[piano intro] [upbeat music] - Next on "North Carolina Weekend," join us from the chocolate boutique in Raleigh, as we take you on tasty travels around the state, like Seabird, Seoul Food Meat Company, and The Hen and the Hog.

Coming up next.

[inspiring music] - [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.

[inspiring music fades out] [upbeat music] ♪ [upbeat music continues] ♪ [upbeat music fades out] - Hi, everyone.

Welcome to "North Carolina Weekend."

I'm Deborah Holt Noel, and this week we are going on some tasty travels around the state.

Right now, I'm at the Chocolate Boutique, a popular artisanal chocolate shop at Lafayette Village in Raleigh that offers chocolate making classes and parties.

We'll have some fun with it later in the show.

Our first stop takes us to Wilmington and a restaurant in a 100-year-old building that showcases the bounty of our waterways with a special focus on sustainability and seasonality.

Let's visit Seabird.

[upbeat music] - When you're in Wilmington, if you could eat anywhere, go to Seabird Twice.

[upbeat music continues] - I love the decor.

Transports me outside of Wilmington.

The window gives you a view of the world.

- They offer steak, ribs, a lot of great seafood, of course.

The seafood tower has so many little bites besides just what you see in a normal seafood tower.

- [Patron] I love the fact that Seabird seeks out what they can use from their surroundings.

- I think a lot of people really understand that they're season to produce and vegetables, but they don't necessarily think that there's season with fish and shrimp and shellfish.

We really kind of created our concept around the unique ingredients that are coming out of the water at different times, and then also the stories of the people who are bringing us those ingredients is really important to us.

[upbeat music fades out] - I love taking deep breaths to the salt air too.

This always smells so good out here.

[upbeat music] Every oyster on the East coast is the same species, so everything from the flavor to the texture of the meat to the shape of the oyster is completely indicative to the environment it's grown in and how it's grown.

I am Matt Schwab with Hold Fast Oyster Company, New River, North Carolina.

We grow these sea birdies, exclusive to Seabird in downtown Wilmington.

[upbeat music contnues] There are a lot of factors that contribute to the flavor profile of an oyster, things like bottom composition, whether it's a muddy or sandy bottom.

Salinity level obviously contributes a lot.

Closer to the ocean, typically, the brinier an oyster is going to be.

Stones Bay is a very unique body of water.

It's a moderate salinity environment.

I knew the bottom composition.

It was real muddy, and had a lot of dissolved organics, and it drains very slowly.

The sea birdies are consistently, I always say, the most well fed oyster in North Carolina.

They're always very meaty.

[upbeat music continues] Oysters can safely be consumed year round.

The myth of the R month isn't really valid anymore.

We're under very strict harvesting protocols.

As soon as the oyster comes out of the water, it must be shaded, and then they're washed and refrigerated in a very short amount of time.

[upbeat music continues] - [Dean] There's an element of kind of like wine and terroir when it comes to oysters.

They're these time capsules that are pulled from the ocean and you know when you open it up you experience that moment in that place.

And what a lot of people really enjoy about eating oysters here is being able to experience three different oysters from North Carolina on the same plate that are very different and distinct in their own ways.

We offer three raw varieties of oysters, and we serve them with mignonette sauce, crackers, lemon, horse radish.

[upbeat music continues] Baked oysters, we offer three varieties as well.

- Oysters to me, have always represented community.

They've always been something that brought people together.

No one can ever eat oysters and be pissed off at the same time.

[upbeat music continues] - Seabird is at 1 South French Street in Wilmington, and they're open Thursday through Monday for dinner and lunch on weekends.

For more information, give Seabird a call at [910] 769-5996 or go online to seabirdnc.com.

I'm here with Kesha Dozier, the owner of The Chocolate Boutique here in Raleigh.

I'm so excited to be here.

Tell me what's in your collection.

- Hi, so we've got a plethora of different types of chocolates for you today, a little milk, a little dark.

White chocolate as well too.

