Whether takeout or made at home, a North Carolina-style fried fish sandwich puts the fast food giants’ offerings to shame, and our Liz Biro shares tips on how to do it right and where to find the best ones made to order.
food
Lockdown Cravings? Where to Buy Seafood
Stop dreaming about soft-shell crabs and shrimp burgers — North Carolina seafood markets are open and offering shipping, delivery and curbside pickup as the statewide stay-at-home order continues.
Rum Cake A Coastal NC Holiday Tradition
Rum, an important commodity during North Carolina’s Colonial period, remains as an important ingredient in holiday baking, lifting spirits even among the teetotalers.
Burgers: How Eastern NC Goes ‘All the Way’
A Carolina burger is assembled according to its own rules, with “all the way” meaning chili, onions, coleslaw and yellow mustard — cheese is optional, says our Liz Biro, who shares her favorites.
Molasses A Bittersweet Part of NC History
Often purchased these days as an ingredient for holiday baking and later pushed to the back of the cabinet, molasses was once an N.C. staple, albeit with a grim history.
New Year’s Food for Good Luck
Our Liz Biro takes a look back at her “Our Coast’s Food” recipes and presents an entire menu of good luck dishes for New Year’s Day.
Our Coast’s Food: Christmas Sausage Balls
Our Liz Biro writes that when it comes to holiday nibbles in North Carolina, nothing beats sausage balls — mini-meatball morsels of pork and cheddar cheese — but proper preparation is key.
Our Coast’s Food: Mac and Cheese
Liz Biro explains why you should add a baked macaroni and cheese, served at many southern tables during Thanksgiving, to your holiday dinner table.
Our Coast’s Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup
The best Thanksgiving recipes also tell North Carolina’s food story, says food columnist Liz Biro.
Our Coast’s Food: Make Friends With Okra
Not everyone is immediately taken with okra or its notoriously slimy goo, but proper selection and preparation can add to the vegetable’s appeal.
Hush Puppies Have Strayed Far From Coast
Tar Heels may be surprised to learn that the humble, deep-fried cornbread companion to classic Carolina seafood platters has evolved, appearing on
Our Coast’s Food: Holiday Cream Pies
Made with or without fruit, cream pies are a holiday staple for many families along North Carolina’s coast. Our Liz Biro shares stories from a Portsmouth Island native about Christmastime memories and an aunt’s famous cream pies.
Our Coast’s Food: Pig Pickin’ Cake
Our Liz Biro shares her love for the pig pickin’ cake, one of North Carolina’s favorite layer cakes that’s best served chilled, and, since it’s a short list of simple ingredients, a breeze to make.
Ten Ways to ‘Mess With’ A Tomato Sandwich
A white bread tomato sandwich with mayonnaise, salt and pepper could be the official summer food of the N.C. coast, but our Liz Biro offers 10 perfectly acceptable variations on the classic.
Our Coast’s Food: Holiday Cheese Ball
Cheese balls may not immediately come to mind when considering holiday food traditions, but the creamy spheres covered with nuts and served with crackers are a longtime favorite on the North Carolina coast.
Our Coast’s Food: Odd Pairings
Peanuts in Pepsi, Ritz crackers as a lemon pie crust, fried spot and grits — some food combinations enjoyed on the North Carolina coast may seem a bit weird to outsiders.