The coronavirus may have largely done away with summer meals in air-conditioned comfort, but at least we can still eat outside. When restaurants were permitted to open their dining rooms in late May, many in Raleigh opted only to open their outdoor seating areas, as health experts rated modified outdoor dining as less risky than indoor dining or dining without any reduced capacity or socially distanced tables. Additionally, experts say, transmission of COVID-19 is less likely outdoors due to breezes in the air and higher temperatures—less likely, but not impossible. When it comes to outdoor dining in Raleigh, we’ve noticed these restaurants are going above and beyond to take precautions for customer safety; their lovely, lively (but still socially distanced) atmospheres don’t hurt, either.
If you missed out on a lavish summer vacation this year, visit Rosewater’s stunning patio—it will transport you to a garden oasis, one that’s teeming with lush flora and fauna and the perfect atmosphere for enjoying the also-gorgeous menu of Mediterranean fare and hand-crafted cocktails. Rosewater recently covered more of its patio to accommodate additional diners on rainy days, so you can enjoy brunch and dinner there, no matter the weather.
Whiskey Kitchen’s expansive patio has long been a favorite in downtown Raleigh. Umbrella-covered picnic tables are perfect for dinner date nights, office lunch outings or gathering with a group of friends for late-night drinks, while the large garage doors lend that inside-outside vibe we find ideal on hot summer days. Even before coronavirus came along, we loved how the patio tables were well spaced out; you’ll have your own bubble but you won’t feel isolated.
It’s no question that Wye Hill has the best patio views in Raleigh, with the city’s skyline as a backdrop for craft beer, innovative cocktails and chef-driven bar food such as beer cheese, barbecue fries and burgers. To ensure the health of both employees and guests, the restaurant has instilled a “sales” team that takes orders, processes payments and clears plates and glassware and a “service” team to deliver food and drinks to guests, in order to reduce cross-contamination.
Our favorite spot on STIR’s patio is the outdoor bar window, where you’ll find us ordering a stream of colorful cocktails along with fresh oysters, ceviche and other refreshing seafood dishes. When STIR reopened at the beginning of phase 2, it limited parties to a maximum of 10 people and required guests to wear face masks until they reach their tables and when they use the restroom.
Winston’s wraparound patio is great for spacing tables 6 feet apart to ensure social distancing. Plus, it’s covered, meaning you can enjoy the upscale American menu even in the rain. We love that Winston’s mixes up offerings with daily specials so there’s always something new to try, though we can never pass up the signature Carolina crab dip.
Mulino’s outdoor tables are centered around a serene blue pool and interspersed with greenery functioning as barriers between tables during COVID. The overall effect is a lavish patio environment unlike any other in Raleigh. While we can’t travel to Italy just yet, we’re more than happy to settle for Mulino’s wines, pastas and pizzas on a summer evening.
Kimarie and Eric Ankenbrand’s house is anything but traditional—but that’s why they love it so much.
Kimarie, the managing director and Raleigh lead at commercial real estate agency JLL, worked with Dallas-based Ashley Bell Interiors to style her California Modern-inspired home in Country Club Hills—built by Raleigh’s Allure Homes—into her vision of a humble abode that prioritizes character, personality and class. “The style is very different from what you normally see in Raleigh, but timeless at the same time,” Eric, a strategic accounts manager for Samsung, says.
The Ankenbrands started the project almost a year ago, with the coronavirus pandemic hitting towards the end of the building process. Luckily, their builder was able to keep working through lockdown while ensuring everyone involved stayed safe and healthy. Due to the pandemic, Kimarie had to work with their designer virtually, as well, as Bell couldn’t travel from Dallas to Raleigh to work on the house in person.
Kimarie says she drew much of the inspiration for the home from Instagram, particularly from the profiles of various builders, architects and interior and exterior designers based across the country. “You could design an entire house just by looking at inspiration pictures and following people,” she says.
Bell also helped Kimarie break with tradition in different aspects of the home. They mixed metal finishes in every room, excluded crown molding and a formal living room and made the laundry/mud room one of Kimarie’s favorite rooms in the house. Kimarie also paid careful attention to the bathrooms, which she had styled with creative tiles and elegant light fixtures. She says shopping online from different vendors, she found unique tile options that could be hard to find locally but were still priced within her budget.
Kimarie integrated many of her family’s personal items into the design of the home. A 7-foot hammerhead shark that her dad caught in Key West before he passed away in 2007 hangs on the wall of her two boys’ playroom. The shark, nicknamed “Sharky,” has hung in all of the four homes the family has lived in over the past five years. “Every time we move, the one thing I tell the movers that is irreplaceable is the shark,” Kimarie says.
A personalized vintage name art canvas hangs on another wall in the home, which Kimarie bought at a decor shop in Dallas. It contains the names of places that have a special meaning to their family, including “White Rock Lake,” “Idle Rich Pub” and “Mi Cocina,” the name of the restaurant where Kimarie and Eric had their first date. The personal pieces give the Ankenbrands’ house a distinct character that’s all their own.
While the family’s new house is certainly a beauty, Kimarie says the Southern hospitality they’ve received since moving in just three months ago is what really made them feel at home. “The neighbors we have met have been absolutely incredible,” she says. “The house itself is great, but the people and hospitality that have welcomed us to the street, neighborhood and Raleigh have been the nicest surprise.”
