Brunch in Winston-Salem: Sweet Potatoes & Mary’s Gourmet Diner

This post first appeared in Our State magazine.

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In the past decade, Winston-Salem’s downtown Arts District awoke from a long slumber to become a vibrant swath of galleries, shops, bars and restaurants. But come Sunday morning, it’s so quiet that you can almost hear an egg crack.

While most business are dark, the hungry are seeking brunch in Winston-Salem. They flock to Trade Street for the kind of down-home, hearty and indulgent fare you can only justify once a week. But oh, it’s so worth it.

The line forms early on the sidewalk outside of Sweet Potatoes, the first restaurant to open in the once desolate district in 2003. Friends and like-minded strangers pass the time comparing notes on intended orders. When co-owner Vivián Joyner ushers them in at 10:30 a.m., it feels like a homecoming.

A few blocks down at Mary’s Gourmet Diner, which opens at 10, diners are already slathering biscuits with apple butter and enjoying their second cup of Krankies coffee. You can easily spot the first-timers by the expression of joyful shock when their generous orders arrive.

 “We don’t want anyone to go away hungry,” says owner Mary Haglund in grand understatement. Haglund says they cook 15 dozen cases of locally-raised eggs each week. That’s more than 2,100 eggs. And they start each day making biscuits from 10 pounds of flour; on weekends, they fix as many as four batches to keep pace with demand.

Popular “build your own” brunch omelets feature four locally-raised eggs and a choice of at least three add-ins – from a list of nearly 40 options – plus a choice of bread. Most dishes come with a side, such as a deep bowl of creamy grits with jalapeno pimento cheese, a mountain of hash browns or stack of apple-smoked crisp bacon. Tempeh, tofu and a true garden variety of vegetarian choices also abound.

While the weekday menu offers smaller and lower-priced versions of house specialties, the brunch-size portions are awe inspiring. Be sure to arrive hungry to if you plan to take on the Crispy Madame – ham and Swiss on grilled sourdough topped with white cheese sauce and a fried egg – or the signature Apple Butter Baby, a discovered-by-accident delight that tucks scrambled eggs, smoked sausage and house-made apple butter between slices of wheat toast.

Inspired by seasonal ingredients, Haglund often offers daily specials. On a recent visit, she riffed on the rich sausage gravy she ladles over biscuits to create a luscious alternative with plump shitake mushrooms. Southern food writer Nathalie Dupree, in town for Salute! The North Carolina Wine Celebration, declared it delicious.

Plump shitake mushrooms provide an appealing twist
on classic sausage gravy at Mary's Diner.

Not surprisingly, sweet potatoes figure prominently in the offerings at Sweet Potatoes, which plows through about 300 pounds of locally-grown tubers each week. There’s the towering stack of sweet potato pancakes (topped with fried chicken tenders, apple marmalade and ginger butter), the Un-French Toast made with sweet potato bread pudding and, of course, flaky sweet potato biscuits.

Not in the mood for sweet potatoes? Try the Uptown Oyster.

Not in the mood for North Carolina’s No. 1 crop? Indulge in the Uptown Oyster, a twist on traditional Benedict that tops Texas toast with gigantic fried oysters, bacon, scrambled eggs and country ham bordelaise. Perhaps the Creole-sauced fish and grits is more your speed? If you arrive after 12 noon, act like an in-the-know local and order the It’s a Sunday Thing! The plate-filling dish features half a buttermilk-brined fried chicken, spicy greens and, of course, a biscuit.

“It’s Sunday in the South. Got to have fried chicken,” jokes Vivián Joyner, who runs the front of the house – often carrying babies to give appreciative mothers a chance to enjoy their meal – while partner Stephanie Tyson cooks in the kitchen. “I’ve tried a lot of fried chicken. Let me tell you: Nobody makes fried chicken like Stephanie.”

Sweet Potatoes only started serving brunch a few years ago to satisfy customers who begged for it. Regulars barely glance at the menu, nodding their orders with the familiarity of one signaling a trusted barkeep. Newbies stressed out over what to order often find comfort from the concierge-like advice of servers, all of whom share a devout passion for food.

Whatever you choose, and no matter how stuffed you think you’ll be, do not skip appetizers. The fried green tomato and okra combo is a classic, and you’ve got to be strong to resist the Three-Cheese Macaroni and Country Ham Soufflé. The Freshly Fried Pork Rind Basket is insanely delicious, perhaps the best rendition you’ll taste this side of Oaxaca.

