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Taste

The Best Restaurants Near Wake Forest Baptist Hospital

May 16, 2018 Leave a Comment

Are you a caretaker or possibly visiting someone at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center? You might be wondering about the best restaurants near Wake Forest Baptist Hospital.

Luckily, Winston Salem is home to impressive nearby wineries, unique attractions, plus delicious restaurants.

If you need a break from the hospital, check out the best restaurants near Wake Forest Baptist Hospital listed below…

Restaurants Near Wake Forest Baptist Hospital

The Best Restaurants Near Wake Forest Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem…

Best Milkshake

Burger Batch

If you aren’t in the mood for a full meal, consider a milkshake. However, the food at Burger Batch is so good too! Without a doubt though, one of the best milkshakes I’ve ever had is from Burger Batch.

Restaurants Near Wake Forest Baptist Hospital

Great Cocktails

Finnigan’s Wake

Good luck deciding what to order here…there are lots of yummy options! I had no problem finding a vegetarian-friendly meal at Finnigan’s. In fact, there were several vegetarian options to choose from, which was awesome.

Restaurants Near Wake Forest Baptist Hospital
Photo Source: Cloverdale Kitchen Facebook Page

Best Comfort Food

Cloverdale Kitchen

If you are looking for a comforting meal outside of the hospital, look no further than Cloverdale Kitchen. This restaurant is super convenient to the hospital, but just far enough away to clear your head.

Cloverdale has an endless variety of comfort foods plus healthy and breakfast options. There are plenty of sides to choose from for vegetarians (also check specials that change daily).

You likely won’t have room for dessert, but I recommend the Bananas Foster Pie. My family went through a period of bringing a cooler just for extra Bananas Foster Pie! It is soooo good.

Restaurants Near Wake Forest Baptist Hospital

Best Healthy Lunch

The Carving Board

Don’t let the line fool you – this place has shockingly fast service. I am not normally a fan of deli shops because they usually do not have vegetarian options. The Carving Board has more than the typical deli option of a “veggie sandwich” (phew!).

Restaurants Near Wake Forest Baptist Hospital

I ate the most delicious spinach quiche and fresh fruit. For non-vegetarians, there are lots of healthy and tasty deli options.

Restaurants Near Wake Forest Baptist Hospital
Photo Source: Instagram by user awk15mo

If you love Krispy Kreme🍩…

Fratelli’s

Hellooooo fellow Krispy Kreme fanatics! If you are looking for a new way to enjoy the most delicious glazed doughnuts around, try the Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding for dessert.

Since Winston Salem is the first place to call home to the doughnut paradise we know as Krispy Kreme, this dessert is a delicious way to enjoy some Old Salem history.

Nothing can top an original Krispy Kreme doughnut, but on the rare occasion the iconic doughnut morphs into another dessert – you have to eat it!

Restaurants Near Wake Forest Baptist Hospital
Restaurants Near Wake Forest Baptist Hospital

Where to grab coffee and a pastry (including vegan some options!)

Camino Bakery

The above-pictured cake picture was taken during the fall and I was lucky enough to snag a slice of this mouthwatering pumpkin spice cake. Oh…my…gosh it was so good! I spotted a few vegan pastry options but according to their site, more options are available Friday-Sundays.

The coffee is amazing as well. If you prefer, you can also grab a glass of wine…or a bottle to go! To-go bottles are available at select locations and are 30% off the listed price.

If you plan to dine in, you might wait a while for a seat. There is lots of seating outdoors, but it was freezing during my visit so I waited on a table for a while. This might be a great option if you are just getting food to go back to the hospital and do not need a table.

Best Restaurants Near Wake Forest Baptist Hospital
Photo Source: Cagney’s Facebook Page

Most Convenient

Cagneys Kitchen

Oh Cagneys…thank you for being so close to the hospital and for having fantastic, fast service! Cagneys is an unassuming restaurant near Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center with tasty Southern and Greek food offerings.

This restaurant has home country cooking with a meat and two vegetables, vegetable plates, plus breakfast is offered all day. The parking lot may be packed but service is typically lightning fast and cheery.

You can walk to Cagney’s in about ten minutes since it is only a half mile away from the hospital, or hop in the car and arrive in under five minutes. Online ordering is also available which is nice if you are in a hurry!

