Arriving from more northern latitudes to take a job at Sorry Charlie’s Oyster Bar and Cocktails in Savannah, Georgia, chef Nate Cayer found himself inspired. “When you’re not from an area, you’re intrigued with local flavors. I fell in love with the produce,” he says. His fresh perspective inspired a bold new condiment that marries a Southern staple, okra, with an oyster bar standard: hot sauce.
“We wanted to grab that Southern feel,” he says. “The flavor leans toward a tomatillo, interestingly enough, but you still have those earthy okra notes. And we char it, so there’s a little bit of charred flavor profile as well.”
The okra hot sauce makes a vibrant green addition to Sorry Charlie’s locally farmed Savannah Oyster Co. Bull River oysters, a small- to medium-sized oyster with a briny pop of flavor. They also use the hot sauce across the menu, blending it into an aïoli as a base for sandwiches and adding it to a fried fish taco and ceviche. “If we’re going to incorporate any kind of heat or acid we’ll use that hot sauce,” Cayer says.
Okra and Herb Verde Hot Sauce
Image courtesy of Zachary Kozdron
Recipe
yields
Serves 2-4
ingredients
¼ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup banana liqueur
4 bananas, peeled and cut in half length wise, then halved
Countertop butane range (about 8,000 BTU) with 8-ounce butane canister
steps
Combine butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a large, oval-shaped sauté pan. Place pan on gas burner over low heat and cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Stir in banana liqueur, then place bananas in pan. After about 2 minutes, when bananas soften and begin to brown and butter and sugar are bubbling, carefully add rum. Continue to cook sauce until rum is hot, about 30 seconds.
Tip pan towards you very slightly so dry part of pan gets really hot, about 20 seconds. Then tip pan away from you, not enough to spill the liquid but just enough so that the cooking flame can catch alcohol fumes and ignite. Immediately level the pan flat on the burner and turn off the gas. Flame will burst up so be prepared, but don’t worry: It will die down quickly. You can keep a metal lid or pan cover on the side if you’re worried about the flame extending too long.
When flames subside, scoop bananas out of pan with tongs and place four pieces over each portion of ice cream. Generously spoon warm sauce over ice cream and serve immediately.
Whether he’s a grill master, a breakfast lover, or someone with a serious sweet tooth, we’ve got a curated lineup of dishes that’ll make Father‘s Day special.
The smoky scent of barbecue wafting through the air.The crack of a crab claw over a picnic table.
We’re all in on a summer of outdoor eating, and this issue is packed with ways to do just that. Does the idea of cooking seafood intimidate you? While salmon, shrimp, and tuna are widely consumed in the US, it’s said that many home cooks avoid cooking seafood at home. But we’re here to change your mind—we tapped chefs around the South to give us their simplest methods for cooking everything from North Carolina shrimp to trout to crab cakes.
It’s also officially barbecue season and we’ve got our eye on Texas, thanks to a new cookbook from pitmaster Evan LeRoy and a brisket tutorial from pitmaster Leonard Botello IV of TRUTH BBQ. With these two experts, you’re in excellent hands (and don’t miss LeRoy’s instructions for making ribs on our website). And if you’re in need of new grilling tools for the season, check out Kitchen Upgrade.
As we were putting this issue together, it dawned on us how easy it would be to craft an entire meal from recipes throughout the book. For example, Gullah Geechee chef BJ Dennis shares four recipes highlighting peak summer produce (a preview to his forthcoming cookbook), and a few of them would go nicely with chef Dean Neff’s tuna loin or Botello’s brisket. Add a big-batch mocktail, like the The Mauve, and some watermelon granita to finish and you’re fit for a feast. We’re also craving crabcakes, so we wrangled a recipe from James London’s mom (hi, Donna!) while also offering a crabcake tour around the South.
Have you noticed a rise in omakase-style restaurants in your area? The South is now swimming in excellent sushi concepts—but are they sustainable? Managing editor Emily Havener finds out. Dive into that, as well as the trend of cocktail pairing menus while you wait for those ribs to smoke.