In the unlikely event you have leftovers,
be sure to get a take-out container.

“A Latin American woman who was here a few weeks ago for a conference ordered it,” Joyner recalls. “She told us that her poppy made them for her when she was a little kid and she hadn’t tasted anything like it since. She meant her grandfather, and she had tears in her eyes.

“We hear that about our biscuits and fried chicken, too,” Joyner adds. “It means so much to us to know that our food really means something so special to people.”

Remarkably, Sweet Potatoes has made this big impact in a very small space. The restaurant has just 13 tables and a small bar with a total of 50 seats. With no room to expand – it is sandwiched between two well-established businesses – it will remain a decidedly intimate space.

Mary’s Gourmet Diner first opened 14 years ago in a different, much smaller location as Breakfast Of Course. It converted a shuttered, former bank on Trade Street into its funky, art-filled space in 2010. Two years ago, Haglund added a large, canopied outdoor patio, increasing capacity to about 150 seats.

Despite this difference, Mary’s Gourmet Diner and Sweet Potatoes have a great deal in common. Both are women-owned businesses that contribute significantly to the growing success of their diverse community. And both feature chefs who are working on new cookbooks projected for 2015-16 release.

Joyner says Tyson is hard at work on her second book, which will focus on soul food. Her first, Well, Shut My Mouth! spotlights recipes from the restaurant, including its legendary biscuits.

Mary Haglund (left) and Nathalie Dupree, via Instagram

“Soul food is comfort food, and that’s something Stephanie really understands. She’s doing a lot of research now, and I get to have the privilege of tasting recipes,” Joyner says with a laugh. “So far, I’ve got to say, I’m pretty happy.”

Haglund’s project, a combination cookbook and memoir, will be her first. The working title is Mary Had a Little Restaurant.

“I’m just a housewife that wanted to run a restaurant,” Haglund says, downplaying her culinary skills. “I’ve been so fortunate to have their experience of watching my dream come true. I can’t wait to see what comes next.”

WHEN YOU VISIT:

Mary’s Gourmet Diner 723 Trade St. NW, Winston-Salem 336-723-7239 Open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday

Sweet Potatoes 529 North Trade St., Winston-Salem 336-727-4844 Open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday

For information about other things to see and do, contact Visit Winston-Salem at 336-728-4200 (toll-free, 866-728-4200) or info@visitwinstonsalem.org. Its office is located at 200 Brookstown Ave., Winston-Salem, and are open 8:30am to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

A picnic lunch at Reynolda House, in the style of Katharine Smith Reynolds

R.J. and Katharine Smith Reynolds with their
five children (Photos courtesy of Reynolda House)

Katharine Smith Reynolds was a woman ahead of her time. In the early 1900s, as a young bride planning the grand estate that is now the public Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem, she insisted that her home have every feature that could foster healthy living. State-of-the-art exchangers scrubbed the air to minimize the risk of devastating contagions. Exercise was taken outdoors and a large garden produced nutritious food to feed her growing family.

While it might boggle a visitor's mind to imagine living among the finery of Reynolda House in its heyday, a group of writers recently experienced what likely was a typical afternoon picnic on the tree-shaded lawn. The event was organized by Visit Winston-Salem and catered by Mozelle's Fresh Southern Bistro. Mozelle's owner Jennifer Smith and executive chef Stephen McPherson drew inspiration from menus approved by Katherine Reynolds.

The first course was a summery strawberry gazpacho garnished with purple basil snipped hours earlier from the contemporary Reynolda House gardens, which are in the midst of a major restoration project. Fragrant heirloom roses well in full bloom during an early spring visit.

The second course was a luscious salad of roasted leeks, mache, yogurt and toasted walnuts lightly dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.

The third course had everyone sighing with delight, including guest Nathalie Dupree. the Southern cooking legend who was in town to launch Salute! The North Carolina Wine Celebration. Tucked into an especially flaky crust were slices of still-juicy tomato and loads of local cheese. The creamed succotash served on the side was a revelation, with early butter beans and fresh-cut corn served in a cool puddle of cream. 

