Port City Foodies Newsletter: Decades of winning food and drink

Allison Ballard, Wilmington StarNews
Baklava ice cream is a dish with baklava pieces and syrup served on top of vanilla ice cream at the 2024 Wilmington Greek Festival.
Baklava ice cream is a dish with baklava pieces and syrup served on top of vanilla ice cream at the 2024 Wilmington Greek Festival.

Welcome to the weekly Port City Foodies newsletter brought to you by me, StarNews reporter Allison Ballard. One of the highlights from this past week in food coverage was trying some new things at the Greek Festival. I’ve been going for years and have my favorites that I return to again and again. But, new to me was the baklava ice cream – where the syrupy remnants from baklava pans are poured over vanilla ice cream! It just goes to show that there’s always something new and interesting happening in the Wilmington area. Here’s a look.

Food hub news

I recently wrote about a few things in the works in downtown Wilmington. All promise to be hubs for food trucks and restaurant vendors -- and could really change the restaurant landscape there. A dozen or so businesses are slated for the new Cargo West food hall, including Mike’s Vegan Grill, which is causing some buzz. And there’s Chow Town in the Brooklyn Arts District that is going through planning and permitting. Another is a Shuckin’ Shack test kitchen and the Block Kitchenz concept from Genesis Block. Word has it that Smash N Dash is opening there now-ish for service at 406 and 408 N. Third St.

More: What restaurants are coming to the Cargo District’s new food hall? Here’s a look.

Best burgers

Speaking of Smash N Dash, they were one of the 20 businesses on this StarNews reader poll to find the best burger in the area. All of the nominees have their fans and got some votes. But you can find out the winners here.

Also in burger news, we talked to the new owners of Fork n Cork about their plans for the future – which includes continuing to focus on “big ass burgers” while adding in more specials and some signature craft beer. The downtown favorite celebrates 10 years in business this weekend.

The Dirty South Biscuit from Cast Iron Kitchen in Wilmington was featured on Food Network’s "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" series. It has fried chicken, bacon, runny egg, muenster and pepper-jack cheese with sausage gravy and potatoes.
The Dirty South Biscuit from Cast Iron Kitchen in Wilmington was featured on Food Network’s "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" series. It has fried chicken, bacon, runny egg, muenster and pepper-jack cheese with sausage gravy and potatoes.

More: From big burgers to beer, this Wilmington restaurant looks to the future as it turns 10

More weekend eats

If you’re looking for more restaurant ideas, here are a couple of other local favorites to check out. Also celebrating 10 years in business this year is Ceviche’s near Wrightsville Beach, which always delivers fresh, tropical flavors. And Cast Iron Kitchen near Porters Neck is a go-to for Southern farm-to-table breakfast and brunch. We recently talked to chef and owner, Josh Petty, about some of the challenges facing restaurateurs.

More: Wilmington chef discusses restaurant challenges, encourages diners to eat local

Let’s get social

Follow Port City Foodies on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/portcityfoodies and on Instagram at @port_city_foodies.

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This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Port City Foodies Newsletter: Decades of winning food and drink

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