It’s a mix-and-match kind of issue that we hope you devour all summer long.
What I’m Drinking:
When putting together beverage pairings for our seafood recipe feature, I became smitten with the newest release from Charleston-based cocktail mixer company Bittermilk. The No. 8 mixer is laced with blood orange, making it a super-juicy sipper whether it’s blended with tequila or sparkling water.
Like most Texans, Evan LeRoy grew up in a culture where barbecue was ubiquitous. Relatives would gather at the Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood for special occasions, and a big buffet would be waiting to celebrate the end of the school year. “Barbecue was everywhere, and at the same time, it wasnʼt really something that is lauded and respected like it is today,” he remembers.
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Purple sweet potato cocktails and rice-flour fried chicken. Heated bar countertops and polaroids of your table to take home. This is just a glimpse into the lively menu and warming novelties that make up iconic duo chef Jonathan Lundy and TJ Cox’s most recent endeavor, 3TEN—the Pacific Rim inspired restaurant broadening Lexington, Kentucky’s palate.
The owners first met in 2007 in Lexington, where Cox ultimately became a bartender and manager at chef Lundy’s former restaurant, Jonathan at Gratz Park. “I had been working in restaurants for about seven years, and to be offered a job at Jonathan’s was a pinnacle of my career,” Cox says. “It was the kind of job you dreamt about in the industry here in Lexington. I was in school at the time and could really only work on weekends, which they allowed me to do.”
After graduation, Jonathan entrusted Cox to operate Jonathan at Gratz Park while he applied his skills to Latin cuisine. When the restaurant closed in 2014, the two solidified their partnership in taking on the venture of bringing hip, Latin cuisine to Lexington, and opened the wildly successful Corto Lima in 2017.
While Corto has thrived on West Short Street for nearly a decade, their latest tiki-chic joint, 3TEN, was a long time coming. “Over the years, Jonathan and I have always found ourselves talking tiki,” Cox says. “During the COVID-19 shutdown, we kept Corto Lima open for pickup service but thought it might be nice to offer some variety. One of our pop-up takeout themes was tiki. We did a Pu Pu platter with mai tais and other tropical concoctions. It was so well received that we thought maybe this could work as a concept in Lexington.”
The team began to scout the perfect location and build recipes for more Pan-Asian popups. Chef Lundy even transformed his home into a tiki haven (some of his personal decorations now adorn the walls of 3TEN). The group scored 310 W Short Street in 2024, and have since refreshed the downtown dining scene.
The vast menu offers something special for every kind of eater. Think: pillowy bao buns filled with coconut shrimp and bright tofu lettuce wraps to hearty tiki chicken masala and sticky ribs with mac and cheese. You can always pick a dish from each category of the menu—start with the black garlic salt edamame, end with the crispy duck fried rice—for a complete experience.
To say 3TEN is changing the way Lexington takes on a cocktail is an understatement. Sure, you can enjoy a classic mai tai or dirty martini and be totally satisfied, but take advantage of the wildly creative elixirs. Take the Plum Potatoes cocktail, which makes magic with a lemongrass shochu, ume liqueur, and purple potato simple syrup—not to mention it’s downright adorable. Or, really set your watch to island time with their seasonal Hude and the Blowfish, a rum, orgeat, and orange amaro delight, which of course arrives in a blowfish mug with a crazy straw.
Zero-proof drinkers are not left out of the fun. Give the bartender two adjectives you like in a drink—smoky, tart, refreshing, herbal—and they’ll deliver a custom mocktail that is just as playful as the real deal.
It’s clear the closeness of Lundy and Cox’s partnership doesn’t end with the owners—or even 3TEN. Lead bartender Jake Parry acknowledged drinks created by other bartenders on staff that embody the menu. The menu’s design was even done in part by longtime 3TEN bartender Raph Ware. Manager Terri King even offers a curated list of nearby local restaurants and bars for guests that encourages supporting downtown Lexington past their visit to 3TEN.