Restaurants Near Wake Forest Baptist Hospital
Photo Source: Mozelle’s Facebook Page

On my list to try…

Winston Salem restaurants, if you are listening, please open on Mondays! I would love to try these restaurants but I am always in town on a Monday, when the following restaurants are not open…

  • Mozelle’s Fresh Southern Bistro
  • The Tavern in Old Salem
  • Sweet Potatoes

A note to caretakers and hospital visitors going through a hard time…

Lastly, I just want to say if you are visiting someone at the hospital or a caretaker, my thoughts are with you! I hope you do not have to be at the hospital as often as our family has, but if you have to…treat yourself to a food break every now and then.

Caretakers do not often stop to take care of themselves, but I (not-so) quickly learned that this can lead to a crash and burn. How can we take care of others if we do not take care of ourselves?

Anyway, I do hope you have found my list of the best restaurants near Wake Forest Baptist Hospital of some use. Let me know if you have additional favorites!

Filed Under: Taste, Travel

These Omni Grove Park Inn Restaurants Should Not Be Missed

February 5, 2018 Leave a Comment

Omni Grove Park Inn Restaurants

Wondering where to eat during your visit to the Grove Park Inn?

A person really cannot go wrong when choosing from Omni Grove Park Inn restaurants. In fact, I would go as far as to say that visiting just for the food is totally worth the trip. Who am I to say? For one, a frequent visitor of Grove Park Inn and a foodie with a craving for special food experiences. If you have to pick just one restaurant, the options listed below are a great start…

The Best Omni Grove Park Inn Restaurants

Omni Grove Park Inn Restaurants

For the view: Sunset Terrace

The food is great at Sunset Terrace but the seating is unmatched. Watch the sunset while grabbing a bite and feel like you have escaped to a mountain top. I highly recommend reservations during prime meal times since the best seats get taken fast.

Omni Grove Park Inn Restaurants

For the food: Edison Craft Ales + Kitchen

Foodies will adore this cozy spot full of unique menu items and craft drinks. The menu changes with the season so you are likely to be able to try something new each time you visit. If you enjoy a drink, craft beer and cocktails are very good. The warm beverages go great with the gingerbread cookies if you go during the gingerbread house competition.

Grove Park Inn Restaurants
Photo Source: The Omni Grove Park Inn Facebook Page

Best combination of view, food and service: Blue Ridge Farm to Table Artisanal Buffet

What does one do when decisions on food are impossible? Head to a delicious buffet! When I say “buffet”, I really mean a plethora of buffets😂. Also included with the price is an omelet station if you can bear to wait on devouring the tempting breakfast delights.

Grab a seat by the window for beautiful breakfast views. Interact with waiters and chefs from around the world. Overall this restaurant is a fantastic experience.

Featured Photo Source: The Omni Grove Park Inn Facebook Page


Love NC? Check out these five wanderlusty resorts in North Carolina…

Filed Under: North Carolina, Taste, Travel

Easy Strawberry Lemonade Slushies that will Make Your Summer

April 10, 2018 Leave a Comment

Strawberry Lemonade Slushies

Strawberry Lemonade Slushies are the Perfect Southern Summer Refresher🍓🍋

This year, one of my goals has been to waste less food. When I realized my strawberries were about to go bad, I put them in the freezer until I could figure out a yummy way to use them.

A rare sunny day plus lemonade in the fridge inspired an idea. Even though the weather was still on the chilly side, I wanted to enjoy the sunshine with spiked strawberry lemonade slushies!

Strawberry Lemonade Slushies

The lemonade I used can be found at Sprouts Farmer’s Market, but any lemonade will work. I was so distracted by the gorgeous, glass bottles of colorful lemonade that I grabbed some up before realizing they were sparkling.

Something about those particular bottles and the labeling had me envisioning myself enjoying a glass on the patio. Is anyone else a sucker for brilliant packaging at the grocery store?

Since the sparkling lemonade ended up being tricky to work with, I strongly recommend a non-carbonated variety. The magic bullet does not like carbonation and will spew if mixed for a second too long (whoops!).

WARNING: Be careful when mixing and opening the Magic Bullet cup if you choose sparkling lemonade. The carbonation is under extreme pressure. My cup did overflow when I opened the first cup (luckily I was near a sink!) but I was more careful with the second one.

Enjoy the Strawberry Lemonade Slushie Magic Bullet Recipe Below!

Strawberry Lemonade Slushies
Tip: Feel free to use more lemonade to replace vodka if you are looking for a mocktail or kid-friendly variety.

Strawberry Lemonade Slushies
Print

Strawberry Lemonade Slushie Recipe

Using a bottle of sparkling lemonade, plus frozen strawberries and vodka, this recipe makes the perfect boozy summertime drink. 

