It’s no secret that North Carolina hosts some of the best restaurants and chefs in the Southeast, but a few of our favorites were recently recognized on a national level. The James Beard Foundation, whose mission is to celebrate, nurture, and honor America’s diverse culinary heritage, announced its 2016 Restaurant and Chef Award Semifinalists on February 17, and 13 restaurants, chefs, and bakers from all over the state were nominated for this honor.
Best New Restaurant
Death & Taxes, Raleigh, NC
Outstanding Baker
Phoebe Lawless, Scratch Bakery, Durham, NC
Lionel Vatinet, La Farm Bakery, Cary, NC
Outstanding Chef
Ashley Christensen, Poole’s Downtown Diner, Raleigh, NC
Outstanding Pastry Chef
Cynthia Wong, Rhubarb, Asheville, NC
Best Chef: Southeast
Nate Allen, Knife & Fork, Spruce Pine, NC
Brian Canipelli, Cucina 24, Asheville, NC
Scott Crawford, Standard Foods, Raleigh, NC
Steven Devereaux Greene, Herons in the Umstead Hotel, Cary, NC
Vivian Howard, Chef & the Farmer, Kinston, NC
Matthew Kelly, Mateo, Durham, NC
Joe Kindred, Kindred, Davidson, NC
Aaron Vandemark, Panciuto, Hillsborough, NC
The James Beard Foundation will announce the final nominees in San Francisco on March 15, and we will be rooting for our state’s contenders.
In North Carolina, spring brings the scent of fresh-cut grass and memories of helping Dad mow the lawn.
Nostalgic burger joints are like time machines, delivering something extra special that keeps us coming back.
This tiny city block in downtown Greensboro once had a gigantic reputation. Not so much for its charbroiled beef patties — though they, too, were plentiful — but for its colorful characters and their wild shenanigans.
In the 1950s, as Americans hit freshly paved roads in shiny new cars during the postwar boom, a new kind of restaurant took shape: the drive-in. From those first thin patties to the elaborate gourmet hamburgers of today, North Carolina has spent the past 80 years making burger history.
