Spoonfed (Raleigh)

Next in the previously mentioned line up of out-takes from a recent editorial shoot for Our State Magazine.

Captain Jim’s Seafood Restaurant

316 Fulcher Landing Road

Sneads Ferry, NC 28460

910.327.3516

Images below ©Mark Petko Photography (click here for permission)

Flounder, Eggs, Grits, Biscuit

Images below ©Mark Petko Photography (click here for permission)

R.W. Everett- (Sneads Ferry's legendary cook)

Sea-view

Images below ©Mark Petko Photography (click here for permission)

As the new year gains momentum I have been able to look back and see the recent neglect of this blog adventure of mine.  I have also been bouncing around some new ideas as to how to continue with this outlet and am still working on some of the details.  In the meantime, part of the reasoning behind letting this slip by has been due to having some recent assignments that take precedence as ‘paid work’ over this and other labors of love.  So in hopes to keep this active and since there is some relevance to the geographical coverage of this blog, I will be running a couple of posts covering some restaurants shot for the recent issue of ‘Our State Magazine’.  I was given a recent assignment which I have detailed on my personal photo blog Blown Out! (blog).  The assignment had me travel around Eastern North Carolina to cover some breakfast dishes.

You can see some features from the issue and more on Our State Magazine here.

Thanks for sticking with me through this lull in posting and I hope to bring you more in the near future.

Here are some out-takes and non-run selects from my shoot at:

Baker’s Square Restaurant

227 Middle St.

New Bern, NC 28560

252.637.0304

All imagery below ©Mark Petko Photography (click here for permission)

larger version of image printed in Our State

Chef/Owner Ben Litwiller was not going to take ‘no’ for an answer when he asked if I wanted some breakfast after our shoot.  Which is good because: a) I wasn’t in the mood to insist a repeated ‘no thanks’ and b) he delivered the absolute best French Toast I have had to date in my years here on earth.  Since then all else has been compared to this new standard and weekly I consider a two-hour drive to the coast because I have yet to meet it’s match.

On top of the eats Ben was kind enough to walk me around New Bern and introduce me to other local restaurants, shops, and local artists.  A great little city, on the water, full of kind people.

Bread is made fresh daily for their French Toast and other dishes.

Twigs and Berries Parfait

Chef/Owner Ben Litwiller starts the day sweeping the walk in front of his restaurant.

I highly suggest a visit to New Bern and Baker’s Square!

All content ©Mark Petko Photography (click here for permission)

Hogwash hickory smoked porter chocolate cake, cherries, and chocolate buttercream.

Crumb

Raleigh, NC

info@justcrumb.com

919.413.8134

www.justcrumb.com (link)

I’ve been itching to get these guys ‘on the books’ for some time now.  Crumb features the creations of Carrie Nickerson and David Menestres who currently do not have a brick and mortar location but have been gaining much notoriety as of late, supplying upon order, many options for cakes, cupcakes, muffins, pies, and other delights.  I was able to get this shot due to a new offering that they have in conjunction with Escazu.  It seems every Thursday Escazu will be offering slices of a Crumb-made cake using Escazu chocolate.  Get some details here on their blog.  This particular trifecta includes Fullsteam’s Hogwash hickory smoked porter, that’s right Crumb, Escazu and Fullsteam in one bite.

Escazu website

Fullsteam website

Guglhupf Cafe

2706 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.

Durham, NC 27707

919.401.2600

www.guglhupf.com (link)

Authentic domination.  Real, bona fide and true.  Some may know guglhupf as a term describing a type of cake, stemmed from the word kugel meaning “ball” or “globe”.  But if you have paid any culinary attention to the triangle area in the past decade you would know this term describing the Mecca for authentic food and atmosphere, found at the Guglhupf Bakery, Patisserie and Cafe in Durham.  Having opened it’s current location in 1998 as a Bakery and Patisserie, Claudia Kemmet-Cooper founded this German- cuisine influenced business based around her notions of ‘having food act as a measure of one’s hospitality.’  Supplying clientele with quality breads, baked goods and desserts awarded the bakery with many raves in the form of “best of” and “peoples choice” lists.  With the 2004 expansion of the business in the addition of a Cafe, Guglhupf continued its culinary proliferation by offering highly enjoyed breakfasts, brunches and lunches alongside an assortment the usual cafe fare of coffees and desserts.  Now Guglhupf continues to raise the bar by expanding the Cafe’s repertoire to include a dinner service.  ”Our goal is to incorporate elements of the casual dining that takes place in Germany in a “Biergarten” setting by offering sharing plates and small plates to be enjoyed with our carefully chosen list of German wines and beers along with some samples from Austria, Alsace and some more commonly known vineyards from around the globe.”

Heading the kitchen’s new adventure is executive chef David Alworth.  For the last decade David has been involved with many local establishments including Acme Food and Beverage, 411 West Italian Cafe, and as the Chef de Cuisine at Watts Grocery.  Chef Alworth’s menu strives to include local and seasonal ingredients prepared with “a European twist.”  Guglhupf’s head pastry chef, Antonia Manzi continues to expand the restaurants dominion by creating new and interesting desserts along with the continually served classics, such as tortes and pastries.

Seared Yellow fin Tuna w/ local Baby Turnip Puree, sauteed Chanterelles and Lingonberry Sauce

Local Herb Roasted Chicken w/ Potato-Leek Gratin, Brussel Sprouts and pan juices

Slow Braised Short Ribs w/ Potato dumplings, local Shitake mushrooms, Carrots and Pearl onions

Pepper Crusted Tuna w/ Fall Root Vegetable Medley and Baby Bok Choy

Black Forest Torte w/ Bing Cherry Compote, White Chocolate kirsch infused cream and bittersweet chocolate sauce

Pumpkin Tiramisu of Grand Marnier Ladyfingers layered with pumpkin cream & cubed pumpkin in spiced syrup.

All images and words © Mark Petko Photography

Be a part of Spoonfed (Raleigh)