Course Drinks
Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 7 minutes
Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  • 2 cups frozen strawberries (chopped and de-stemmed)
  • 2 oz. lemon or citrus vodka (I used Absolut Citron)
  • 24 oz. lemonade (I used Sprouts Sparkling Lemonade)

Instructions

  1. Add 1 cup of frozen strawberries & 1 shot (1 oz.) of vodka to the Magic Bullet cup. 

  2. Fill the remainder of the cup with lemonade (about 6 oz.), allowing a little room to put the lid on to blend. NOTE: If using sparkling lemonade, allow even more room because the carbonation could spew (see warning in post). 

  3. Blend ingredients in the Magic Bullet (or Nutribullet, blender, etc.) for no more than one minute at a time until strawberries are pureed. 

  4. Once blended, pour the contents of the cup into a pitcher or drinking glass. Be *VERY* careful when opening the cup if you use sparkling lemonade because of the carbonation.

  5. Repeat the steps above for the second serving. Serve and enjoy!

Make a strawberry refresher for your pups to enjoy too!

Filed Under: Drinks, Taste

Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake

February 23, 2018 1 Comment

Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake

If you are looking for a change to the standard pound cake, this is the recipe for you. With just a few additions, you will have your guests drooling and begging for more. This cake not only has a beautiful presentation but is moist and flavorful.

Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake
Print

Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups Butter, softened
  • 3 cups Sugar
  • 8 ounces Cream Cheese, softened
  • 6 Large Eggs
  • 3 Cups Plain flour, sifted
  • 1 Tsp. Almond extract
  • 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup Strawberry glaze
  • 1 6 inch wooden skewer

Instructions

  1. Cream butter and sugar til mixture is smooth. Add eggs one at the time mixing well. 

  2. Add cream cheese by fourths mixing well.

  3. Add eggs one at the time mixing well. 
  4. Add sifted flour in creamed mixture by 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well. 

  5. Once mixture has been thoroughly incorporated, transfer batter to tube cake pan.


  6. Add approximately 2 1/2 cups of batter to pan. 

  7. Add 8 drops of strawberry glaze to middle of batter. 

  8. Take wooden skewer and make a swirl pattern in the glaze.

  9. Top with remaining batter

  10.  Bake 330º  for approximately 1 hour and 10  minutes.

The ingredient that gives this cake it’s wonderful swirl is strawberry glaze. It likens to what is in a pie filling minus the strawberries. I found this in the produce section of the grocery store.

Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake

There is also no liquid in this recipe. Cream cheese is in place of your milk.  Make sure your butter and cream cheese is softened at room temperature. This will make the creaming process much smoother.

Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake

After you have creamed the sugar and butter together, mix in the cream cheese, small amounts at the time, mixing well between each addition. Now you may add your eggs, one at a time mixing well.

Sift the flour and add to your creamed mixture 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well.

Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake

The last items to be mixed in are the flavorings. If you do not have almond flavoring, you may use all vanilla. It is worth it to use almond, however, for it brings out quite a distinctive flavor in the cake.

In all my baking dishes, I stress pre-treating the pans with non-stick spray. But for my cakes, I have learned the hard way that the spray just doesn’t work good enough. I went back to good old Crisco, what my mother taught me to use many years ago. I haven’t had a cake stick since I started using it again! If you are using a bundt pan, be sure you get all the indentations filled. It only takes one little ungreased area to ruin a good cake by sticking in the pan.

Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake

Now comes the fun part of this recipe. It reminds me of when I was a little girl making mud pies in the back yard. You really can be that carefree when using the glaze. Pour 1/3 of your cake batter into your cake pan. Then drop a heaping teaspoonful of glaze around eight areas. Once that is done, take a wooden skewer or the tip of a sharp knife and pull through your dots of glaze. I then swirled and pulled together as I went around. You can design as you wish.

Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake

Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake

Next, you will want to repeat this process. Gently pour another 1/3 of your batter over the first layer. It is almost like icing a cake. Gently take your spatula and pull batter to sides of pan. Place eight more dots of your glaze on this layer of batter. After you have swirled the glaze, pour the remaining batter on the top and gently spread it out.

Bake at 330º for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

It is a beautiful cake that is easy to whip up. It will impress your guests and family and will be one, I’m sure, that will become a favorite!


This post was written by Macy, the incredible mother & mother-in-law of the bloggers here at Puppies & Piña Coladas. She loves spending time with her daughters, granddoggies and grandkitty. She is a phenomenal southern cook and will be posting her secret recipes and amazing crafts regularly on the site.

