what’s new: january

A little backstory for you…

Last January, Phil & I realized we’d become creatures of habit, and found ourselves (happily!) going to the same handful of places and ordering the same delicious things. While it definitely wasn’t a bad predicament, we felt fairly new to the area and realized there was still so much we still needed to explore when we’d hear recommendations of local favorites and new spots popping up over town. I’d think “yes! we need to add that to our list,” make us a note, then tuck it away, and we’d find ourselves back at our same favorite spots… again and again. Ha!

So we quickly decided on a fun resolution for the 2023 new year. Each month, we’d alternate who got to pick something new for us to try locally. It could be a restaurant/bar, event, attraction, etc. We really wanted to take advantage of the unique cuisines and things to do in our area. At the beginning of every month, one of us would narrow down a pick, we’d add it to our calendar, and we found that it gave us something to look forward to trying!

Let me just tell you that we had *so* much fun! We discovered many fan favorites that absolutely lived up to the hype. I mean, we still rave about the chef’s tasting menu we first tried at Dram Yard almost a year ago – it’s absolutely worth the splurge. A few of our other favorites from last year include Three10, Beer Bourbon & BBQ Fest, Fort Fisher Aquarium, and Indochine.

With that being said, we gladly decided to keep this tradition going again this year, and Phil’s pick for January 2024 was…

**cues drumroll**

Burgaw Brewing!

We had first heard about Burgaw Brewing in June of 2022 when we braced the summer heat and made the short drive up to check out the annual Burgaw Blueberry Festival. The brewery was under construction at the time, and it finally opened its doors downtown in the spring of last year.

This past Sunday we found ourselves snacking on an order of cheese curds (because who doesn’t love lil’ fried balls of cheese?!) and splitting a flight of their house pours while enjoying some live music. A favorite was definitely the subtly sweet “Pender County Famous” which is a wheat ale infused with blueberry juice from a local family owned blueberry farm. It was a “berry” good nod to it’s local roots in blueberry country. We also dined on their fish n’ chips and pierogies – both were great! Just know that if there are pierogies on the menu, we’re likely going to indulge 😉

As the first brewpub in Burgaw, it’s definitely worth stopping by to check out. Plus, there is really cute antique shop located right next door if you’re looking to make an afternoon out of your trip. I may have finally scored some vintage brass shell bookends at Burgaw Antique Place that I have been on the hunt for – yay!

Have you got any new places on your list that you’d like to explore this year?