Wilmington + Carolina Beach [Part 2]

Parker and I really enjoy balancing our beach vacations with a little "city" life. The most obvious solution on our most recent trip was to walk around quaint downtown Wilmington. I can't say I knew what to expect - typically everywhere we go we rate on a scale relative to how much we love Charleston. Wilmington did not disappoint.

Per the recommendations of our lovely AirBnB hosts, we started the night at Shuckin' Shack Oyster Bar. Again, I was somewhat skeptical as we were looking for authentic, local eats, and honestly my first assumption was that this restaurant would be reminiscent of a Joe's Crab Shack. I was wrong.

Though I can't necessarily say these were the best oysters I've ever tasted (and I don't mean that they gave us food poisoning or anything, but there's definitely better local actually-from-the-ocean oysters), they were definitely the cheapest. For around $20 we got 3 beers, a dozen oysters, and 6 hush puppies. And it was all so delicious. If you're not an oyster fan, I recommend giving it at least a few tries. The texture is strange, yes, but that salty brine flavor is just too good for me not to insist someone try them.

After our post-beach appetizer, we walked around downtown and the river walk for awhile. I've never seen so many restaurants lined up on the riverfront like that. I also can really appreciate historic towns that work hard to update the interior of their buildings while maintaining the classic appearance of storefronts. It certainly helps us that the weather was gorgeous and there was a refreshing breeze blowing off the river.

I couldn't resist this picture with a Henderson sign.

Behind the river-walk was a neighborhood of historic homes, complete with characteristic names and placards telling the tale of whatever family had owned and passed down the home. Again, feelings of walking through downtown Charleston come to mind here, and I'm so glad this travel spot is so close to home now.

Our final destination for the evening was (of course) for more food. We had been given an enormous list of restaurant suggestions, which honestly was a good sign enough for me to even want to visit. What we landed on, though was Rx Restaurant and Bar, which featured a "farm-to-table" approach - our favorite! I was honestly still full from the oysters from earlier, but I couldn't say no to a fried green tomato appetizer. They also ran a deal on free beer with purchase on certain appetizers. Honestly who says no to that? Of course we obliged.

Buffalo Pig's Ears

The particular appetizer our waiter suggested was the "buffalo pig's ears". As a dog owner, my first thought when I hear pig ears are those rawhide dog chews. I was initially pretty turned off by this, but Parker is far too adventurous not to try something like this. They. Were. Amazing. Picture a buffalo chicken wing. Now remove the meat and just leave the crispiest part of the chicken skin when it's fresh out of the fryer. That's a buffalo pig ear. I swear I had more than one dream about eating these again after we got home.

Fried Green Tomato topped with Pimento Cheese and Bacon Jam

Fried green tomatoes did not disappoint either. They had the perfect amount of breading served on top of house-made pimento cheese and covered with bacon jam (because of course).

For our main course we shared the duck. Now normally, I'm fairly partial to Asian seasonings on duck, but this dish was, again, incredible. There was plenty of food to share, and the meat was tender and juicy.

I can confidently say this: we will be back, Wilmington. And we will likely be back to Rx Restaurant and Bar as well. And, if anyone does decide to go to Wilmington, let me know so I can recommend the best AirBnB we've stayed in yet.

More vacation posts to come eventually!