NOW THE WORLD KNOWS ABOUT NC FOODS

Barbecue, ramps, sweet potato pie. Yes, indeed, we've got great things to eat here in North Carolina, just as they do in MOROCCO.

And that's what two prominent travel publications think.

They've ranked both Durham and Asheville in the same keeping as MOROCCO.

It's not often that Durham, NC is thrown in as a destination with the likes of Morocco, Zanzibar, Greece or China. But a recent Sunday NY TIMES Travel piece placed this Tar Heel city in WHERE TO GO.

I'll be posting about SCRATCH BAKERY soon, as I've stopped in several times. Read on.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/travel/09where-to-go.html?pagewanted=4&sq=January%209,%202011&st=cse&scp=2

35. Durham, N.C.
A downtown turnaround means food worth a trip. A decade ago, downtown Durham was a place best avoided after sundown. But as revitalization has transformed abandoned tobacco factories and former textile mills into bustling mixed-use properties, the city has been injected with much-needed life. In the heart of downtown, a crop of standout restaurants and cafes has recently sprouted around West Main Street, where low rents have allowed chefs and other entrepreneurs to pursue an ethos that skews local, seasonal and delicious.

The farmers’ market favorite Scratch Bakery has a brand-new storefront for its seasonal homemade pies that include chestnut cream pie and buttermilk sweet potato pie. At the cafe-cum-grocery Parker and Otis, the menu features sandwiches made with freshly baked bread from nearby Rue Cler and locally roasted java from Durham’s Counter Culture Coffee. And at the sophisticated Revolution, squash tamales, mascarpone gnocchi, and tuna with wasabi caviar rotate through the seasonal menu.

ASHEVILLE IN FODOR'S TOP SPOT Fodor's, the much respected travel guide, also recognized Asheville as a culinary destination...and brew hub, too, along with exotic places likes Tokyo, Copenhagen, Nicaragua and again, Morocco.

Trout with Green Tomato & Blackberry Sauce from Early Girl Eatery

21 Places We're Going in 2011

Why Go Now: Get a taste of Asheville while it still feels local and before it goes global. On the edge of the alluring Smoky Mountains, the food and drink scene of the recently dubbed "Beer City USA" is the perfect compliment to the scenery. You'll find over 30 galleries and 20 music venues devoted to everything from folk pieces to modern mash-ups.

Check it out:

http://www.fodors.com/travel-photography/21-places-were-going-in-2011-216.html