We've got some inclusions that include things that pair fruit and dark chocolate.

Yum.

Such as a dark chocolate raspberry truffle.

Our customers really love dark chocolate and fruit together.

- Well, I can't wait to try these.

You know, it reminds me that chocolate blends so well with other foods and flavors, and so does Asian cuisine.

Let's head to Charlotte right now to a place that blends Korean fusion with karaoke.

[upbeat music] - Seoul Food is a concept that we've created that looks like southern barbecue, but it tastes like Korean food.

So everything on the menu is going to be somewhat resemblance of that.

It'll have resemblance of southern barbecue, but it actually made with Korean ingredients.

[upbeat music continues] - We created soul food when we first moved to Charlotte 10 years ago because we wanted to bring our dog to somewhere that's other than a dog park where humans can have fun and dogs can have fun.

So we're like, this is brilliant.

We should make a bar that allows dogs, which wasn't around 10 years ago.

And then 2022, we made Seoul Food 2, Mill District, because now we have kids and we wanted somewhere.

We're always looking for somewhere where adults can have fun and kids have fun.

And so we wanted pretty much the whole family to be happy.

[upbeat music continues] - When a lot of people look at our food, it's something that they're definitely used to, so they aren't afraid to try it, for example, like chicken wings or a smoked barbecue.

But when they taste it, they'll taste a different flavor profile.

That's something that they may not be used to, but it's something that they aren't scared of.

I feel like a lot of people are willing to try something that looks actually very similar to something that they eat in daily lives, even though the flavor profile is a little different.

[upbeat music continues] - Everything on the menu from even our mac and cheese to egg rolls, it's all some form of fusion.

With the mac and cheese is a good example.

Instead of using elbow noodles, we actually use ramen noodles.

That's our way of infusing the two cultures.

[upbeat music continues] - So I got the soy glazed pork ribs and the potatoes swirl.

My favorite thing about the pork ribs is portion, honestly.

Usually I'm here with like my whole family, and so we like to get a couple of different things to share.

So this is a really great one for that.

Also, it tastes delicious, of course.

It's a flavor that you can't really get in Charlotte.

We're a big barbecue city, but the Korean twinge on it is really, really good for us.

And then the potato swirl, I just love.

It's really like springy.

It's easy to share.

And it also has really good seasoning on it.

[upbeat music continues] - Right now I have one of their craft beers that I really like.

Come here all the time, and pretty much what I usually get.

I'll say my favorite thing here has to be the soju, specifically the peach.

Last time I came here, it was a really good taste to it.

I think everybody at the table really had a good time when they were drinking it.

I really like the karaoke rooms.

I've heard of a lot of people having a lot of good time in there, so can't wait to check it out sometime.

They have great food, great drinks.

I think anybody that lives around the area would've a really great time.

[upbeat music] - Korean karaoke, it's more of an experience.

It's not about just singing karaoke in front of a large group.

You actually have your own private room, and the whole fun of it is with your own party, with your own friends, you're singing, eating, and drinking, doing everything together.

[upbeat music continues] - So we have a very easy website that they can go to and reserve their karaoke rooms.

And it's really popular for birthdays and celebration because it's something that's a little bit different than just going to a bar and having some drinks.

Like you're kind of, you can be intimate because it's a closed off room and then sing songs and just be happy.

[upbeat music continues] - We have two locations and each locations we have about five karaoke rooms.

Each room holds between, our smallest room holds about seven people, and our biggest room holds about 30 people.

[upbeat music] - We're currently in the karaoke room, specifically the green one.

A nice vibe to it.

We're having a karaoke party listening to Taylor Swift.

Their voices are amazing in the background.

It's a good time having some beers and whatnot.

[upbeat music continues] - I feel like this place really provides a unique experience for everyone from little kids to adults.

It provides something that Charlotte hasn't had yet.

- My hope is that when guests come here and they leave here, that they see this place as someplace that they want to brag about or tell their friends when they come into town that, oh, you have to go to Seoul Food.