The meal ended on a sweet note with White Chocolate Key Lime Pie. While most diners demurred that they were too full for more than just a bite, I confess without shame that I left only mere crumbles of the perfect chocolate crust.

Reynolda House Museum of American Art

WHEN YOU VISIT:

Reynolda House Museum of American Art is located at 2250 Reynolda Road, Winston-Salem. It is open from 9:30am to 4:30pm Tuesday through Saturday, and 1:30-4:30pm Sunday. Adult admission is $14; it is free for children, students and military with valid ID. For information or help planning your visit, call 336-758-5150 (toll-free, 888-663-1149), or email reynolda@reynoldahouse.org.

Mozelle's Fresh Southern Bistro is located at 878 W. Foursth St., Winston-Salem. It has received awards for best service and most romantic dinner. For hours or reservations, call 336-703-5400.

For information about other things to see and do, contact Visit Winston-Salem at 336-728-4200 (toll-free, 866-728-4200) or info@visitwinstonsalem.org. Its office is located at 200 Brookstown Ave., Winston-Salem, and are open 8:30am to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Winston-Salem recalls the welcome table of its beloved neighbor, Dr. Maya Angelou

Memorial flyer near the door at
Shabbytiques in West End.

The death of celebrated writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou at age 86 on May 28 sent shock waves around the world. Her passing was felt keenly in her adopted hometown of Winston-Salem, where shops in the downtown arts district displayed heartfelt messages and autographed photos of their beloved neighbor.

The question could not help but be asked right away, even by those who made no effort to hide their grief and tears:  Would Dr. Angelou’s legendary Thanksgiving celebrations, which united celebrities and store clerks as equals at her welcome table, continue without her?

“From what I’ve heard, the family wants it to happen,” says Chef Don McMillan of Simple Elegance, who worked on Dr. Angelou’s two cookbooks and catered the weekend-long feasts for the past several years, including last November. “My guess is that it will become a celebration of her life.”

McMillan says the celebrations, which attracted more than 200 attendees from down the street and around the globe, would start with an informal get-together on Wednesdays. Turkey and ham were served at the traditional Thanksgiving meal, along with a staggering assortment of sides, in the Visitor’s Center at Old Salem Museums and Gardens.

In the early years, when the party was small enough for friends and family to crowd around her large dining room table, Dr. Angelou cooked all the food herself. “She was especially famous for her greens and very good stuffing,” says longtime friend Campbell Cawood, who now lives in Key West. “She believed the best way to communicate was over food that was prepared in a loving way. It was heart and soul of how she got to know people.”

Nikki Miller-Ka, a private chef and popular Winston-Salem food writer, got to know Dr. Angelou when they’d see each other shopping at the same local grocery store. She kept a respectful distance until one day when she overheard Dr. Angelou ask her aide to get some fresh green beans. She confided that they were stringy and suggested okra as a better choice.

 “We talked and I helped a few more times when I’d see her,” says Miller-Ka, noting that Dr. Angelou intuited that she longed to be a writer. “She said, ‘You can’t be that descriptive without being a writer.’ She sprinkled some inspiring words upon me. I felt like she made an effort to be a mentor.”

Miller-Ka says the market experience actually was not her first run-in with Dr. Angelou. At age 6 or 7, while playing among clothing racks while her mother shopped, she careened into an elegant woman wearing a black sheath dress, pearls and a large hat. “She looked at me, pointed a finger and just said, ‘You!’” she recalls with a laugh. “I didn’t say a word and I ran back to my mother. Later, my mother looked around and said, ‘Oh, look. It’s Maya Angelou.’”

Betty Morton was similarly intimidated the first time she met Dr. Angelou. Familiar to Reynolds Wrap users as one of the white-jacketed home economics in the popular “Pat and Betty” series of TV ads, Morton helped McMillan cook a catered meal in Dr. Angelou’s home kitchen.

Maya Angelou with Chef Don McMillan
 and Betty Morton (Courtesy Don McMillan)

“It was an unforgettable experience,” Morton says. “Her kitchen was very organized, very well laid out. Her pantry had everything. She was well traveled and what I saw really reflected that. It was a warm place to be. It really felt like a privilege, not only to cook for her and her guests, but to use her things and cook in her kitchen.”

