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
Beach House Burgers 118 Fort Fisher Boulevard North, Kure Beach • (910) 458-8586 You can’t miss the brightly colored Beach House Burgers. This walk-up joint’s green, blue, and orange paint
Beach House Burgers 118 Fort Fisher Boulevard North, Kure Beach • (910) 458-8586 You can’t miss the brightly colored Beach House Burgers. This walk-up joint’s green, blue, and orange paint
Nothing quite works up an appetite like a day spent at the beach. Satisfy your hunger with some of the juiciest, tastiest burgers our coast has to offer.
Beach House Burgers 118 Fort Fisher Boulevard North, Kure Beach • (910) 458-8586
You can’t miss the brightly colored Beach House Burgers. This walk-up joint’s green, blue, and orange paint ropes you in, just like the smell of juicy patties being fired up on the grill. Get your burgers to go and head for the pier, which is just a block away.
Those who frequent the no-frills Beaches Burgers know it’s not the decor you come for, but, instead, the succulent and hand-pattied burgers. You’ll have to get in line behind everyone else, but the mushroom and Swiss burger is worth waiting for.
The best burgers are often served in the most unassuming of shacks, and it’s no different at Fat Andy’s, an institution Southport residents swear by. The double cheeseburger comes cheap and full of flavor. Be sure to order the freshly cut fries, too.
Scribble down your desired burger toppings on a notepad, and take a seat on P.T.’s comfortable patio. If you’re looking for a place that appeals to a variety of taste buds, then P.T.’s is it. It offers great vegetarian options, and turkey and chicken sandwiches are also on the menu. Wash it all down with freshly squeezed lemonade.
As long as the “Gone Fishing” sign isn’t up, Little Bit is behind the grill inside her bright red restaurant, feeding beachgoers, anglers, and Oak Island locals. photograph by Matt Ray Photography
Nhien Wood — affectionately called “Little Bit” — started her namesake restaurant in 1987, and found a home for herself and her family in Oak Island. When you stop by this local mainstay for lunch, be sure to order your burger “Bit’s Way” — a patty generously topped with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, onions, and pickles.
When the opportunity to open up a restaurant on the Outer Banks presented itself last summer, brothers Matt and Josh took it immediately on what they call a “handshake deal.” Try the Cowboy Bro burger, which features a Sriracha barbecue sauce, and have a glass of NC craft beer that’s on tap.
Vacations are meant for indulgence, so the next time you’re in Kitty Hawk, challenge yourself to eating the two-pound Viking Burger at Spanky’s Grille. Let it be known, though, that there’s no shame in sticking with the equally tasty and more modest quarter-pounder.
In Morehead City, El’s Drive-In serves a classic version of the shrimpburger (minus the tartar sauce). photograph by Baxter Miller
El’s Drive-In 3706 Arendell Street, Morehead City • (252) 726-3002
No trip to the NC coast is complete without a shrimpburger, considered by many to be an epicurean experience. As its name implies, you won’t find any red meat on a shrimpburger, made famous by drive-ins like El’s. This burger holds deep-fried shrimp, ketchup, and homemade slaw, and pure goodness between its buns.
Purple Onion Café 4647 Main Street, Unit 1, Shallotte • (910) 755-6071
A Southern bistro, Purple Onion Café offers an impressive variety of burgers among its other menu items. Before making it all the way down to the beach, make a pit stop and satisfy your appetite with the Southern Belle Burger, which has homemade pimento cheese, fried green tomatoes, and purple onion jam.
Hang Ten Grill 308 South Lake Park Boulevard, Carolina Beach • hangtengrill.com • (910) 458-5959
When Hang Ten Grill fills up quickly in the summer, enjoy a game of corn hole while you wait. Then, sink your teeth into a Tsunami Burger, decked out with jalapeños, grilled onions, and pepper jack cheese.
Don’t just drink your Cheerwine — eat it, too! From cakes to pies to cocktails, you can incorporate this crimson Tar Heel treasure into your next kitchen creation.
Local NC Cooperative Extension experts preserve cherished recipes and introduce kids to the thrill of summer camp — and that’s just a taste of what they provide to their communities.
One of our state’s most common fishes has a rare talent. In the fresh, clear waterways of the mountains and Piedmont, bluehead chubs build nests for their young, stone by tiny stone.