Eating in Wilmington
Kim Stacks Mills brings us another travel installment; last time, she wrote about Charleston delights, while this time she talks to us about Wilmington. In her words:
This year, my husband, Jeff, and I chose Wilmington for our annual anniversary vacation. We did a lot of the usual tourist attractions, but the best part of our trip was by far the restaurants.
We stayed in a condo called "The Gallery" in the historic district, just a block and a half from the River Walk. I requested a free guidebook from the Cape Fear Coast Visitor's Center and decided on The Gallery when I scanned the accommodations chart: The Carolinian: 61 units, The Wilmingtonian: 40; The Gallery: 1. I went to the Web site just to see if it was a mistake. But when I saw the place, I knew I wanted to stay there. We loved this place. The owners made it easy to feel at home there. They had bottled water in the fridge, a customized visitor's guide with their own restaurant reviews, a kitchen full of dishes, appliances and pots and pans, beach chairs and a cooler, toiletries in case you forgot something, DVDs and videogames, pretty much everything you could need. We parked the car and didn't move it again until it was time to go to the beach. We'll definitely stay there again.
But back to restaurants: Here are some of the places we liked best.
Courthouse Café, 7 N. Third St., Wilmington.
Across the street from the visitor’s center. We decided on this place mostly because of the slogan on the front window – “Where justice is served with a pickle.” We grabbed a quick lunch before we grabbed handfuls of brochures. Nothing fancy here, just quality deli meats and fresh salads. The two guys working were also able to suggest several good “locals” restaurants and some fun vintage shops near the River Walk.
Dixie Grill, 116 Market St., Wilmington.
(Second picture down) Next door to the condo. Great breakfast with fun music, including reggae. Great people-watching, too. There was a guy at the counter who was dressed nicely for work, but he had one flip-flop in each back pocket. I know where he was headed after work! They put the pancake syrup in glass Coke bottles with a pour spout like the kind used for liquor bottles. Kitschy fun and no drips. The pancakes were light and fluffy and as big as the plate they came on. Jeff had a traditional eggs/bacon/grits meal, but they used the really good coarsely-ground grits. The hash browns weren't what I expected, but were spicy and good. Instead of the usual grated potatoes, they were cut into chunks and had a lip-warming spice rub on them. The prices were very reasonable.
Slice of Life, 122 Market St., Wilmington.
A pizza/bar two doors down from the condo. The sauce and toppings were good, but it was the crust that sold us. Jeff and I joked about just ordering a crust with a little parmesan cheese sprinkled on it.
Kilwin's, 16 Market St., Wilmington
Ice cream and candy shop. The smell of their waffle cones baking covers the whole block. You'll float in there like they do in the cartoons.
Elijah's, 2 Ann Street
I ordered the same dish this time that I ordered about 15 years ago - mahi mahi on linguine with a light parmesan cream sauce - so consistency and tradition are the name of the game for this place. Jeff had broiled shrimp and scallops in the same parmesan cream sauce. He said it was the best dish he had on the trip. They also had a simple appetizer that was really tasty. They sauteed shrimp then mixed them with a tiny bit of mayonnaise and seasonings, then put the shrimp on crusty bread, topped the whole thing with mozzarella cheese and baked it until it was bubbly. I plan to make this at home. They have a separate menu for the patio seating (which is right on the river), that includes more casual dishes, such as BBQ shrimp skewers and the Carolina Bucket, which is a lowcountry boil with clams, crab legs, mussels, shrimp, sausage and more.
Port City Java
There's one on Market Street in Greensboro, but it never occurred to me that Port City is Wilmington's nickname. I never saw a Starbuck's the whole trip. It was a nice change, and the coffee was darn good.
South Beach Grill, 100 S. Lumina Ave., Wrightsville Beach
Try the fried pickles. I don't even like pickles, but battered and deep-fried, they're not too bad. I had a shrimp and crab quesadilla and a salad and Jeff had the special that included clams, scallops, shrimp and more over saffron rice. It's a nice spot for viewing sunsets on the harbor. We were admiring the view when a crow swooped down and stole two packets off Sweet N Low from one of the patio tables. Tasty food AND entertainment!
Roy's Riverboat Landing, 2 Market St., Wilmington
(Picture, left) One of the two best meals I had on the trip. This place has balconies just big enough for a table and two chairs. It's very romantic. Dinner seemed a little pricey, but most everything is on their lunch menu, too, and the balconies are in the shade at that time of day. I had the special of the day - shrimp and pepperjack quiche. I'm not a quiche connoisseur, but it was the best I've ever had. It was really fluffy and none of the flavors overpowered the others.
The Oceanic, 703 S. Lumina Ave., Wrightsville Beach
On the ocean with its own pier. We started with crab dip. This was the first place I've ever had crab dip where the crab was the main flavor, not the cheese. It was great. They also had the best shrimp I've ever had. I'm not exaggerating. I got the Shrimp Lover's Platter that featured shrimp panned in butter, fried shrimp and crab-stuffed shrimp. The shrimp were prepared perfectly - tender, not at all chewy or tough. I was so engrossed in my shrimp, I don't even remember what Jeff had. The dessert menu sounded good, but we were too stuffed to attempt it. Walking out on the pier was a nice enough after-dinner treat.
Related posts:
From Charleston: On shrimp and grits
From Charleston: Chocolate chip cookies, anyone?
From Charleston: The culinary tourist in the Lowcountry
From Charleston: Where to eat