As much as Dr. Angelou’s guests looked forward to a fine dining experience, McMillan says they also enjoyed the casual western-style barbecue that followed Thanksgiving. Perhaps even more anticipated was the Bojangles fried chicken and biscuits served on Saturdays, when her cultured guests took turns reciting poetry, singing, dancing or displaying their particular artistic talent.

“It would range from children performing skits to Ashford & Simpson and people who designed exquisite jewelry,” McMillan says. “When I think of this, it is part of her persona of sharing and loving. It’s been a blessing to be part of her life.”

While it is too early to say whether Dr. Angelou’s family will want to continue the celebration without her, Old Salem will continue to block that time until directed otherwise.

“The space is reserved for this year, but of course we have not yet heard about their plans,” says Old Salem CEO Ragan Folan, whose staff has worked to ensure the privacy of Dr. Angelou and her guests. “I never attended, but I know that it was a wonderful family weekend celebration for many years. We hope it will continue.”

Sign at Miller's on North Trade Street.

Historic Old Salem offers model for healthy, seasonal eating in new year

Cakes baked in the large hearth at
the Vierling Home & Apothecary.

The new year often inspires resolutions of healthier eating and reducing food waste. For those located near the Triad, an appealing model for both can be found from a very old source: Old Salem Museums & Gardens in Winston-Salem.

The Moravian settlement, established in 1766 by Protestant missionaries from what is now the Czech Republic, thrives as a restored historical village. It includes 22 structures ranging from a boy’s school and housing for single men and women to an African church, gun shop, various merchants and professional offices, as well as the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts. Tyler Cox, Old Salem’s manager of community relations, says it has more structures on original architectural footprints than Williamsburg.

Winter garden at the Miksch House.

Not surprisingly, growing, cooking and preserving food was a key component of community life. Even in winter, the heirloom garden at the Miksch House remains a hub of activity. During a recent visit, cold frames were protecting tender vegetation, orchards were trimmed and beds were being groomed for spring plantings.

Seasonal hearth cooking and preserving techniques – as well as coffee roasting and butter churning – are demonstrated in homesteads throughout the village. With benefit of immaculate records kept by original occupants, costumed interpreters present the past in context with modern realities. These unscripted, blissfully thee-and-thou-less insights encourage visitors to engage in sensibly informative conversations.

This welcoming stance is in sync with the Moravian’s equitable perspective on hospitality. The lessons are especially appealing when visiting the kitchens and gardens of former private homes and shops, which maintain the foodways of Old  Salem’s industrious forebears. Examples of creative and, importantly, healthful seasonal cooking abound.

Interpreter Coreen Smith demonstrates Moravian foodways
in the kitchen of the Miksch House.

If you think kale salad is a new invention, be sure to swing by the Miksch House at dusk, when the fireplace embers are fading. You're likely to find a bowl of greens just-cut from the winter garden awaiting a simple dressing from home-cured vinegars. Most bottles were infused with herbs and chilies from the garden; one fancy option was a mushroom “ketchup.”

“You eat what you’ve got, and right now, we’ve got lots of kale,” says interpreter Coreen Smith while gazing into a field dotted with leeks, turnips and Swiss chard. Crocks resting atop a cabinet soon would be filled with cabbage to make sauerkraut. “If we’re lucky, the garden will continue to feed us for a few more weeks.”

Typical kitchen tools include red clay
cookware and a sturdy whisk made
of bound birch twigs.

A complete tour of Old Salem’s 22 sites can be done in about four hours, but a leisurely visit provides a glimpse of the typical dawn-to-dusk lifestyle of namesake dwellers. A fire is stoked early in the kitchen of the Vierling Home & Apothecary, a focus of Old Salem’s ongoing fundraising and restoration efforts through the On Common Ground campaign. The blaze is banked not just to tame the morning chill but also to prepare the day’s meals.

Red clay cookware and cast iron Dutch ovens are nestled on the hearth to boil and bake whatever is available from the garden or stored in the larder. Warm apple dumplings and a dense pound cake, with a pound of each ingredient whisked into batter with a bundle of birch twigs, scented the air.

Very little went to waste. Stale bread was grated to thicken soup or, in the hands of a deft cooks, repurposed to make an elegant torte with almond flour, bread crumbs and orange peel. This particular dessert was documented on an original Winkler Bakery receipt – a term better known today as a recipe.

