Chatham Beverage District PITTSBORO If you’re in a festive mood, a trip to Chatham Beverage District just makes sense. Almost like a food hall for drinking spots, the intimate district features Chatham Cider Works, Fair Game Beverage Co. and Starrlight Mead, as well as Copeland Springs Kitchen—for when hunger inevitably strikes—with a refreshing menu of items made using produce from Copeland Springs Farm. Chatham Cider Works works with local apple growers to make traditional Southern ciders; if you haven’t tried mead yet, Starrlight Mead is a great place to start and Fair Game offers almost anything you could thirst for, including beer, wine, cider and spirits. chathambeveragedistrict.com
Robinson Ferry Restaurant & Spirits WARRENTON Known as “The Ferry” by locals, this neighborhood haunt has been a staple in historic Warrenton—just a block away from Main Street—since 2012. Co-owner and executive chef Ryan Grimm whip up some of the best American food in town using ingredients from local Warren County producers and farmers. Favorite menu items include fried green tomatoes with corn relish and pimento cheese, crab cakes and grilled pork chops with apple chutney and mashed potatoes. Grimm often throws some decadent specials on the menu, too. The Ferry’s classic and signature cocktails are a great addition to any meal and change seasonally; beer and wine are also available. robinsonferrync.com
Drive Thru Festival of Lights YOUNGSVILLE | November 26 – December 27 Hill Ridge Farms’ annual Festival of Lights will deliver holiday cheer from the safety and comfort of your own vehicle this year. While it will be different from the traditional hayride experience, it’s guaranteed to be just as enjoyable. A mile-long path leads visitors through more than a million Christmas lights and spectacular holiday-themed displays, making this year’s festival bigger and better than ever. Christmas jammies are encouraged to fully immerse yourself in the holiday spirit; who’s going to know? Hill Ridge Farms has been closed since the onset of the pandemic in March, so the Festival of Lights is a great way to help support the farm’s operations into the new year. hillridgefarms.com
SPENGA CHAPEL HILL Get a head start on your New Year’s fitness goals at SPENGA, Chapel Hill’s recently opened gym that combines spin, strength training and yoga. Together, these three workouts provide one full hour of cardiovascular, strength and flexibility training, what SPENGA thinks are the three pillars of fitness and will ultimately result in one of the best workouts you’ll ever experience. Classes always start with a high-intensity spinning session, followed by personalized strength workouts and finished with restorative yoga. Workouts are fueled by energizing background music as well as rejuvenating aromatherapy in a group fitness setting. chapelhillnc.spenga.com
Refectory Cafe DURHAM Anyone with food allergies knows that sometimes dining out can be a real drag. Not at the Refectory Cafe, however, Durham’s first socially responsible and environmentally sustainable restaurant that caters to all diets, from vegan to gluten-free to plant-based. All menu items are made with as many locally sourced ingredients as possible and are free of chemical additives. The cafe also offers a full bar and a bountiful brunch menu featuring Benedicts, open-faced sandwiches, pancakes and more. For dinner, try the vegan ratatouille, mushroom bolognese or award-winning dal makhani, a slow cooked lentil and chickpea stew. You won’t miss the meat, but there are delicious meat-focused dishes as well. therefectorycafe.com
On the Monday after Thanksgiving, our email inboxes inevitably blow up with Cyber Monday discounts. The holiday, if that’s what you want to call it, was created by retailers to encourage people to shop online, with the idea that it would be a good way to market deals to those looking to get their holiday shopping done early. This year, instead of giving your money away to big corporations, we encourage you to do your Cyber Monday shopping locally, especially since many local businesses have switched to online shopping platforms due to coronavirus—and, they need your help.
Main & Taylor, which has maintained a customized in-person shopping experience for 30 years, is one local business that had to change operations due to the shutdown. Owner Diane Chinnis developed an online store for the shoe boutique to continue reaching customers—before COVID, Main & Taylor didn’t sell via its website at all.
Chinnis says she held out on offering an online store because she believes in one-on-one interaction. “We have lots of great relationships with our customers,” Chinnis says. “My husband and I thrive on that interaction.” When opening an online store was the only option left, she gave in, but the online shopping experience has now given Main & Taylor’s customers the option to buy shoes at any time, from anywhere, which has expanded the store’s customer base.
Jason Jefferies, the general manager of Quail Ridge Books, also chose to focus on online sales when the pandemic hit, offering free shipping nationally and curbside pickup locally. While Quail Ridge sold books through its website before, during the shutdown the store increased online sales by 3,000 percent. Other local businesses, including The Flourish Market, Uniquities, Edge of Urge, The Zen Succulent and many others, have also switched to online sales platforms when customers could no longer visit in person. Even now that most of these shops are back open, they’ve maintained their online stores.
This Cyber Monday, it will be easier than ever to shop locally and conveniently from your phone, tablet or laptop. Local businesses are hurting and shopping with them is the easiest way to help them out. Visit shoplocalraleigh.org for a list of local businesses with online shops.
