PHOTO COURTESY OF TERRY ESPY
DINING & DRINKS
Bluewater Waterfront Grill
Dining & Drinks When you’re hungry, you’ll find plenty of restaurants where you can indulge your cravings. Southern traditions, world flavors, local ingredients and imaginative chefs abound in the Cape Fear region and surrounding beaches.
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WilmingtonToday.com
The area has been a culinary paradise since the first explorers saw footlong oysters and wild grapes along the shoreline some 500 years ago. Wilmington’s port city status brought edibles and influences from around the globe. Rich soils and so much fresh seafood provided added bounty that shaped an eclectic cuisine like no other. The local foods cooperative Feast Down East makes sure chefs have premium ingredients from area farms. Staff and volunteers connect cooks and devoted growers, assuring diners flavorful ingredients — organic and sustainably raised. Can’t decide what to eat? Mix it up. Creative chefs are rooted in classics, but they’re known for inventing irresistible combinations. And it’s not just them. Master bartenders stir the perfect Old Fashioned or creative martinis. Breweries
pour nationally recognized craft beers, and wine flows from award-winning lists. No worries if you’re not an oenophile. Seasoned sommeliers guide you. Casual and fine-dining establishments pepper the landscape, but no need to dress up or break the bank at either. The buzz-phrase here is “upscale casual.” Khaki pants are fine even at the fanciest restaurants, and affordable prices are everywhere. Beautiful weather most days of the year means you can dine outdoors in gorgeous settings. Choose sidewalk café tables or a pier extending over the sea. Sit on a riverside deck and watch boats cruise by at sunset. Relax, feel at home and remember to save room for dessert at these restaurants, where the food is always good, the prices are great and you’ll leave satisfied.
