How travel fuels and inspires my coverage of Wilmington's food scene | Allison Ballard
In the small town where I grew up, restaurant options were, let’s say, limited. There was a pizzeria, a Dairy Queen, a seafood place where everyone went for special occasions and a diner/bar that I wasn’t really allowed to go to as a teenager.
I started to get an appreciation for “what else was out there” through food magazines. But I would soon learn that nothing really compared to actually experiencing new places and new foods.
Initially, it was in the D.C. area where I first attended college. Suddenly, the restaurant possibilities were practically limitless. My roommates and I would go to a local piano bar on weekends. And we celebrated birthdays gathered around a large round table at a nearby Ethiopian restaurant.
Of course, that was just the beginning. Since then, I’ve been to patisseries in Paris, enjoyed island-Indian food in Mauritius, and tried “the most potent cherry in the world” -- a variety grown in Barbados.
Sometimes there’s no comparison when you return home. I was living in South Africa, home of the curry-based Bunny Chow street food, bobotie and braiis. But it’s their version of preserved meat, known as biltong, that I really miss. It sadly puts a lot of American jerky to shame. And although I’ve tried to order it stateside, it must not translate or transport well.
Even so, the travel I’ve been lucky enough to experience – and even getting a chance to try these things – has definitely helped inform my appreciation of food. It's fueled the passion that assists me when I write about restaurants and approach the local food scene.
I'm not the first to say it. People a lot smarter than me have stated that travel has a way of opening minds.
Allison Ballard: What it's like covering the food and dining beat at the StarNews
Aren’t cool and interesting restaurants a part of any sensible itinerary? Even if I'm meeting a friend a few hours away or planning a big trip, it's a step I take. I made sure to enjoy French-style boulangeries and beach-side curry on a recent trip to Guadeloupe. And when I wrote about local eateries on Yelp’s recent list of the top 100 seafood restaurants in the country, I also noticed that one of the top 10 is in Brunswick, Georgia, which is a town I drive through on a fairly regular basis. You can be sure that Mr. Shuck’s Seafood is now on my list.
But even if I can't travel as much as I'd like, exploring a local food scene can offer a taste, pun intended, of that kind of experience. Isn’t trying a cool restaurant or discovering a new favorite dish a little mini vacation? If it isn’t for you, well maybe it should be! I had an interesting conversation with one local chef, who I won’t name, who talked about how many people who are seemingly satisfied with mediocre dining experiences.
I mean, I don’t have unlimited funds for eating out. But I can enjoy some of chef Carson Jewell’s delicious oysters at manna, or a cup of the addicting Roasted Tomato with Crab and Jalapeno soup at StrEAT Side Take Out in Southport.
I’m always on the lookout for local favorites – the best Cuban sandwich or learning the secret behind dishes like Copper Penny’s classic onion rings. It’s always beautiful to see even a simple dish well prepared. I will regularly buy things I don’t need at African Caribbean Market & More because it’s one of the only local places to find fufu and the makings of jollof rice.
So, as I continue to navigate covering Wilmington area food, I'm always interested to hear from you. I'd love to know what dishes transport you to another place, even temporarily. Or is there a dish you'd be heartbroken about if it was removed from the menu? Tell me about it and let's continue our fun exploration of local restaurants together.
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Allison Ballard is the food and dining reporter at the StarNews. You can reach her at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Allison Ballard covers food and dining for the StarNews in Wilmington, NC