That is our biggest hope to be an icon for the city of Charlotte.

[upbeat music continues] - Seoul Food Meat Company has two locations in Charlotte, South End and the Mill District.

To find out more, visit their website at seoulfoodmeatcoclt.com.

Here at the Chocolate Boutique, they actually make the chocolate right here inhouse.

Kesha, what are you doing right now?

- Deborah, right now, I'm shell molding just to prepare truffle.

So it's one of the beginning stages of what we do to make truffles - Looks so silky and delicious.

- Yes, yes.

- And once you make the shell, then what happens?

- Once we make the shell, we'll shell mold again.

We considered this about a 22 step process.

- [Deborah] What's in this chocolate?

What kind of chocolate is this?

- Yeah, so we prefer to use Belgian chocolate.

- What do you like about Belgian chocolate?

- Oh, I love the flavor.

However, wherever you are, your community and your clientele tends to acquire a taste for certain types of chocolate.

So we find that people in this area really love Belgian and Swiss chocolate, as we do.

I wanted to start a business.

My dad was an entrepreneur.

My mother was too.

So I wanted to do something whether I was compensated for it or not, just what I'm passionate about.

So I went to Italy and Belgium, Spain, and really studied chocolate.

Graduated from Ecole Chocolate, the Chocolate School, and just really enjoyed my time learning about chocolate.

- [Deborah] What are some of the experiences that a visitor can enjoy in addition to just coming in and purchasing something.

- So they can come here, have wine tastings with chocolate because we pair chocolate with wine, with bourbon, with lots of different things.

And then they can also come and have a chocolate making party as well too.

So we do those for team building events, corporate outings, girls nights out, date nights.

So there are a lot of opportunities for us to share our love of chocolate with our community.

Chocolate is the common language of love.

You know, you can walk in the door, you don't even have to speak the same language.

Literally chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.

Everybody just knows chocolate.

[upbeat music] - [Deborah] The Chocolate Boutique is at 8480 Honeycutt Road in Raleigh.

That's in Lafayette Village, and they're open daily.

For more information give them a call at [919] 322-0960 or go online to thechocolateboutiqueraleigh.com.

- So this is one of my favorites actually, just for a nice everyday wine.

And what we're gonna do is pair that with the dark chocolate.

- The pretty orange one?

- Yes, yes.

- That has the orange.

- Is there orange inside?

- It is.

There's an orange ganache inside.

And again, ganache is a combination of chocolate and heavy cream.

So you wanna bite it in half.

[upbeat music] And then get a good mouthfeel of that and then enjoy.

[upbeat music continues] - That is delicious.

And you know another beverage that pairs very well with chocolate is coffee.

Let's head over and sample some of the flavor profiles at Cocoa Cinnamon in Durham.

[machine whirring] - One of the things I love about coffee is it's so daily.

It's one of the most daily things on earth.

And you think about in some ways dailiness can beget habit, which is a dulling activity, or a ritual, which is an awakening activity.

[upbeat music] - For me coffee and coffee shops are the representation of creating space for community.

And my point of connection was working at the first coffee shop and seeing how important it was for the community that I grew up in and seeing the impact.

[upbeat music continues] Still can't believe that we won micro roaster of the year.

- The thing that really matters to me about the Roast Magazine micro roaster of the year, the way that you win, it matches our approach.

In the application, they ask you to look at every aspect of your business, whether it's quality, training, sustainability, community, hiring practices, education, all this stuff.

- We are like a predominantly woman-forward raostery.

That it's not very common, and it's like even less common that it's women of color.

And we're all shorties.

[Areli laughing] - You kind of have a miracle in your cup every time you're drinking coffee.

[upbeat music] I am the director of retail operations at Cocoa Cinnamon.

My job is to focus on all the retail aspects.

So hiring and onboarding, training, quality of service, quality of our coffee.

We believe that coffee is supposed to be this really accessible, communal product.

[upbeat music continues] - Coffee has a very long journey.

[Areli laughing] By the time it arrives to us, it has gone through many, many hands.

