[piano intro] - Next on "North Carolina Weekend," we'll go on a global taste tour across the state.

We'll visit a Latin bakery in Charlotte, Indian street food in Asheville, and Asian-inspired restaurants in Durham, coming up next.

- [Announcer] Funding for "North Carolina Weekend" is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains across the Piedmont to 300 miles of barrier island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[upbeat pop music] ♪ [upbeat pop music continues] ♪ - Hi, everyone.

Welcome to "North Carolina Weekend."

I'm Deborah Holt Noel, and this week, we are going on a global taste tour around the state.

Right now, I'm at Transfer Co. Food Hall in Raleigh, one of my favorite places to visit when I want international flavors.

They have empanadas from Argentina, Italian specialties, burritos, tacos, sushi, ramen.

You name it, you can find it here at Transfer Co. And that's what tonight's show is all about, highlighting international restaurants from around the state.

Let's get started with a visit to East Charlotte.

We visited Manolo's Latin Bakery to indulge our craving for sweet and savory baked goods from Latin America.

[lively salsa music] - As soon as we open the door, oh, you can smell the bread.

- In the middle of the store, there is this hanging case of all these sweet breads.

And so I just go around the whole cart and just pick a little bit of everything.

- For sure, I get pan de bono, I get churros.

- The empanadas are to die for.

I usually go for two or three.

- It's a Latino bakery that brings together many different kinds of Latin American cultures for those who grew up in those cultures but also folks like me for whom this is the ultimate trip.

I could park once and walk around the world.

[utensils scraping] [mellow music] - My business, my bakery, is an extension of my soul, an extension of myself.

[mellow music continues] I hate the word, I.

It doesn't make sense to me use that word because if we all share the same air, the same water, the same government, the same system, why we are not allowed to talk in our?

[mellow music continues] [Manolo speaking in foreign language] Our bread, our people, our future.

[mellow music continues] Bread has a special meaning for humanity.

The Bible talks about the bread of God.

So bread is sacred.

[mellow music continues] We offer 65 kind of breads [lively salsa music] to Mexico to Argentina.

We are most known for our own tres leches cake.

- I'm a wedding planner and I bring my customer here.

I've been traveling around and you cannot find this very delicious flavor.

I have 100% of my customer, they decide to get the cake from Manolo's.

- [Manolo] We are also well-known by our churros.

- They're crusty.

They're toasty without being burned.

They have that crunchy craving sound inside your mouth.

[churro crunching] Mm.

- Churros is the closest thing to perfection.

It has sugar, fried, and all the good things that make our bellies bigger.

- Manolo himself is a entrepreneur who not only enjoys what he does, but also supports his community and he gives back on a regular basis.

- We have been supporting pretty much like 26 organizations.

Through the pandemic, I started The Cake Project.

It was just giving cakes to anyone in this county who had a birthday and couldn't afford a cake.

We gave like almost 5,000 cakes.

[lively salsa music continues] [customers chattering] - [Tom] I admire someone who is so driven to promote his region's culture that he bends over backwards to bring it to all of us.

- I want for the new generations of our children to feel proud for the bread that we are bringing from our countries.

[uplifting music] - The bread that is cooked here, it not only gives nurture to the body, but also to the soul.

This is where we all recognize each other's value, and we all validate each other's background, and we have a voice to discuss, to talk, to share.

Having that recognition of the soul in this particular bread make us part of something.

That sense of belonging, that is available to anybody that comes.

- Yeah.

- Oh.

- High five.

- Give me five.

[Manolo faintly speaking] [customer laughs] - Manolo's Bakery is at 4405 Central Avenue in Charlotte, and they're open daily from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. For more information, give them a call at 704-568-2120, or visit them online at manolosbakery.com.

Featured in "Bon Appetit," "Vogue," and "Forbes," Chef Michael Lee's signature Asian-fusion restaurants in Durham have garnered international attention.

Let's join producer Rebecca Ward at the M Restaurants.

[lively jazz music] [customers chattering] [flame whooshing] [food crunching] [oil sizzling] [air whooshing] [bell dings] [bowl scrapes] [drink splashes] - My name's Michael Lee.

I'm the chef-owner of M Restaurants in Durham, North Carolina, M Sushi, M Kokko, M Tempura, and M Pocha.

There's a lot of foodie vibe, energy, coming from Durham and we like to contribute to it.

We wanna concentrate in Durham and bring cuisine that is not here.

- Durham really punches above its weight on dining experiences, and Michael has been a huge part of that.

[lively jazz music continues] Michael's restaurants have gotten a lot of accolades from a lot of different places.

They've hit the top 100, top 50 new restaurants in the US.

These are places that are real destinations people plan to come to.