Avast ye, me hearties! There’s treasure hidden somewhere in downtown Raleigh and only the most knowledgeable pirates will be able to find it. Florida-based event planning company Scavengee has organized The Pirates Treasure Hunt to take Raleighites on a scavenger hunt through the city in their most creative pirate costumes.
Using smartphones, teams of two to six participants will be guided through a virtual board game to various sites where pirates will test scavenger hunters’ knowledge, powers of deduction and creativity. With each completed challenge, teams earn points and collect pieces of Cap’n Graybeard’s treasure map that leads to the secret location of the buried treasure.
Teams with the highest score, best costumes and most creative team name will win prizes. “The Pirates Treasure Hunt was created to help the community transition back to some level of normalcy, while also benefitting the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina,” said Scavengee creator Steve Tishman. “This entertaining experience blends components of a scavenger hunt with all of the adventure of a ‘who done it’ mystery adventure.”
The treasure hunt will take place on September 19 and costs $40 per team. Kids, teens and adults are encouraged to play along. To help maintain social distancing, there will be a three-hour start window for teams to begin the hunt anytime between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.; face masks are encouraged in public.
ASL interpreters bring crucial information to NC residents who are deaf and hard of hearing.
There’s a joke in the American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter community that if you see an interpreter on the screen, you know to get bread and milk.
In 2017, the North Carolina Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing developed a relationship with the state’s Emergency Management Division to request interpreters for the governor’s public announcements related to public safety, public health or life threatening crises. At the time, it was hurricanes and ice storms officials wanted to warn about; now, it’s the coronavirus that, besides bread and milk, had North Carolinians scouring stores for toilet paper and bleach as well.
If you’ve been watching Gov. Roy Cooper’s recent news conferences, you’ll recognize Lee Williamson, who has been interpreting the coronavirus briefings since March and has been the primary interpreter for the governor’s press conferences since 2017.
A child of deaf adults (CODA), Williamson was exposed to sign language early on and grew up signing with his immediate and extended family, including deaf cousins who he played with during family gatherings. Williamson says he never thought of interpreting professionally, however, until, after college, he took a job as a staff interpreter at the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf in Wilson, where his parents taught. In this role, Williamson interpreted for the school’s students who also took classes at the local public high school.
In the 1990s, with the passing of the American Disabilities Act (ADA) requiring public accommodations for auxiliary aids and services for the deaf or hard of hearing, Williamson became a freelance interpreter for what he calls “public face work,” which includes large public meetings or press conferences. Williamson says public face work is intimidating, as interpreters must act as the public face of the entire American Sign Language community.
Despite the pressure of being in front of crowds of people or being broadcast on live TV, Williamson went on to become a staff interpreter, and then a communication access manager, for the NC Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. That led to him interpreting for the governor. Williamson says members of the deaf community are the gatekeepers to how you move up in your role as a sign language interpreter.
“The better you are, the better the deaf community understands you and the more you’re requested to do different types of work,” he explains. “You need to have an interpreter who has many years of experience, not only interpreting ASL but interacting with the deaf community.”
When selecting his current team of eight interpreters for Cooper’s COVID-related announcements, Williamson looked at each applicant’s interpreting skills as well as their ability to communicate in a way that is as close to native ASL as possible, so that the largest audience is able to watch and understand what they’re interpreting.
Williamson says because the deaf are only able to learn through intentional learning—rather than picking up information while only halfway listening, as hearing individuals can—the deaf community varies in its knowledge of general information.
Facial expressions help interpreters get their points across, too. In fact, Williamson says, facial expressions are one the most important parts of sign language communication. Although facial expressions vary by each interpreter’s personality, Williamson explains that they add context and meaning behind a sign. For example, if you sign “interesting” while rolling your eyes, it translates to sarcasm.
“Facial expressions, shaking your head or your shoulders, the shape of your mouth—all of these influence your sign,” Williamson says. Interpreters try to wear clothes, he adds, that contrast with their skin tones, so their hands are more clearly visible.
In the past few years, Williamson says there has been a push within the National Association for the Deaf and the Registry of Interpreters to use deaf interpreters for press conferences, or any other public face work, as deaf interpreters are the only true native signers. They would still, of course, need interpreters like Williamson to relay them messages, which they can then communicate into a native and more authentic ASL.
“In this age of recognition of historically marginalized communities, the deaf community is extremely marginalized—they’re treated differently because they’re deaf,” Williamson says. “We want people to realize that it’s not our language, it’s not our culture. It’s not for us to speak for the deaf community.”
When it comes to picnicking, Dusti Patterson, an NC State engineering student and Air Force reservist, likes to go above and beyond: think full place settings, cozy blankets, plush pillows and taper candles. In May, Patterson founded Picnic Raleigh in order to provide a luxurious outdoor picnic experience for those looking for creative and fun date night ideas in the modern pandemic reality that are unique, yet safe.
Since then, Patterson has hosted picnics for birthdays, engagements, family nights, friendly get-togethers and other occasions in backyards and public parks throughout the Triangle. “Seeing the reaction on customers’ faces when they realize that a birthday or anniversary is still being celebrated during this difficult time is priceless,” Patterson says.
Patterson offers a classic picnic experience that includes a blanket and pillows, picnic basket with plates and utensils, chalkboard, small table, crystal glasses and decorations for four guests, as well as a more romantic party-for-two picnic experience. While Patterson’s picnics don’t include food in the price, you can bring your own snacks or get takeout from a local restaurant. Patterson also offers the option to customize color themes and add yard games like giant jenga, volleyball and cornhole.