Our first step when we receive the coffee, it's green.

From green coffee, we have this beautiful roaster that's called Alluring.

It uses this vacuum system that takes the green coffee into the hopper, and there's a drum inside of the roaster that's doing this little circulation.

And then it's going from green coffee to then a yellow, to then a brown, to then a darker brown, to then first crack kind of like popcorn.

[machine whirring] These beautiful like little smoke plumes come out and the roasted coffee falls into the cooling tray.

- [Leon] You're kind of taking it on a ride.

And how you micro tweak that ride is the science and the art of it.

Areli and the roasters have all these data points, and then you do all of this QC on the cupping table to kind of find that sweet spot that you're always searching for.

- And so the roasting process allows us to be able to coax those beautiful flavors out.

[upbeat music continues] Durham is a very special place.

- [Mariah] It's a lot about the neighborhoods and the communities that we're hoping to serve.

- [Leon] When we think about all this beautiful diversity within our community... - [Mariah] In hiring, if our staff reflects our city, that's a great indicator for accessibility.

[upbeat music continues] - Obviously we love coffee, otherwise we wouldn't have opened a coffee shop and a roastery, and devoted literally most of our marriage to it.

[Areli laughing] [upbeat music] - I think the drink itself, there's like a ineffable pleasure about it and like a curiosity that brings about an openness from a person.

As soon as you sit and have coffee, there's like an openness between people.

[upbeat music continues] - Coffee is a world.

It's both simple and complex, right?

It's about reconnecting with the fact that this is a really ancient plant that has been around for literally thousands of years.

And at its base is a black and brown product, grown, and harvested, and cultivated by indigenous groups.

[upbeat music fades out] - [Deborah] Cocoa Cinnamon is at 420 West Gear Street in Durham, and they're open daily.

For more information, go to littlewavescoffee.com.

[upbeat music] Here at The Chocolate Boutique, you can customize your own chocolate treat.

Jessica gave me a lesson, - So I'm gonna go ahead and start in with some chili powder.

- Ooh.

- And I like to put this just right even before the chocolate goes right into the mold itself.

That way it's really visible when the chocolate comes out.

So we can go ahead and pick a topping for that.

- I love that.

Can we use different toppings?

- Yeah, of course.

This is completely customizable, Deborah.

So everything you see, total free reign to make your own kind of creative artistic choices here.

- I've got some sprinkles here.

- Cute.

- And I gotta put a little salt in there.

- Of course, the sea salt is an excellent addition.

I think we're all big fans here, as well.

- Yes, and is this like the pink Himalayan salt?

- Exactly, yes ma'am.

This is pink Himalayan, so.

- I'm getting a lot in there.

[Jessica laughing] - It's in my opinion, you know, no such thing as overdoing it.

- Nah.

- Everything evens up with the addition of the chocolate.

- Beautiful.

- So we have our chocolates here in funnels.

So the funnel, we can just take that right out, hold this over our mold, and you'll notice we have these sticks.

These control the flow of the chocolate into the mold.

So if I just remove this stick, you'll see the chocolate will start to flow, and then I press it back in, and my mold has been filled up.

So we're using this kind of motion to control the flow of the chocolate.

- Got it.

- Aw, perfect.

- That's awesome.

- Wonderful, yeah.

- That's fun too.

- Isn't it fun?

- It is.

- It's so great.

Lastly, with your mold, so you're using one that includes a stick.

So we have actual lollipop sticks here.

You can just pop right in, that way when it sets, it will come out really cute on a stick like a lollipop.

Perfect.

[upbeat music] And just pop some of those in.

And then these take about 10 to 20 minutes to set in the fridge.

For our chocolate parties, guests can use a variety of molds and ultimately take home half a pound each.

So it's really quite the chocolate making experience.

- That's a lot of chocolate too.

- Yes, ma'am Well, right now let's head over to Halifax.

That's become quite the foodie destination, and we sent Bob Garner to check out The Hen and the Hog.