[lively jazz music continues] [diners chattering] - M does stand for my name, Michael, but it wasn't my idea.

[laughs] [camera shutter clicks] [upbeat jazz music] My wife and I were drinking a couple glasses of wine at home six, seven years ago, trying to think of the name of the restaurant we wanted to do.

We couldn't come up with one good name.

It was all being used.

And after a couple glasses of wine, she had a brush and just a paper laying around because she likes to draw and she's a designer and also a art student back in the day, so she just kinda drew the M with a brush just out of the moment.

And that is actually the M logo that we have.

[upbeat jazz music continues] In the beginning, I didn't like it.

I didn't wanna name a restaurant after my name or initials.

But after my wife and I kept discussing it, it sounded like the right idea so that it kind of ties it in.

[upbeat jazz music] - [Susan] They're all in very unique kinds of locations in the middle of Downtown.

Two of them are down a little cobble alleyway.

M Sushi is just this very warm, cozy kind of atmosphere.

M Kokko is right behind it.

Kinda have to know that it's there.

Then you feel like you're in this little secret spot.

M Pocha, by comparison, is on one of the more famous corners in Downtown Durham.

And the M Tempura restaurant is in a historic part of town.

You might think that, oh, well, he started a chain, and that's not it at all.

What he started is four completely different concepts and you have different experiences in each one.

[diners chattering] - All right, your next course.

This is our Wagyu beef, very thinly sliced.

And as the broth heats up even more, it'll continue to cook, so you can cook it as well as you'd like to eat it.

So we opened M Sushi first to focus on seafood, kinda set the ground as a foundation.

[upbeat dance music] Obviously, sushi is Japanese cuisine.

I am not.

I'm from Korea.

So I get asked a lot, what made Japanese cuisine my passion?

I think part of the reason was that was my first professional food job.

Second, back then, Korean food was not considered a fine-dining dish, but in reality, Korean cuisine has always been part of me.

Being able to make kimchi and my parents approve of it, that was kinda like my life goal in the beginning stages.

So after we successfully opened M Sushi and it was running well, we opened M Kokko.

M Kokko is a slang.

Kokko is kinda like how, sometimes in Korea, the sound of chicken, kokko.

And so Kokko was focused on poultry and chicken.

Tempura came about because my wife and I love to visit Japan and we miss eating tempura dishes every time we wait for the trip.

It's not available in America a lot.

And we thought maybe try this concept out.

Year after that, we opened M Pocha.

M Pocha is a short term for pojangmacha.

Pojangmacha, a direct translation is a tented cart that you push around, so it's like street food, kinda like a Asian sports bar.

We like to play around with food that is good to share, to be had with some drinks.

It's a fun project that we were able to kind of like play around with a lot of different things that we aren't able to do at Sushi, Kokko, or Tempura.

- You can't go to one of his restaurants and say you've experienced the empire.

You've really got to go to each one of them.

[mellow jazz music] - [Michael] Here you go.

- [Rebecca] Wow, it's beautiful.

- Thank you.

Our vision for the future has not changed much from the beginning.

Do something that adds to the value of the space and the neighborhood.

That's our focus.

So there's a lot of different concepts that we have drawn up and we actually have menus for, but which one will go first?

We don't know.

[mellow jazz music continues] - You can find the M Restaurants in both Durham and Cary.

To find out more or to make reservations, go to m-restaurants.com.

Here at Alimentari at Left Bank Butchery, you can find fresh pastas, Italian meats, and sauces.

It's a great place to visit if you're ever here at the Transfer Food Co. And speaking of Italian, our producer, Seraphim Smith, was recently painting a mural and heard about an authentic Italian restaurant in the little town of Clinton, so he went to go check it out.

[gentle piano music] - [Seraphim] Did you know that Clinton, North Carolina, has the largest dogwood in all of North America?

Recently, they asked me to create a mural celebrating the tree and their bicentennial.

I got to spend some time exploring the old town.

Clinton's revitalization efforts over the past two decades have filled the streets with a variety of arts and amenities.

Alfredo's is one such institution on the square and that's where I'm taking you today.

[cheerful folk music] - Chicken Marsala's very good.

- [Seraphim] Alfredo DiPinto, owner and native Italian, invited me into the kitchen to see some of their culinary artwork.

[oil sizzling] - Inspiration for the restaurant really was from my mom and father, but primarily my mother, just her abilities to cook.

Very simple recipes and no formal culinary experience.

Just good old-fashioned recipes that have been handed down for many generations.

And living with that all my life just motivated me to begin a restaurant.

[cheerful folk music continues] - [Seraphim] The restaurant makes many of their delicious foods from scratch, including the bread.

