You gotta wonder at the name — did sailors pull taffy when they weren’t trimming sails? Whatever its origins, saltwater taffy can be found on every seaside sidewalk, boardwalk, arcade, and causeway, in glass jars big enough to stick your head — I mean hand — into.
As a western NC child, I didn’t discover this nugget of gummy goodness until age 12, at Dee Gee’s in Morehead City, and to this day, I bypass the wax-paper-wrapped whites and browns for the sticky squares of yellow and pink and lilac and green pastels.
And while there’s nothing salty about the sugary taste, the taffy texture is just right for pressing flat to your palate or back against your molars. ’Cause whatever your age, unwrapping a piece of saltwater taffy days, weeks, or even months after that last day of vacation will take you right back to sandcastles, shrimp, and sea breezes.
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.