- [Bob] The Halifax Resolves were signed nearby in April, 1776.

North Carolina's Provincial Congress instructed its Continental Congress delegates in Philadelphia, not only to concur on independence from England, but to urge other colonies delegates to do the same.

North Carolina was the first of the colonies to take the step leading ultimately to the Declaration of Independence and the state's claim of first in freedom.

Halifax Native Patterson Wilson, a veteran restaurant designer, had her own resolve, to run a place with a name reflecting her years of fascination with British pubs.

- I was thinking community gathering place, you know, The Crown and Thistle, different sort of names for British pubs.

And then my significant other said, "Well, The Hen and the Hog.

That's so North Carolina."

And I said, "Oh my god, that's it."

[Patterson laughing] So that's how we got The Hen and the Hog.

But I guess I'd been away from home enough that I had completely forgotten everyone was then gonna think it's a barbecue restaurant, and we do have chicken and pork on the menu, but it's not a traditional barbecue restaurant.

- Weldon Mills bourbon from the neighboring town is featured in the restaurant's signature old fashioned cocktail.

For me, a pre-meal tasting and a popular dessert you'll hear about.

Hmm.

And I imagine I'll hear more about it.

Yeah, that's great - At dessert time, you will.

- That's terrific.

But for now, on to some of the starters and entrees.

Pimento cheese fritters with pickled okra and a red pepper jelly.

A classic wedge salad with pimento cheese dressing in place of blue cheese.

And a fabulous sweet and tart pork belly presentation with pickled apples and bacon onion jam.

I'm gonna go a little bit out of order and start with the hog part first because I want to talk about this pork belly appetizer topped with pickle apples and bacon onion jam.

Oh it's sweet.

It's perfect.

This is a pimento cheese fritter with some red pepper jelly.

And then to kind of balance that out, pickled okra.

[upbeat music] Mmm.

The red pepper jelly really cuts the the fat of that, nice crunchy panko breadcrumbs, and a little sour to go with it.

Here at The Hen and the Hog, we had the hen, we have the hog, and we have something that is neither, but which is wildly popular here.

We have a chicken skewer with a tomato gastrique.

We have some scallions.

We have some pickled onions, some corn, all over the house, cheddar grits.

Maybe some people thought fried chicken and barbecue.

Uhuh.

It's different here.

Let's have a little look at the hog.

This is pulled pork with sweet potato slaw and their own sort of sauce.

I have eaten a lot of pork over the last 25 or 30 years, but I can honestly say I've never had anything remotely like that.

That is terrific.

Neither hen nor hog, the house vegetarian lentil chili is served over a split sweet potato and topped with crispy fried onions.

It's a consistent favorite entree.

I may have heard that dish mentioned more in reviews I read than any other dish here.

I've had shrimp and grits all over the place, and I've come to the conclusion that you gotta keep trying shrimp and grits 'cause it's just such a classic and people love it.

So we've got North Carolina shrimp.

We've got tomatoes.

We've got and andouille sausage in there.

The cheddar grits.

Oh yeah, divine.

To start off dessert, sweet potato pound cake with pecans.

And we will end where we began with Weldon Mills whiskey bourbon ice cream with caramel sauce.

[upbeat music continues] This really is no kidding, one of the most unique restaurants I've ever been to in one of the most historic towns in North Carolina.

You gotta love it.

[upbeat music continues] - Cheers - Cheers y'all.

- The Hen and the Hog is at 16 King Street in Halifax, and they're open Tuesday through Saturday.

For more information, give them a call at [252] 583-1017, or go online to thehenthehog.com.

Well, that's it for tonight's show.

We've definitely had a lot of fun here at the Chocolate Boutique in Raleigh, and I have learned so much about the making and the tasting of chocolate.

If you're ever in the area, definitely worth a drop by.

And if you've missed anything in tonight's show, 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 music] ♪ [upbeat music continues] ♪ [upbeat music fades out] [upbeat music] - [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 music fades out] [inspiring music]