nutmeg over the top.  Enjoy!!!