1. As you begin your day in Wilson, make a beeline for one of the legendary cat-head biscuits at Flo’s Kitchen, which are bigger than your fist, buttery as all get-out, and ooze gooey hoop cheese.
2. At the Whirligig Conservation Headquarters, get an intimate view of the restoration of whirligigs — massive, spinning contraptions that are quirky cousins to the windmill — made by the late folk artist Vollis Simpson.
3. Before there was Interstate 95, U.S. Route 301 was the area’s biggest thoroughfare, running right through Wilson, which cemented the town’s legacy as a pit stop in more ways than one. Wilson is home to the beloved barbecue institute Parker’s, where the succulent fried chicken is as a good as the pig.
4. Celebrate North Carolina’s role in America’s favorite pastime at the North Carolina Baseball Museum, located at Fleming Stadium. Exhibits display memorabilia from baseball players with ties to the Old North State, including the likes of Jim “Catfish” Hunter, Luke Appling, and Buck Leonard.
5. If you love rib eye, you’re in luck, because it’s the only thing on the menu at The Beefmastor Inn. But what seals The Beefmastor’s legend is the fact that patrons will happily tailgate in the parking lot before enjoying a filling meal comprising a steak — cut as thickly as you’d like it — a baked potato, and a salad.
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.