When asked what it’s like to balance two thriving restaurants, just down the street from each other, the co-owner and certified sommelier’s response was humble. “We have tremendous teams at both restaurants that are dedicated to bringing the best products and experiences to our guests,” says Cox. “The culture that has been developed by our staff at Corto Lima over the years provided us with the framework to build at 3TEN.”
He continues, “Lexington has been so kind to us and we are eternally grateful for the support of the community. All those smiling faces we see every day, and guests that have literally stood in the rain waiting to get in, have given us confidence to keep going and keep growing. I could never thank our guests enough.”
Make your reservations at 3TEN here. And catch happy hour—the first and last hour of opening—for discounted cocktails and half off select small plates.
As spring gives way to summer, Jackson County invites you to take dining outside. Here, meals are best enjoyed where cool mountain air, seasonal flavors, and scenic views come together to create an unforgettable culinary experience.
Patios With a View
When the weather turns warm, Jackson County makes it easy to slow down and savor the moment. Across Cashiers, Sylva, and the surrounding mountain towns, outdoor dining pairs fresh air and scenery with the kind of relaxed hospitality that invites you to linger a little longer. You’ll find American and global fare, plus seafood, coffee shops, cafés, breweries, and more, making it simple to plan a meal around whatever sounds best that day.
A Table for Every Taste
Al fresco dining in Jackson County can feel rustic, polished, or somewhere in between. City Lights, connected to a bookstore by the same name, offers an intimate outdoor patio in downtown Sylva. Nearby, ILDA pairs outdoor seating with handmade pasta and seafood, Lulu’s on Main provides an array of delicious locally sourced dishes, and Creekside Oyster House & Grill offers seafood, steak, and sandwiches. Meanwhile, you can enjoy Thai cuisine creekside at DeLayaor visit Foragers, where down-home cooking meets the world.
Canyon Kitchen serves farm-to-table fare in Lonesome Valley, while Cashiers offers The Orchard with a covered patio and garden views, hand-tossed pizza at Slab Town Pizza, and local favorite Cornucopia, known for its amazing Sunday brunch.
Flavor That Feels Like Place
What makes these outdoor meals especially memorable is the setting itself: cool mountain air, seasonal ingredients, and views that remind you exactly where you are. In Jackson County, dining outdoors is not just a warm-weather perk. It’s part of the experience, whether you are stopping for a casual lunch, settling in for dinner, or making a day of local flavor and mountain scenery. For more inspiration, including additional al fresco options, visit discoverjacksonnc.com
THE FLAVORS OF THE CARIBBEAN—electric Scotch bonnet chilies, richly spiced curries, floral ginger, and tangy and sour fruit and citrus—are having a moment in the American South. These flavors have long been whispered through the region. But today they’re speaking with clarity and confidence, showing up in strip-mall storefronts, on white tablecloths, and in the hands of chefs who embody the deep, tangled lineage between these two places.
The current Caribbean moment is really something older finally coming into focus. For generations, Southern food harkened back to West Africa—okra, stewed greens, rice, smoked and braised meats. But the full story also courses through the Caribbean, where many enslaved Africans were taken before being forced into the South and across the Americas. That history isn’t a footnote—it’s a backbone that further links the Caribbean to the forming of this nation.
Which is why it makes sense that Caribbean flavors feel instantly familiar here. Cornbread and grits echo Caribbean cornmeal breads and staples like fufu—pounded starches typically served with savory sauces and soups. Gumbos carry the imprint of African okra dishes and hearty Caribbean stews, while braised oxtail, simmered greens, smoked meats, and coconut rice further reveal how intertwined these cultures are.
Today, the shared language of these regions is being boldly expressed by a growing wave of chefs and creators whose roots span the island region. These tastemakers are tapping into family traditions, culinary training, and the growing cultural influence of the South to build cuisines that are vibrant and distinctly diasporic.
