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
Featured Above: Benny’s Big Time Pizzeria Kinston-based food TV star Vivian Howard never does anything halfway. Her homage to an American-style pizza joint, in a converted factory building, still has
Featured Above: Benny’s Big Time Pizzeria Kinston-based food TV star Vivian Howard never does anything halfway. Her homage to an American-style pizza joint, in a converted factory building, still has
Artisan pizza, with its thin crust and cheese that tastes of the woodsmoke in which it was baked, outshines its boxed-and-ready cousins. These five restaurants deliver the traditional Italian version with North Carolina ingredients.
Kinston-based food TV star Vivian Howard never does anything halfway. Her homage to an American-style pizza joint, in a converted factory building, still has plenty of Italian touches, like buffalo mozzarella, along with their own version of the hot honey trend: honey spiced with Calabrian peppers to drizzle on your crust. 206 Greenfield Street Wilmington, NC 28401 (910) 550-2525 vivianhoward.com/bennysbigtime
All Souls Pizza
In a town that already takes bread seriously, All Souls sets a high bar. In a tiny building that used to be a diner, they grind their own flour, creating a whole-wheat crust with an emphatic chewiness. 175 Clingman Avenue Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 254-0169 allsoulspizza.com
Inizio Pizza Napoletana
Owner Grant Arons is a stickler for details: He brought his ovens (and even his water) from Naples. Here, pizzas are divided into two camps: red sauce and no red sauce. Either way, expect lots of speckles and char on the crust, chewy edges, and a soft center.
2230 Park Road, Suite 101 Charlotte, NC 28203 (704) 900-0929 iniziopizza.com
Gabe Barker, son of Durham restaurant legends Ben and Karen Barker, has set up shop near the Carrboro Farmers Market to make the most of the seasonal ingredients around him. His margherita crust is thinner and crispier than some, and his toppings are adventurous (think mustard greens). There’s an anchovy version, too, for those who crave the salty bits.
The menu is as pared down as the ingredients, with minimalist descriptions — “cremini mushrooms, garlic, fior di latte” — but the simple language belies the complex flavors coaxed out of local ingredients. The antipasti, like the ricotta dumplings with pancetta and pecans, are well worth sampling, too.
105 East Chapel Hill Street Durham, NC 27701 (919) 908-6936 pizzeriatoro.com
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.