Christian Winkler was the second operator of the town bakery and become one of the community’s most influential citizens. Recruited by the church, which selected a suitable bride as his helpmate, he arrived in 1807.  Known for his fairness and honesty, he fed countless families with breads that sold for pennies a loaf.

Interpreter Jeffrey Sherrill bakes from original
Winkler receipts, including breads,
sugar cakes and wafer cookies.

Winkler likewise depended on seasonal ingredients and saved sugar to make special occasion treats, such as the Moravian sugar cakes that remain popular today. For daily use, professional and home bakers alike used what they had on hand: sugar beets and honey, molasses and sorghum.  

Interpreter Jeffrey Sherrill, who bakes dozens of original-recipe breads and cakes daily, says the wood-fueled ovens at Winkler’s are greatly affected by cold winter winds, which cause uneven heat distribution. This makes it especially tricky to bake the wafer-thin cookies associated with the Moravian community and sold in the bakery.

Old Salem is about a two-hour drive from Raleigh, which makes it an appealing day trip. It is open to visitors from 9:30am to 4:30 pm Tuesday through Saturday and 1-4:30pm Sundays. Not all sites require a ticket for admission, and some buildings in the village are private residences. For details, visit http://www.oldsalem.org or call 336-721-7300 (toll free, 888-653-7253).

Note: My tour of Old Salem Museums & Gardens was arranged by Visit Winston-Salem. Additional posts about things to do in Winston-Salem will follow. For information about other area events and activities, call Visit Winston-Salem at 336-728-4200 (toll free, 866-728-4200).

Holiday lights twinkle at Tanglewood Park's drive-though display

                                                                Photos courtesy Visit Winston-Salem

Growing up in Northern New Jersey, there was no sign more certain that Christmas was nigh than the arrival of the singing choir boys down the street on our neighbor’s front lawn.

The stiff plastic trio, illuminated from within, cast a comforting glow on the snow-covered lawn of the Lyng family home – where Billy, the eldest son, was the acknowledged dreamboat among the little girls who lived nearby. We’d gather to stare at the angelic faces as Christmas songs played on an endless loop, hoping that Billy, like St. Nicholas, soon would appear.

Holiday decorations have long since gone high tech, but there still is something undeniably charming about driving around and seeing the lights of the season. For those who still crave such magic, the Tanglewood Festival of Lights in Forsyth County is celebrating its 22^nd season of presenting a drive-through display.

Long lines of vehicles, many filled with excited children, inch through the park’s rolling lanes to enjoy what is described as one of the Southeast’s largest holiday light shows. While some certainly are more spectacular than others, 83 named displays dot the route.

(If the possibility of a two-hour wait might spoil your festive mood, plan to be in line when the park open at 6 p.m. You can dial into a local radio station to hear holiday tunes, but a word to wise men and women the wheel: come prepared with your own favorites.)

After gliding through a series of twinkling arches, viewers are welcomed by perhaps the most fabulous sight of all – a series of sparkling snowflakes strategically placed so as to create a sense of driving into a winter wonderland. Squirrels chase nuts up a tree, skipping from limb to limb before scooting down one on the other side of the lane. Reindeer similarly sprint overhead. Later, roll down the windows to hear jingling bells as you ride past hundreds on display.

If you’ve been to one of these spectaculars before, many of the visions will be familiar. There is a silly slip-sliding penguin and fire-snorting sea serpent, a grand garden of poinsettias and a serene nativity scene. Given the park’s proximity to Old Salem, there also is a shimmering Moravian star. And on the assumption that other celebrants might find the route appealing, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa displays are given token acreage.

There is seasonal kitsch aplenty to keep a carload of revelers amused along the drive, and those wanting a keepsake or snack can visit the concession area at the Red Barn. Despite the demands of their busy schedule, Santa and Mrs. Claus will be on hand to greet children and accept last-minute additions to wish lists.

The Tanglewood Festival of lights will remain open from 6-11 p.m. nightly (except for Dec. 25) through Jan. 1. For admission costs and other information, call 336-703-6400 or visit http://forsyth.cc/parks/tanglewood/fol/.

Note: My tour of Tanglewood Festival of Lights was arranged by Visit Winston-Salem. Additional posts about things to do in Winston-Salem will follow. For information about other area events and activities, call Visit Winston-Salem at 336-728-4200 (toll free, 866-728-4200).