November 10, 2013

TRAVEL | WINSTON-SALEM


        I am a North Carolina native, and admittedly biased in praise of my state and the South in general, but often the beauty of the places and people here take me by complete surprise. For our one year anniversary we sent Jack for a weekend of spoiling at his Grandparent's and took a short trip over to Winston-Salem to visit one of my favorite places in NC, Old Salem. I was pleasantly surprised by the vibrant art and food scene in Downtown Winston (though I shouldn't have been, since it's the home of both the North Carolina School of Art and Wake Forest University). Plus there's the tobacco history, which can't be missed at any turn of the corner. There are reclaimed warehouses, beautiful art deco high rises, and vintage R. J. Reynold's signage everywhere. You can see the story of the town just by walking around, the progression from tiny colonial settlement to wealthy tobacco capital to culturally rich college town. We will definitely be back soon. 

Here's What We Did:


1) Our first night we went to dinner at Mozelle's Fresh Southern Bistro & had drinks at Single Brother's Bar


     Mozelle's Southern Bistro was my favorite kind of restaurant, classic comfort food executed well. I had fried chicken, green beans and mashed potatoes with a Foothills Torch Pilsner and it was just the thing to recover from battling five o'clock traffic headed out of Raleigh. (P.S. The Foothills brewery is in Winston-Salem also, though we ran out of time and couldn't visit). Single Brother's was the perfect relaxed bar with a mix of genuinely interesting and classic cocktails. We made ample use of the large patio area since the weather was so lovely. They also grow their own herbs out back so you can smell the mint and rosemary as you sip your drinks. 






















2) The next morning we caffeinated at Krankie's Coffee and breakfasted (more like feasted) at Mary's Gormet Diner after exploring the area around Krankie's and then around Trade street a bit. Very cute shops and buildings to gaze at. There were so many old brick tobacco buildings downtown that I was reminded of my home-town, (another tobacco history-rich city) Durham. I especially loved the Piedmont Leaf Lofts building and the stone work near Krankie's coffee. Krankie's came highly recommended and we weren't let down. The space downtown is also the site of their roastery, so it was a little coffee-and-a-show experience as we watched them at work roasting. At Mary's Gormet, Daniel won most-calories-per-serving by ordering Eggs Benedict on a sausage biscuit. I really liked this breakfast spot because the menu was broad and open to customized dishes, hence Daniel's creative masterpiece. 




3) We stepped back in time for the afternoon and into Old Salem, where we lunched at the Tavern.


 Every house we visited had the most gorgeous natural light, simple furnishings, and well made everything (from minimalist curtains to pottery to bed sheets)  It was nice to just be in spaces that weren't cluttered with store-bought junk, but instead with intentional and highly practical but simultaneously lovely pieces. We went on a Friday which was traditionally baking day so the whole town smelled like bread and sugar cookies as the living history actors baked in outdoor wood-burning ovens. That in addition to the fall leaves on the trees and pumpkins scattered about wherever I looked made the visit inspiring and refreshing. When we got home I had a strange urge to throw everything in our house away and raise goats and chickens and grow our own food. The founders of Old Salem were mostly of German descent, so our luncheon at the Tavern was very bratwurst, sauerkraut, and beer centered.



Those were the hi lights of our visit! I'll be posting more Old Salem pictures soon, because I'm obsessed and we also took a lot of pictures with our real camera (whereas these were all iPhone). 

Sarah 

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