savor — guide to dining on the azalea coast
73
“We just want to maintain that fun
pub atmosphere and accompany it with great
food,” says Danielle Feaster, pastry chef at Grand
Union Pub (1125 Military Cutoff Road, 910-256-
9133). Fortunately for all of us, Grand Union’s great
food includes a delicious dessert called Irish Car
Bomb Cake. Originally created as a special for St.
Patrick’s Day, the Irish Car Bomb Cake’s success
turned the “killer cake” into a year-round menu
item. “It sold out in two hours, so we knew we had
to keep it on the menu,” Feaster says. The cake is a
creative concoction made with Bailey’s Irish Cream
mousse, almonds, Jameson whiskey-flavored syrup
and a dark chocolate Guinness mousse. Talk about
an explosion in your mouth! —Molly Grennan
signature dish
latin flavor por favor
Inspired by the foods of his hometown of Guánica,
Puerto Rico, owner and chef Danny Keegan opened
San Juan Café (3314 Wrightsville Avenue, 910-
790-8661) in February 2010. The Latino-influenced menu offers
dishes from Puerto Rico, Columbia, Venezuela, Dominican
Republic and Cuba. One fabulous find is the Stuffed Mofongo,
a Puerto Rican specialty made with fried green plantains. “It’s
a really pretty dish,” says Keegan. The plantains are fried and
mashed in a mortar and pestle, then mixed with garlic, olive oil
and Adobo (a Latino spice mixture of garlic, onion, black pep-per,
cumin, Mexican oregano and cayenne pepper). The mash is
then formed into a bowl and smothered with steak, or shrimp,
“or you can get a surf and turf Mofongo,” Keegan says, “served
with pinto beans and a side of fresh seasonal vegetables.”
—Ashley Peel
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
sweet tooth
killer cake