If any Southern city embodies the Caribbean South, it’s New Orleans. And the chef at the center of its modern Caribbean voice is Nina Compton of Compère Lapin and Nina’s Creole Cottage.
Image courtesy of Denny Culbert
A Saint Lucian native, Top Chef alum, and James Beard Award winner, Compton has watched the region’s perception of Caribbean food shift dramatically.
“We’re getting a moment—not just as a roti shop or quick sit-down,” she says. “People are opening restaurants that showcase beautiful rums, thoughtful menus.”
In New Orleans, Caribbean flavors meet Southern soul in ways that feel inevitable. “Because of the slave trade, there’s a direct connection,” Compton explains. “Okra, greens, black-eyed peas…those ingredients hit in a particular way.”
The cuisine of her island is fun, approachable, and above all, seasonal. It’s humble cooking that’s often misunderstood by tourists who instead imagine grilled fish topped with tropical fruit salsa. And like the American South, Saint Lucia has always been “farm to table,” long before the phrase became trendy.
“Roadside vendors, farmers markets, fish- ermen selling what they catch that day—that’s just normal. Most people have a fruit tree in their yard: custard apples, star fruit, pineapples, guineps, coconuts, bananas, cacao. Coffee grows in the cooler, mountainous parts. Nothing mass-produced, just small lots of land. That’s the flavor of home,” she says.
At her restaurants, Compton folds those tradi- tions into her signature style of cooking. Her beef cheek cottage pie with green fig (unripe banana) instead of potato is a quiet nod to African influ- ence. She introduces diners to conch, dasheen, sea-moss drinks, ginger-lemongrass teas, and black cake dense with rum.
“Caribbean cuisine isn’t one thing,” she says. “It’s a whole world.”
Florida remains the most Caribbean of Southern States. Especially a mini Caribbean, the proximity and subsequently similar climate have made it a haven for generations of Caribbean communities from across the islands. That’s where Haitian-born chef Alain Lemaire runs a catering company, Sensory Delights, and his private chef/supper club-style project, Ou Manje Deja? (That’s Haitian-Creole for “have you eaten yet?”)
Lemaire describes his cooking as “world cuisine,” but whenever he’s given creative direction, he reaches back to Haiti. “Fresh and in your face,” he says.
His flavor building is meticulous. He leans on cloves, Scotch bonnet, thyme, garlic, epis (Haiti’s style of mirepoix using garlic, peppers, and fresh herbs), and the deep pantry of an island shaped by African, European, and Indigenous influences. “It’s never one dimension,” he says. “Caribbean cuisine is a multiverse of flavors. People take a bite and can’t pick out one specific note. It’s explosive but balanced.”
Lemaire’s creativity shows most vividly in his dinner series, where he reimagines Haitian staples using classical technique. He might turn djondjon (a native Haitian black mushroom) into a creamy pasta or risotto, swap smoked herring for anchovies in a caesar dressing, or update pork griot using belly instead of shoulder. His pikliz uses red cabbage “for extra pop,” and he even repurposes its vinegar for glazes finished under high heat.
“There’s this idea that Caribbean countries are all tropical fruit and tiki huts,” he says. “Food can correct that misconception. We know fine dining; we know technique.”
And diners, he notes, are increasingly curious. “People used to ask, ‘Is Haitian food spicy?’ Not necessarily. It’s the layers of flavor. The richness. And now folks are more open—they realize Caribbean isn’t just jerk or curry,” he says, echoing Compton. There’s a whole world here.”
For now, he’s happy to let his food do the talking—and the teaching. “The best reaction is when someone says, ‘I’ve only had jerk before.’ Then they try my food and see what Caribbean cuisine really is,” he says. “That moment of discovery—that’s why I do this.”