Their house-made mozzarella is showcased in tantalizing selections, like the veal saltimbocca.

[knife clacking] Chefs cook daily with fresh produce and meats.

[lively folk music] After a long day of painting, I wanted to sit down to a great meal.

And I kept hearing about this delicious house-made marinara.

The marinara serves as a base sauce for many of their appetizing entrees.

I can't wait to dive into this bowl of deliciousness.

[cheerful folk music] Wine connoisseurs will delight in the exceptional "Captain's List," which features choice vintages from all over the Italian Peninsula.

When I first arrived in Clinton to start my mural, I had no idea I'd find an authentic Italian restaurant in this small Eastern North Carolina town.

And now that you're going to come to Alfredo's for the sauce, be sure to stop by the new bicentennial mural.

Buon appetito, y'all.

[cheerful folk music continues] - [Deborah] Alfredo's Ristorante Italiano is at 101 Wall Street in Clinton, and they're open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday.

For more information, give them a call at 910-592-1657, or visit them online at alfredosofclinton.com.

- [Server] So this is the pork, pulled pork, brisket, ham and cheese.

- Here at Transfer Co. Food Hall, you could find great Latin cuisine, like empanadas from Argentina.

But if you're in the mood for a taste of Guatemala, head to Morganton, where producer, Rebecca Ward, found a coffee shop and indoor soccer field all in one at Little Guatemala.

[lively folk music] [birds chirping] ♪ Yes, yes, yes, ah ♪ [lively folk music continues] ♪ [chuckles] Yeah ♪ [steamer hissing] - We really wanted the community to want this place.

[whistle blaring] - Lots of people travel to Guatemala, spend money for an airplane ticket, but just right here in Morganton, North Carolina, you can come and experience Guatemalan culture, the real deal.

[lively folk music continues] - We have soccer.

[players chattering] [whistle blaring] - [Player] Yeah, get it!

- We roast coffee.

[machine rumbling] We also have a coffee shop.

[steamer hissing] We do have a restaurant, [utensil clacking] arts and crafts, and chocolate, so those are some of the things that we do.

[lively folk music continues] ♪ Hey ♪ [leaves rustling] [Christian speaking in foreign language] [Christian continues speaking in foreign language] [Erica laughs] [mellow jazz music] - I went to Guatemala for two years to work with a group called the International Justice Mission.

We had the whole two years that I was there in Guatemala to get to know one another.

I came back to the United States, and he came and proposed, and we got married in Antigua, Guatemala, at the end of that year.

We got here end of 2009, and we knew that some Guatemalans lived here, but we did not know that 20% of the population of this town is Guatemalan.

[cheerful folk music] [band member speaking in foreign language] - [Erica] I think we've counted at least seven different Mayan dialects spoken here in Morganton.

And so that was really important to us, starting Little Guatemala, is making it a place where the community at large could come together so these friendships can start.

- You and me.

[cheerful folk music continues] ♪ Guate, Guate, Guatemala ♪ [Christian speaking in foreign language] [Christian continues speaking in foreign language] [Christian continues speaking in foreign language] [lively dance music] - We picked all of those things, the coffee, chocolate, soccer, restaurant, and crafts, because those are some of the top things that were mentioned.

Also, they're just iconic things from Guatemala.

If you think of Guatemala, those easily are some of the very first things that come to your mind.

[Christian speaking in foreign language] [soccer player speaking in foreign language] [Christian speaking in foreign language] [Christian continues speaking in foreign language] [Christian continues speaking in foreign language] [upbeat folk music] [children chattering] - Sitting down over a cup of coffee, playing a soccer game together, enjoying food, gathering around the table, there's just a really special relationship-building aspect of all of those things that we chose.

- Little Guatemala [speaking in foreign language].

- Always go around and come back.

[Christian speaking in foreign language] - [Family] Little Guatemala.

- Yeah, go ba!

- Little Guatemala is at 810 East Union Street in Morganton, and they're open Monday through Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. For more information, give them a call at 828-475-6593, or check them out at littleguatemala.com.

Our final story takes us to India and Asheville, where famed restaurateur, Meherwan Irani, has lovingly recreated the taste and sensations of Indian street food.

It's called Botiwalla and it's so much fun.

[enchanting folk music] - Hi, I'm Meherwan Irani.

I'm the co-founder, the chef, and the CEO of Chai Pani Restaurant Group.

Botiwalla is essentially a love story with my childhood.

Pretty much tried to take a piece of what I grew up with and put it here in Asheville, North Carolina.

And it's about immersive storytelling.

It's an Irani cafe, and these things were institutions in India.

There's maybe less than 20 left, and I wanted to save one, preserve one the way I remember it and bring it home.

[enchanting folk music continues] - We want people to feel transported when they enter our space.

