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!

Chef/Owner Tim Lyons preps a fresh-delivered local Amber Jack

blu seafood and bar

2002 Hillsborough Rd.

Durham, NC 27705

919.286.9777

www.bluseafoodandbar.com (link)

Chef Tim Lyons

When I asked Chef Tim Lyons about his reasons for moving away from a seafood chef’s oceanic paradise like the Florida Keys, his answer was immediate and concise…”about six feet of water”…must have been a question posed to him before.  Tired of dodging hurricanes and tropical storms and fighting repeated floods, Chef Lyons built his ark in the form of a seafood restaurant, sailed it 985 miles from his Key West digs to run aground near the East Campus of Duke University in Durham, NC.  ”blu” seafood and bar describes itself “as upscale, casual seafood with innovative regional classics.  In other words, our place is comfortable with great food, some local, some global, but always fresh.”

Even though I have spent only limited stints seaside, I would have to say that blu is an epitomist of what I would consider a classic seafood restaurant.  The space is unassuming from an exterior perspective, yet simply stated and casually elegant inside.  Trinkets scattered and splashes of blue adorn the dining room, sporting concrete floors and a comfortable bar.  blu also provides an enclosed patio alongside and an outdoor patio that seems a perfect spot to sample some of Chef Lyon’s plates amongst the fresh air.  What the air may lack in the actual scent of ocean, you would never know it once presented with the simple, fresh seafood dishes offered within.  Alongside it’s lunch and dinner service blu also offers, box lunches, catering for events and an ever changing oyster menu that shifts with whatever is available as the latest catch. Also be sure to check the blu events page for upcoming wine dinners, kids’ nights and specials.

Thanks to Tim and manager Eryk Pruitt for allowing me to cast a line and pull some in…

Albacore Tuna w/ Green Papaya Salad

Chincoteaque oysters on the half-shell

New Zealand Abalone Ceviche w/ Pineapple, chiles, and scallions

blu-tini w/ crystalized blueberries

Dip your toes…test the waters…and tell’em you got “spoonfed”.

All images © 2009 Mark Petko Photography