Wilmington Food Crawl

My dear friends from Charlotte came to town a few weeks ago and since they weren't overly familiar with the area, they wanted to see it all!  We spent quality time at Wrightsville Beach, getting way too much sun (note the photos below, lobsters!!), we cooked a delicious dinner, walked to Port City Java for coffee, and enjoyed catching up on my front porch.

The last night they were here we decided to explore some of the restaurants downtown.  It was impossible to hit all of them, but we decided to do a progressive dinner, having a cocktail and food at a variety of places.

  First Stop:      

Dockstreet Oyster Bar
Note: This is one of the coolest dives in Wilmington.  They have a signed photograph of Ernest Hemingway that says, "Thanks for the tequila," for crying out loud.  Anywhere cool enough for Hemingway is cool enough for me. 

Food:

Crab Dip

Second Stop:

The Little Dipper 

Food:

Cheese Appetizer: vegetables and bread come along a spicy cheese fondue

Cocktail:

Champagne 

While Julie and I had no problem with a dinner of crab dip in a gooey cheese sauce, followed by cheese fondue, Randy was ready for something with a little more substance.  

Third Stop:

Nikki's Sushi 

Food: 

Roll wrapped in cucumber (can't recall the name) 

On the way to our fourth stop, I had shoe trouble; Randy was kind enough to help a girl out.  Lace up espadrilles are much more complex than they appear.  I am convinced there is an art to wearing them all evening and walking without loosening the laces. 

Fourth Stop:

Cafe Phoenix- 

my sister and cousin used to rave about the bread pudding and cappuccino at Cafe Phoenix. 

Food:

Banana Bread Pudding: as far as bread puddings go, this was excellent.  I am not a big fan of banana flavored desserts, but Julie loved it and the cappuccinos were spot on. 

Randy's Final Stop

  Randy loves ice cream and so before we headed home, in a complete food coma, we stopped by Kilwin's for ice cream, fudge, and other great treats. It doesn't matter where I am, Blowing Rock or Wilmington, when you arrive within a four block radius of a Kilwin's you are drawn in by the smell of  butter and sugar. 

Beach time, great friends, great food = Great Weekend.