We want them to feel like they're being welcomed into a street corner in India into an Irani cafe.

Might step back in time just a little bit, but to feel like they're walking into a gathering spot where they feel welcome and happy and comfortable in the space.

- I'm a Parsi.

There's probably about 50,000 left in the world.

And my particular tribe, the Iranis, created this really unique cafes in India that had a little bit of a Victorian feel and also a little bit of sort of a very Indian feel.

They were characterized a lot by a juxtaposition of sort of white marble-top tables and sort of formal Victorian dark mahogany colors, and then also just bright splashes of color.

And I'd say one of the defining characteristics is probably the family wall, where essentially the entire lineage of my family is up on these walls, and it's in keeping with the way these cafes used to be back in India.

[lively folk music] - Meherwan and I traveled to India in 2015 on a kebab tour just eating our way across and figuring out what we loved and what we felt like we could recreate.

Botiwalla brings you that in the setting of an Irani cafe.

We brought the street-grilled India into that cafe setting, which really speaks to Meherwan's roots as a Parsi, but his love of kebabs.

So bringing those two things together into a casual setting with delicious made-from-scratch food is what we do.

- This is my first time here and I'll definitely be back.

It's got a great vibe and the flavors are awesome.

And I wanna try a bunch of other things on the menu.

[lively folk music continues] - Our menu is authentic, but not traditional.

One of our most special dishes is the SPDP.

SPDP is an abbreviation for sev potato dahi puri.

And these are puffed flour shells that are stuffed with potato, onion, and cilantro, tamarind chutney and green chutney, topped with yogurt.

And then on top of that we put sev, which are extruded chickpea noodles.

And this is a very unique item that you get on the streets in India.

It's a street food item.

SPDP is an item that we recommend to every new customer.

It's something that may look intimidating, but the second you take your first bite, it blows you away.

[lively folk music continues] - Crave-worthy Indian street food.

We're introducing people to Indian street food, and that's super fun 'cause it's a new cuisine for many people.

Here, this is really an aspect of Indian street food that many people haven't experienced.

We also have a location in Charlotte located in Optimist Hall.

That has lots of different restaurants so people can come and get a little something here and get a little something there, which is really how our food is meant to be enjoyed.

[lively folk music continues] - This is my first time at Botiwalla.

The gobi, okra fries.

[smacks lips] The vibe's cool.

It's nice lighting.

You got chandeliers, you got nice music.

The staff's cool.

- The staff are some of my favorite people.

The food is incredible, so much good flavor, but it doesn't hurt.

It feels so good.

[vocalists singing in foreign language] - In every Irani cafe in India, you'll see the rules of the cafe, and they sort of reflect the proprietors of Irani cafes in India are known to be strange characters but also lovable, beloved.

So we have our own take on that.

It's an homage to the Irani cafes of India.

- I love the fun of it.

We're trying to create a party atmosphere in here but one that's a party where you feel like you belong.

We want people to feel really seen and invited into the space.

- Botiwalla is a restaurant for everybody.

Someone who's been eating Indian food their whole life will come in and be very satisfied at the level of flavor.

And someone who's never had it before can find things to taste, and I'm sure that they'll love it and come back for more.

- I hope that when people walk in the door that they feel the aesthetic and the experience, hand in hand, is unique.

I hope that people feel our sort of humor in a welcoming way, in a curated way, that I hope people find ultimately funny, and fun, and irreverent.

[lively folk music continues] - The way I'm trying to do Indian food, the way we're trying to do it is, at the end of the day, a part of the American culinary fabric.

It's fully integrated, all the ingredients, everything that goes in the cuisine.

While it's assembled in ways that may feel different, they're all familiar.

Most folks are familiar with the curries and the naan.

And you come to Botiwalla, and I want you to go like, "Whoa, it's delicious.

I didn't think I liked Indian food.

I love this."

That's what I want them to walk away with.

[lively folk music continues] - Botiwalla by Chai Pani is at 697 Haywood Road in Asheville, and they're open daily for lunch and dinner, beginning at 11:30 a.m. To find out more, give them a call at 828-209-8627, or go online to botiwalla.com.

And that's it for tonight's show.

We have enjoyed the tastes and smells here at the Transfer Co. Food Hall in Raleigh.

It's definitely a place to head if you're in the mood for some international cuisine.

And if you've missed anything in tonight's show, just remember you can always watch us again online at pbsnc.org, or you can find us on our YouTube channel.

Have a great North Carolina weekend, everyone.

[upbeat pop music continues] ♪ [upbeat pop music continues] ♪ - [Announcer] Funding for "North Carolina Weekend" is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains across the Piedmont to 300 miles of barrier island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[piano outro]