Signature Dish/Sweet Tooth
BY Tyler Loftis
Sweet Tooth The key to success 
Coastal Cupcakes bakes a cupcake for every season and every mood. Owners Christen Beckmire and Meredith Sullivan opened their Historic Downtown store in July 2008 and have been making decadent desserts ever since. Beckmire and Sullivan take pride in their ability to make the perfect cupcake. Their famous key lime cupcake is a well-guarded family recipe that fortunately we all get to share. Made with a glaze of key limes from Florida instead of the traditional frosting Coastal Cupcakes key lime treat is tart and delicious and hard to resist. 129 Princess Street 910-251-8844 and 7210 Wrightsville Avenue 910-256-1122.
Signature Dish Get there … chop! chop!
Chris Graham and Brad Corpening are bona fide sandwich masters. Together they opened Chops Deli [130 North Front Street 910-399-6503] in December 2009 with a vision: serve super sandwiches made with local top-of-the-line ingredients. One of these creations is The Chicago which starts with a fresh sourdough Kaiser roll continues on with French brie stacked rare roast beef lettuce and red onion and is dressed with a peppercorn gourmaise. The line wraps around the block for a reason.