In anticipation of the holidays, Heather and I went to Wilmington, NC, for a quick one-night getaway to kick off this lovely time of year! Here is how we indulged in their food scene:
First, we went to Sweet n Savory Café which is located as you are driving through Wilmington to Wrightsville Beach. The perfect stop for a quick, sit down meal. Not only is this a great place for lunch, but it also has a bakery where they sale their own breads, cookies, cakes, etc. Heather ordered the Baja Shrimp Wrap and I got the Shrimp Gyro. Both of these dishes come with their house-made potato chips and a side of ranch. Heather has been here before but I had not and I am so glad that she shared this place with me. It was the perfect lunch- satisfying and not too filling. As we were leaving, we bought two cookies to share. The cookies alone were enough of a reason to go back to Sweet n Savory when we are in Wilmington again.
After doing a little shopping, football watching, and exploring some of the Christmas lights around town, we went to Indochine. Everyone in Heather's family loves this restaurant and she was very excited for me to go with her. I love any type of Asian food so Heather knew I would be a fan of this place. The décor was very authentic and I felt like I was stepping in a restaurant in Thailand. We started dinner with a cocktail at the bar while we waited for our table. They have a very impressive list of cocktails. After much thought we chose a My Thai and the Purple Dragon which were very tasty. When our table was ready, we were ready to order because the smells had our stomachs growling! For starters, we ordered the appetizer sampler which was a delicious assortment of cha gio, shrimp goi cuon, crab angels, pork dumplings, coconut shrimp, gold bags and chicken satay skewers. This sampler, which I’d highly recommend, immersed our taste buds right into the Thai cuisine! For our entrée, we shared the "Happy Asian Melody"- a medley of chicken, shrimp, beef, and scallops sautéed in a homemade soy based sauce with ginger, garlic, onions, carrots, snow peas, bok choy, broccoli, baby corn, mushrooms, and asparagus - all served with rice. It was plenty to share and thankfully we had plenty to take home because it was scrumptious. Surprisingly, we did not have room for dessert!
As we were leaving town on Sunday morning, we stopped at The Dixie Grill in Downtown Wilmington. If you haven't stopped in downtown Wilmington in a while it is hopping and there is a lot of fun businesses, restaurants, and nightlife to be seen. The Dixie Grill is one of these places! From the Sweet Potato Pancakes topped with cinnamon and whipped cream to the western omelet (three egg omelet with ham, peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheddar jack cheese) to the farmers omelet (three egg omelet with peppers, mushrooms, onions, spinach, broccoli and swiss cheese topped with salsa) we couldn't help ourselves! It was a trendy, hipster dive/diner with excellent service.
Do yourself a favor and try these restaurants the next time you are in the Wilmington area! All of them are a food lover’s dream!