Charleston’s rise as one of the country’s pre- mier food cities didn’t happen by chance. Its Gullah Geechee roots run deep, and so do its Caribbean ties. For chef and sustainable-seafood evangelist Shaun Brian, those ties run straight back to Saint John, where he grew up in a life that was rugged yet enchanted. “It was beautiful, yes—but also scrappy,” he says. His family lived in a two-person tent on a platform near Coral Bay Harbor. “No bathrooms—you dug a hole. Solar panels, cistern water. We built everything ourselves.”
That resourcefulness—the rhythm of living close to land and sea—shaped him. He grew up on callaloo simmered with pig tails, salt fish, pâtés, and whole fried fish. He worked in a lumberyard at nine and learned early that food was both sustenance and identity.
“Saint Thomas and Saint John are culturally at the center of the Caribbean,” he says. “When I came to Charleston, hearing Gullah felt like home.”
He cooked up and down the East Coast after studying at Johnson & Wales, including back home in the US Virgin Islands and on Martha’s Vineyard. But when he got to Charleston, his background and training clicked: He cofounded CudaCo. Seafood House as a revived sea- food market and restaurant on James Island. Putting his building skills to use, he and his team gutted the space, salvaged artifacts from the property, cleaned the creek behind it, and built a market that feels both modern and rooted in local culture.
His fried fish sandwich is a perfect example of his layered identity: part culinary training, part affection for the abundance of flounder in Charleston’s waters, part nostalgia for the Filet-O-Fish. But beneath that playfulness is deep conviction.
“Charleston calls itself a seafood town, but most chefs are held captive by a few purveyors,” he explains. “I wanted transparent sourcing, fair pay, and chef-driven seafood— approachable, not smug.”
He buys from local fishermen, butchers on- site, and mentors his team with an emphasis on humility. Next up is an exciting expansion—the CudaCo. Deck House: a raw bar and coastal wine- and-beer bar scheduled to open in early 2026. He’s going for an “island-to-table” approach—crudos and ceviches alongside cassava finished with but- ter and pickled red onion in the Dominican style: bright, acidic, mouthwatering. The new space will be small and elegant, with oyster roast stations and weathered floorboards honoring the water- men who worked the property long before him.
For Brian, the cultures of the Lowcountry and the Caribbean are enmeshed, as much through history as through foodways and the cadence of daily life. He grows purple sugarcane on James Island, forages wild cassava and prickly pear, and cooks through the diasporic flavors that de- fined him. “Charleston has so much Caribbean DNA,” he says. “It feels familiar.”
Although Caribbean cuisine is often closely associated with seafood, rich dark-meat stews and roasted whole pig are also abundant and important staples. While the flavors of Shaun Brian’s hometown in the US Virgin Islands are a polyphonic chorus of cultural diversity, Puerto Rico’s specific influences informed chef Hector Garate’s distinct and explosive flavor profile.
Garate arrived from Puerto Rico at 14, unable to speak English or find the flavors that shaped him. He had grown up in El Trópico, his father’s restaurant in Puerto Rico, where comida criolla (as Puerto Rican soul food is commonly called) was less cuisine than a way of life: sofrito-laced stews, punchy citrus marinades, smoky meats.
“Not having the food, the people, the music—it was a drastic change,” he says.
He dabbled in culinary school and cooked in New York kitchens before coming back to the Carolinas, then found his moment during the pandemic while smoking meat in his backyard. What emerged was Palmira—barbecue that looks familiar but tastes like home.
His lane was clear from the start: open fire, deep smoke, and bold Puerto Rican flavors. He developed custom rubs from adobo and sazón seasoning, as well as oregano and the bright acidity of sour orange. His whole hog barbecue first gets rubbed down with that seasoning, then it’s roasted—always skin-side down—before being bathed in sofrito: Puerto Rico’s iconic and distinct blend of peppers, onion, garlic, and cilantro. He also put his stamp on a Southern classic: mac and cheese seasoned with confit garlic and housemade sazón seasoning.
