savor
THREE PRIZE-WINNING EATERIES SHARE THEIR DELICIOUS DISHES
New Tastes
B Y K Y L E H A N L I N | P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y A L L I S O N P O T T E R
Location, ambiance, trendiness, price point, familiarity, groupthink and other factors come
into play when it comes to choosing a restaurant. But in a yearly competition held on the
water at Wrightsville Beach to celebrate homegrown eateries, only one thing matters — taste.
The fifth Taste of Wrightsville Beach took place on the waterfront at MarineMax in
October. Restaurants served food and drink for event-goers enjoyment and votes, plus award
consideration by a panel of celebrity judges, including chefs Eric Gephart, Fanny Slater and
Lori Eaton.
The celebrity judges honored the Panamanian-inspired Ceviche’s with its second consecu-tive
Best Overall award. New-to-town spots Shark Bar and Kitchen and Waterman’s Brewing
Company finished second and third.
“We certainly had some of the traditional restaurants do very well, and Ceviche’s defi-nitely
has a formula people like,” says Lisa Weeks, who helped co-found the inaugural event
and was this year’s co-chair. “But the new kids on the block put it all out there and clearly
impressed the judges.”
North Lumina Avenue mainstay 22 North took home the People’s Choice award.
Ceviche’s took second in the vote among attendees, with Shark Bar and Kitchen taking third.
Waterfront favorites and sister establishments Bridge Tender/Fish House took first in the
Best Savory category, while newcomer Nothing Bundt Cakes was recognized as Best Sweet.
The 2017 competition marked the first year for
Best Beer and Best Wine categories. Along with
its third-place finish in the Best Overall contest,
Waterman’s Brewing Company took top honors
for Best Beer, while Noni Bacca nabbed first in
Best Wine.
The Wrightsville Beach Foundation inaugurated
the event in 2012 to help stimulate offseason res-taurant
activity and raise funds and awareness for
local charitable and civic organizations. The 2017
iteration netted more than $20,000. Forty percent
went to the New Hanover County Weekend Meals
on Wheels program. The rest was split among
town organizations and projects, including the
Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project, Hope from
Helen Foundation, and the Harbor Way Garden,
and the CFCC Pineapple Guild.
The chefs from the top three Best Overall win-ners
share their recipes with Wrightsville Beach
Magazine.
SHARK BAR
AND
KITCHEN
WATERMAN’S
BREWING
COMPANY
O F W R I G H T S V I L L E B E AC H
SMOKED BARBECUE
PORK SLIDERS AND SPICY
TUNA (YELLOW FIN)
POKE TOSSED WITH A
SRIRACHA-SOY BLEND
WITH ENGLISH CUCUM-BERS,
ONIONS AND
MICRO-CILANTRO FINISH*.
BEET-CURED ATLANTIC
SALMON WITH HOUSE-MADE
HERB FARMERS CHEESE,
CHAMPAGNE ONIONS, FRIED
CAPERS AND PRESERVED
LEMON ON RYE CROSTINI
AND CANDIED PORK CRACK-LINS
WITH HOPS-INFUSED
HONEY AND POWDERED
BACON
january 2018
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BEST OVERALL
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BEST OVERALL