Put ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until puffed and golden. Remove from oven, and let stand for 5 minutes. With a flexible spatula, remove strata to
Find restaurants in your region. Western Central Eastern Western [caption id="attachment_157109" align="alignnone" width="1140"] At Uwharrie Mercantile, the grilled cheese is dressed up with avocado and
Find restaurants in your region. Western Central Eastern Western [caption id="attachment_157109" align="alignnone" width="1140"] At Uwharrie Mercantile, the grilled cheese is dressed up with avocado and
From Southern favorites like chicken salad and pimento cheese to deli classics like Reubens and Italian subs, sandwich shops across the state satisfy our cravings. Discover 10 we love.
Locals still call this popular deli The Filling Station, its original name, and some of the shop’s most popular sandwiches are inspired by its former title, like the Fill’er Up — ham and turkey, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, and honey mustard stacked high. For a special treat, this deli serves ice cream sandwiches on homemade cookies with creative flavor combinations like green apple ice cream between salted caramel cookies.
At Stick Boy Kitchen, the bakery’s homemade breads are dressed up as sandwiches, like a BLT with avocado and Sriracha mayo on sourdough. photograph by Cheryl Zibisky
At this Boone bakery, the key element of a great sandwich is simple: good bread. This belief led Carson and Mindy Coatney — who had never worked at a bakery — to open one in their hometown of Boone. The couple juggled humble resources with their jobs at a nonprofit to open Stick Boy in 2001, and today, they have expanded to two locations that serve artisan sourdough bread and sandwiches.
(ish)’s eclectic menu offers cultural blending between slices of bread. Sandwiches include (clockwise from bottom left) the Smoked F(ish) Melt, Kalifornia Roll, Reuben, and fried pickle grilled cheese, with sides of pasta salad, potato salad, and coleslaw. photograph by Anna Routh Barzin
A Raleigh chef transformed an old-school soda fountain into a delicatessen that’s a little Jewish, a little Italian, and a little Southern. Try sandwiches like the fried pickle grilled cheese, with pickled Swiss chard stems and lemon-dill mayo, or the chicken salad saltimbocca on a sub roll.
At Lox, Stick and Bagel, order the signature sandwich, the Avon — lox with onion, cream cheese, and tomato on a bialy. photograph by Stacey Van Berkel
From the best-selling Arlington (smoked turkey breast, Havarti cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo served hot on an onion roll) to the Avon (lox with onion, cream cheese, and tomato on a bialy) — are you hungry yet? — this Greensboro sandwich shop has been serving up deli favorites for 45 years and has established itself as a beloved mainstay in the Gate City.
Merritt’s calling card is the BLT— a destination sandwich. And while a standard BLT has a recipe only three letters long, the Merritt’s version comes in three sizes: single, double, and triple. The numbers correspond to how many layers of bacon, lettuce, and tomato the sandwich contains. Dreams do come true.
This gourmet food/wine/gift/coffee shop and sandwich spot makes a grilled pimento cheese with bacon that’s one of the most popular sandwiches on the menu. Need we say more?
The chicken salad at Roberts Grocery is legendary, with a near-mythical origin story to match. Nearly a century ago, a Lebanese immigrant named Charles S. Robier moved to Wrightsville Beach from New York City and decided to open a grocery store in his new hometown. Not long after, his famous chicken salad came to be, and has been a menu staple ever since. Want to try it yourself? Stop by Roberts before a trip home from the beach for an on-the-go lunch that’ll make the post-vacation blues just a little better.
When you need a break from seafood, try a BLT at Calabash Deli. photograph by Matt Ray Photography
When a New York transplant found herself in Calabash without a job, she did what any well-raised Long Islander would do: She opened a deli. Calabash locals frequent this kitschy deli when they want to trade a typical Calabash meal (a fried seafood platter!) for something a little lighter: marinated cucumbers, BLTs, and chicken salad.
At Gotham’s, try the Dark Knight, featuring roast beef, turkey, ham, pastrami, and more. photograph by Alex Boerner
Diners at Gotham’s Deli in Smithfield may think they’ve been transported to Midtown Manhattan — but this New York inspired deli has won the hearts of Smithfield residents, garnering regulars from all over town. The deli’s famous Brass Knuckle sandwich — toasted sourdough piled with pastrami, Cheddar, mozzarella, mayonnaise, and more — is New York City with a Southern drawl.
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To commemorate our 90th anniversary, we’ve compiled a time line that highlights the stories, contributors, and themes that have shaped this magazine — and your view of the Old North State — using nine decades of our own words.
From its northernmost point in Corolla to its southern terminus on Cedar Island, this scenic byway — bound between sound and sea — links the islands and communities of the Outer Banks.
Us? An icon? Well, after 90 years and more than 2,000 issues celebrating North Carolina from mountains to coast, we hope you’ll agree that we’ve earned the title.
After nearly a century — or just a couple of years — these seafood restaurants have become coastal icons, the places we know, love, and return to again and again.