Filed Under: Food Recipes, Recipes, Southern, Taste

The Best Strawberry Farm in Gaston County

April 11, 2018 1 Comment

strawberry farm in Gaston county
Photo Source: Lineberger’s Maple Springs Farm Facebook Page

Lineberger’s is the Best Strawberry Farm in Gaston County🍓

Strawberries are in season from April to June, so now is the time plan a strawberry patch day! Looking for a place to pick strawberries this summer in Gaston County? Lineberger’s Maple Springs Farm in Dallas, NC is the best strawberry farm in Gaston County!

If you live in a Gaston or Lincoln county town near Dallas, this is the best place to pick strawberries. Even Mecklenburg county residents enjoy visiting, as apparent from this raving Yelp review.

Why is Lineberger’s the best strawberry farm in Gaston County? For starters, this place is mostly all about strawberries. Even the logo has strawberries in it! Sure, other crops can be seasonally purchased here, but Lineberger’s most famous crop is strawberries.

Lineberger Farm Information

The strawberry farm typically opens up mid-April but strawberries can be purchased occasionally at the Gaston County Farmer’s Market. Strawberries are normally available to pick in the Spring and early summer.

Summer hours are 9 am-6:30 pm Monday through Friday, 9-5 on Saturdays, and 1-5 on Sundays at the Dallas farm. Please note that Lineberger’s is cash or personal check only.

  • Address: 906 Dallas Stanley Hwy Dallas, NC 28034
  • Phone: (704)-922-8688
strawberry farm in Gaston county
Photo Source: Lineberger’s Maple Springs Farm Facebook Page

Make memories from childhood to adulthood…

I have memories of visiting local farms during childhood that I will never forget! I remember picking strawberries in the summer and pumpkins in the fall.

Taking the quintessential strawberry patch or pumpkin patch photo easily becomes a family tradition. Plus, picking your own produce is much more memorable than going to the grocery store.

strawberry farm in Gaston county

The best part of course is eating the strawberries on the way home. We always arrived home with a much lighter box than when we left.

To this day, I can often find a box of Lineberger’s strawberries in my dad’s car during the summer. I always know to check the fridge a couple of days after he visits Lineberger’s to enjoy some “fixed” strawberries.

“Fixed strawberries” is possibly a southern phrase that refers to strawberries drenched in sugar, eventually forming their own water. After the strawberries are coated in sugar for a while, the sugary, strawberry water fills the container.

Fixed strawberries are unimaginably delicious. They make a perfect topping for shortcakes, cheesecakes and other desserts. Or just eat them as they are. Yum!😍

If you don’t do anything else this summer, be sure to make time for a trip to Lineberger’s. Enjoy family memories and yummy strawberries. Without a doubt, you will not regret it!

Best Strawberry Farm in Gaston County


Strawberry Lemonade Slushies

Use leftover strawberries to make boozy strawberry lemonade slushies…

Filed Under: Southeast Living, Taste

This Restaurant Between Charlotte & Wilmington is what Foodie Dreams are Made of

January 29, 2018 4 Comments

215 on Main is the Perfect Pit Stop off Highway 74

Next time you are headed to Wilmington from the Charlotte, NC area, consider a pit stop in Laurinburg. Laurinburg is about halfway between Wilmington and Charlotte with easy access to Highway 74.

Laurinburg is home to a mouthwatering restaurant in an unassuming spot downtown. 215 on Main offers unique, tasty options for both meat-eaters and vegetarians. Head inside for a warm welcome and sit anywhere you like. The private table next to the large picture window is the perfect spot to view downtown.

Quite a few vegetarian options are on the menu such as comforting sides and fresh salads. Even better, the waitress can bring out an entire menu of vegetarian options! The vegetarian menu is updated frequently based on seasonal selections.

The service is fantastic and super friendly. Destiny is an excellent server and we highly recommend her! The staff knows how to make guests feel right at home.

215 on Main

After chowing down on vegetarian Collard Green Egg Rolls, I wanted something sweet before hitting the road. Sweet Potato Pie was calling my name and I decided to find a way to make room. I only ordered a slice, but they brought out a HUGE, two-person sized slice of pie. YUM!

Next time I head to Wilmington, 215 on Main is definitely a pit stop for me! I cannot wait to try some of the other menu items and say hello to my new friends at the restaurant.

215 on Main

What I ordered:

  • Vegetarian Egg Rolls
  • Sweet Potato Pie

What hubby ordered:

  • Cheeseburger & Fries

What are your favorite foodie pit-stops in NC?


More tasty posts this way…

Filed Under: Restaurants, Taste

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