R E S C H A P E L H I A N A D V E R
T A U R A N T S , D E L I L L , C A R R B O R O , D N O R T H E R N C H T I S E R S H I G H L I G
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TASTE PHOTO BY FORREST MASON
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“We do a roasted whole fish every night,” says Postal Fish Company co-owner James Clark. The restaurant he conceptualized with co-owner Bill Hartley and opened in October is dedicated to bringing the best of the Carolina coast together with local ingredients from the Piedmont region to create a comfortable and delicious culinary experience. “This is a very casual fish house. The decor and ambiance is a little more sophisticated, yet it is still an eat-with-your-hands establishment,” says Bill. Take the vermilion snapper plate, for example. They’ve roasted an underutilized fish from North Carolina and paired it with a mustard green pesto sourced from Chatham County and veggies from Graham and Cedar Grove. On another night,
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it may be black bass with a garlic chili sauce or striped mullet with a sweet potato barbecue sauce. “[Regardless,] we’re trying to keep everything as tied to the community as possible,” says Bill. And better yet, they are driven by passion. “There’s some serenity about being able to go to the dock and seeing the fish come off the boat and into your cooler,” Bill says. “There’s a different level of freshness of quality that you get from that.” Moving into winter, look forward to oyster season. And join James and Bill for brunch on Sundays, too, with a rotating menu that could include anything from a smoked trout omelet to French toast bread pudding. Whole roasted fish plate, $21-$24. – Laura Zolman Kirk