WEB EXCLUSIVE Lawrence Barbecue’s Jake Wood believes that everyone deserves a Thanksgiving meal, no matter what your circumstances are. Which is why he’s taking time out of his busy schedule smoking meats for Lawrence Barbecue’s pop-up at Wye Hill and prepping for their brick and mortar opening at Boxyard RTP (hopefully opening this January) to give out free Thanksgiving meals to community members in need this Wednesday at Killjoy.
Wood says that it made sense for him and his team to use their resources with U.S. Foods and local farms for a good cause and to feed folks for the holiday. One of the farmers they work with in Smithfield donated turkeys and many others have contributed monetary donations. Community members were eager to volunteer and help spread the word about it; Wood is expecting to serve between 200 and 300 people. “Which is awesome,” he says.
Lawrence Barbecue will be offering both single serving meals and family-sized meals (about 4 to 6 servings) that are served hot but can be easily reheated the next day for Thanksgiving dinner. The menu includes turkey, Brunswick stew, ham hock green beans, sweet potatoes, cornbread and peanut butter cookies. “We’ve got plenty of food,” says Wood. “People will be able to get a nice meal.”
The Lawrence Barbecue team has been giving back to the community since the start of COVID. They offered free meals for hospitality workers during the first 10 weeks of the shutdown and donated hundreds of lunchbox meals to local nonprofits. Wood says the driving factor for his goodwill and thoughtfulness stems from his grandfather, who used to take day-old bread, sausages and other food from Food Lion and drop it off around town to folks who couldn’t go out and get food for themselves.
“This year has been rough on a lot of people, us included,” Wood says. “ We don’t have a lot to offer, but we know how to cook and we will always be willing and able to get folks a hot meal. We’re thankful for the community support that’s put us in the position of being able to do this.”
Lawrence Barbecue will be giving out free Thanksgiving meals for community members in need this Wednesday, November 25, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wear a mask and practice social distancing.
When it comes to Thanksgiving leftovers, there are two types of people: those who will gladly stuff their faces with leftover turkey, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole for days on end, and those who won’t be able to stomach the stuff for another year. But there’s a way to make both parties happy—try turning your leftovers into a mouth-watering sandwich using this recipe from Carroll’s Kitchen, a nonprofit social enterprise restaurant creating healthy employment for women overcoming crises. The sandwich incorporates all the food you weren’t able to finish on Turkey Day in a fresh new way. “It’s sweet, spicy and sloppy,” says Carroll’s Kitchen founder Vicky Ismail. “All things a good sandwich strives to be!” You’ll want to eat leftovers long after your Thanksgiving food coma has worn off.
Leftover Turkey Sandwich with Cranberry Aioli, Shredded Kale, Cheddar Cheese and Mashed Potatoes
Leftover turkey Leftover mashed potatoes (sub stuffing if you prefer) Shredded kale Cheddar cheese Cranberry aioli (see recipe below) Two slices of sunflower seeded wheat bread or a sturdy white bread
Cranberry Aioli (Makes one cup)
1/2 cup cranberry sauce 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 1/2 tsp. orange juice 1 clove garlic 1 tsp. horseradish
Slather cranberry aioli on one slice of the bread. Add turkey, mashed potatoes (or stuffing) and a slice of cheddar cheese and place under the broiler until the cheese melts.
Remove from the oven and add shredded kale, drizzle with more cranberry aioli and top with the other slice of bread.
There’s no better way to kick off the holiday season than with the annual Raleigh Christmas parade: Each year, festive floats, balloons, performers and, of course, Santa Claus, make their way through downtown Raleigh, delivering Christmas cheer to everyone who’s up early enough to attend. Due to COVID, this year’s Christmas parade is going virtual, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have the same jovial experience as you would have in person. Below, Jennifer Martin, the executive director of parade organizing group Shop Local Raleigh, gives us some tips for merry parade watching at home.
Before the parade starts at 10 a.m., head to Tepuy Donuts, Sola Coffee Cafe, Krispy Kreme or one of Raleigh’s other doughnut shops for a dozen and some hot chocolate or coffee for the whole family. It’s the sweetest way to enjoy the parade!
Tune in to ABC11 or use the ABC11 app to watch the city’s first-ever virtual Christmas parade and Zoom/Facetime with friends or family so you can all watch it together. You could even be on TV—tweet photos of your virtual parade watching experience to @RaleighChristmasParade and use the hashtag #RaleighParade for a chance to be featured and win a prize.
Get decked out in your Christmas jammies, and if you haven’t already, decorate your home for Christmas while you watch the parade. It’s also the perfect time to get started on baking Christmas cookies—because there’s no such thing as too much sugar during the holiday season. After the parade, pick up a Christmas tree from a local farm or stand if you haven’t already and finish putting up Christmas decorations inside and outside your home. Then, head to some of Raleigh’s locally-owned shops and boutiques to get a head start on Christmas shopping.
Cap off the cheery Christmas-filled day with dinner at the Angus Barn. Every year, Angus Barn goes all out with Christmas decorations, including a ginormous Christmas tree front and center in the dining room. It’s a Raleigh tradition to eat there during the holiday season!