“People underestimate what the Caribbean has to offer,” he says. “They taste our food and realize—this is barbecue, too.”
Barbecue is arguably one of the South’s most famous culinary exports, capturing the attention of people across the world. But for Puerto Ricans, it’s a particular point of pride, because the word barbecue is derived from the Indigenous Taíno barabicu—referring to a platform set over an open fire for smoking.
Garate planted his Puerto Rican flag in craft barbecue—literally and figuratively. And the world has noticed. He’s cooked hogs in London with global pitmasters, become Yeti’s first Puerto Rican ambassador, and earned nods from Texas Monthly, Esquire, James Beard, and more. But his success is most deeply rooted at home: his mother works with him; his father stops in; the restaurant walls hold notes from the restaurant’s namesake, his great-grandmother Palmira, who lived to 103.
“It’s my DNA. It’s what I’m proud to share,” he says.
In Houston—a city emerging as one of the most exciting food destinations in the region—Top Chef Season 22 winner Tristen Epps is connecting the Caribbean to the world.
He’s been working in kitchens since he was 16, but the story his food tells was built over a lifetime. Born to a Trinidadian mother who was in the military and raised him on military bases across the globe, he didn’t always have a strong affinity for Caribbean flavors.
“My Trinidadian heritage was plentiful, but it felt far from me,” he says. Holidays meant aunties, curry, and the rhythm of island kitchens; everyday life meant convenience cooking with a single mom in the military. That duality— Trinidadian on one side, American on the other— followed him into culinary school, where he quickly noticed what wasn’t being taught.
“I never saw Trinidadian food in books, magazines, or restaurants,” he says. “If I didn’t see it, I figured it must not be good enough.” Still, wherever he lived he found himself hunting for Trini staples like roti and curry goat—until one day he stopped searching and started cooking. That’s when the technique he’d trained in—French sauces, precise cuts, classic mirepoix— met the layered, slow-built foundations of Trinidad. “Everyone has a sofrito,” he says. “Africa, the Caribbean—these flavor bases aren’t quick. You wash meat with lime, season it with green seasoning, build broth with sour orange, garlic, thyme, scotch bonnet, allspice. Then you burn sugar—that’s another whole layer.”
This layering, which is essential to dishes across the Caribbean, is what makes the cuisine so sophisticated and dynamic. He’s watched Caribbean cuisine quietly boom across the South and also marvels at the increased availability of once hard-to-find ingredients like cassava, taro, whole coconuts, and starfruit. “Southerners are realizing how similar Caribbean food is to their own,” he says. “The door’s unlocked. The ingredients are here.”
Between restaurant plans, collaborations from Miami to LA, private events, and festivals, his mis- sion stays constant: expanding the conversation around Caribbean food. And his favorite moments are those flashes of recognition from diners who realize they already know these flavors.
“I love the aha moment,” Epps says. “You’ve had this food your whole life—you just didn’t know to call it Caribbean.”
Tristen Epps is a Houston-based chef and winner of Bravo’s Top Chef Season 22 whose work centers on Afro-Caribbean cuisine, shaped by a globally influenced upbringing and a career spent moving between some of the country’s most dynamic kitchens. Born into a Trinidadian family and raised in a military household, Epps spent his childhood living in places like Guam, Japan, and the Philippines, an experience that sharpened his palate early and continues to inform his cooking today. Trained at Johnson & Wales and mentored by chefs like Marcus Samuelsson, he went on to lead acclaimed restaurants, earn MICHELIN recognition, and build a reputation for translating diasporic foodways into a contemporary fine-dining context.
In this video, Epps brings that perspective to a Charleston classic, reworking red rice into a savory porridge that reflects both place and personal history. He starts with Carolina Gold rice, pre-cooked to emphasize its nutty aroma, and combines it with frica, a chewy grain that adds texture and dimension. The technique is straightforward but intentional: butter in a hot pan, followed by garlic, thyme, red onion, and fresno chile to build a layered base.
