Among The Hop’s four Asheville locations, its stall in the S&W Market stands out for ice cream flights that let customers try four flavors at once. Chocolate, vanilla bean, and salted caramel stay on the menu all year, while flavors like chocolate-covered strawberry make seasonal appearances.
56 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801
hopicecreamnc.com
The original Shuckin’ Shack — a 900-square-foot restaurant two blocks from the ocean — opened in Carolina Beach in 2007. A second location (pictured) opened in Wilmington in 2012. Both offer oyster samplers. photograph by Matt Ray Photography
What started as a tiny oyster bar in Carolina Beach has grown into a franchise with restaurants across the Southeast. Visit the original location for its casual atmosphere and oyster sampler, featuring six steamed and six raw oysters.
6 North Lake Park Boulevard
Carolina Beach, NC 28428
(910) 458-7380
theshuckinshack.com
Three slices of pie and a scoop of ice cream? This flight is no pie in the sky. Dessert dreams do come true with classics like cherry and chocolate chess alongside inventive flavors like cinnamon roll apple and strawberry lemonade.
4 Long Shoals Road
Arden, NC 28704
(828) 333-4366
bakedpiecompany.com
Inside Raleigh’s Transfer Co. Food Hall, Alimentari’s tigelles — small flatbreads with a northern Italian influence — can be ordered in a combo. Try three, four, or five sandwiches filled with ingredients like mortadella, smoked molasses ham, and tomato jam paired with fresh mozzarella.
500 East Davie Street
Raleigh, NC 27601
(919) 316-0468
alimentariatleftbank.com
North Carolina is known for many things, but nothing more important this week than the qualities of endurance, resilience, and hope.
By day, this adventure park in the Triad is a fall festival to die for. By night, the undead come alive for Halloween tricks. Welcome to one man’s vision of year-round merrymaking.
North Carolina’s border dances across the mountains as it traces four different states. Life here can be more remote, but good neighbors are never far away.
The Blue Ridge Parkway stands out among America’s national parks: Unfurling across six Appalachian mountain chains, it connects dozens of rural communities and binds together generations of families through shared memories.