From there, the dish moves outward geographically. Dried shrimp introduces a concentrated umami note, while smoked paprika and curry powder—an unmistakable nod to Caribbean flavor—add depth and warmth. Epps highlights the importance of blooming spices in fat, allowing them to fully develop before adding tomato paste for richness and seafood stock fortified with clam and mussel liquor.
As the liquid simmers, the rice is added back in, thickening the mixture into a porridge that sits somewhere between traditional red rice and risotto. The texture is flexible, adjusted to preference, but always anchored by the starch of the grain. Clams, mussels, and crab are folded in, reinforcing the Lowcountry influence while elevating the dish’s overall richness. A final addition of butter smooths everything out, giving the porridge a cohesive, glossy finish.
For plating, Epps keeps it simple but intentional. The porridge forms the base, topped with shellfish and finished with fresh peppers, tomatoes, and herbs for contrast. He calls it “poor rich” as a way of reframing a humble dish through technique, ingredients, and context. What emerges is not a reinvention so much as a continuation: a version of red rice that reflects Charleston’s roots while tracing the broader currents of the African diaspora that have always shaped it.
Tucked between the Cape Fear River and Atlantic Ocean, Wilmington, NC and its three island beaches offer the perfect blend of historic charm and coastal adventure. Whether you’re planning along weekend escape or sun-soaked summer vacation, you want to include these must-do activities in your coastal itinerary.
Battleship NORTH CAROLINA
Stroll the nearly two-mile Riverwalk. With more than 200 locally owned shops, restaurants, markets, galleries and more just steps away, the Riverwalk offers easy access to the best of downtown. Hop on a sunset cruise with live music or charter a private sail. Catch a riverfront concert at Live Oak Bank Pavilion followed by drinks at a hidden speakeasy or rooftop bar. See famous film sites like the Naley Bench from “One Tree Hill” and go on a self-guided tour to discover more local spots where favorite shows like “Dawson’s Creek” and “The Summer I Turned Pretty” filmed.
Hit the water. The area’s diverse waterways mean no matter where you are, you’ll find epic, water-based adventures. Learn to surf from an Olympic Gold Medalist inCarolina Beach. Find your Zen with a SUP Yoga class in Wrightsville Beach. Kayak to Zeke’s Island Reserve from Kure Beach. Dive under the surface to discover historic shipwrecks just offshore. Say ahoy to a pirate-themed cruise to a private island in search of buried treasure. Or, stay on land and relax on the sand with crystal blue waters in your view.
Step back in time at area historic sites. Board Battleship NORTH CAROLINA, moored across from the Riverwalk, to discover the history of the most decoratedAmerican battleship in WWII and its sailors. Go on a guided or self-guided tour of historic home museums or learn about the area’s African American history on a WilmingtoNColor tour. In Kure Beach, explore Fort Fisher State Historic Site, site of the Civil War’s largest amphibious battle featuring a brand-new, interactive exhibitions and restored earthworks on the grounds.
Immerse yourself in the area’s blossoming foodie scene. Sample coastal flavors on a Taste Carolina Tour through downtown Wilmington or a Tasting History Tour through Carolina Beach. Sip your way around the Wilmington Ale Trail. Elevate your dining experience with a sunset dinner on a private island catered by a local chef with Epic Excursions, or go on their Oyster Farm Tour & Tasting excursion to learn about the area’s seafood scene and sample freshly caught oysters. Enjoy brunch and mimosas on a sailboat with Soundside Adventures.
However you choose to experience Wilmington’s coast, you’ll find every visit feels like the start of a new favorite tradition. Start planning your trip today with these must-do activities and discover more to add to your Wilmington & Beaches bucket list.
Twenty-some years ago, if you asked anyone what was so delicious about Wilmington, the immediate answer would have been Flaming Amy’s. The Fajitarito, especially with pineapple jalapeño salsa, was a culinary delight for any palate (and it’s still legit […]
