At the online store, customers can create their own flavors and mix and match whatever they like for a custom order treat. Chad also said he loves hearing from people who have tried his popcorn with their comments and suggestions on new flavors and ways to improve.

It can only be described as serendipitous: I answer a craving for Asian barbecue by driving down High Point Road to a favorite Vietnamese restaurant and as I pull up I see the unmistakable, fl ame-red pelt of my old friend Madeline Greco, AKA Foxy Moxy, as she makes for the door.

We drive to High Point in the gathering thunderstorm, for one because in the Furniture City, no one knows who we are, and even if they did they wouldn’t care. For another, we’ve been dying to try out the Blue Water Grille since it took over the space where the old Grappa Grill used to stand so many years ago.

I took an oath not too long ago only to frequent bodega-style taquerías, citing authenticity, price point and gastronomic thrills as my reasons. But as someone who writes about restaurants every week, I recognize this is an impossible oath to keep. Buena Pinta is nothing like the roadside groceries where I’ve been getting my tacos lately.

But in the Ardmore neighborhood of Winston-Salem, the term “café” harkens back to the word’s etymological roots — at least when it’s applied to Cafe Arthur’s, a simple coffee shop in the traditional sense that looks like it’s sat on South Hawthorne Road roughly forever.

Billed as a “gastro pub� — which is somewhat misleading, since the menu centers around hot dogs, fancified and dressed up though they may be — the Red Onion lives in what used to be the Center City Café, Bar Fry before that, the Next Door Tavern before that… I could go on all day.

By the time this article comes out on Ash Wednesday, Mardi Gras will officially be over. Down in New Orleans, the floats will be warehoused, the streets swept and hosed down, the police barricades and grandstands carted off to wherever they get stored until next year.

Pound for pound, Winston-Salem is the best food city in the Triad. That’s just an opinion, of course, but one informed by a decade of discriminatory eating in the area.

But I was wrong. A recent visit to the concern, under new ownership, sees some slight changes to the interior: larger booths along the wall, bigger TVs and a little video poker action to the side. At the bar, the same sort of neighborhood types populated the stools, drinking the usual domestic, bottled brews.

I´ve got the feeling I’ve been here before, this little restaurant on North Battleground Avenue tucked into the retail space adjacent to the Exxon station — because, of course, I have.

Imagine my surprise. I sat and took a quick look at the menu — interesting appetizers like Italian nachos, homemade soups, a bevy of salads and some greatlooking sandwiches. But all of this was an exercise in futility. When my server approached, he could tell just by the look on my face that I would be taking a few laps around that buffet.

That’s what happened to me with Snack Bar, which opened to much fanfare on South Elm Street in March of last year. News of their chicken and waffles, well stocked bar and comely waitstaff spread quickly, yet I didn’t make it through the doors until last week.

First off, there are no actual screaming roosters at the Screaming Rooster, the downtown Winston-Salem boutique eatery occupying the space formerly known as Mary’s of Course — which is fi ne by me, though sometimes I do wish for more of that type of derring-do in the Triad restaurant scene.

Take my advice: If you’re going to Kabuto, the Japanese Kabuto has all of these things, but they’re tucked into a menu hibachi grill and sushi joint on the curve of Stanley Road that has something for everybody: filet mignon, ribeye, tuna, in Greensboro, bring a bunch of people with you.

The culinary year in the Triad has seen some surprising highs, like the opening of Bin 33 in downtown Greensboro and expansion of the Cobblestone Farmers Market in Winston-Salem, and some depressing lows, most of which have to do with the continued massacre of local, independently owned restaurants.

I love family businesses. Being part of a family business myself, I appreciate the hard work, long hours and unique dynamics that occur in family-run operations. That’s one of the reasons I like Ghassan’s, owned and operated by the Fleihan family since its founding.

Say you’re in Kernersville. Doesn’t matter why. Maybe you’re visiting a friend. Maybe you need gas. Maybe you’re passing through on your way to Winston-Salem in the rain and you get this gnawing yen for comfort food, and you know that this little corner...

The signs next to the offerings abound, including a high ceilings, brighter lights, and ryover from Rana Loca, patrons kitchen and on a hallway mouth-watering description of the exaggerated backs to the booth seats. commented on how different the door still read, “Rana crispy haystack calamari and the Think classic American diner booths space looked.

Thanksgiving meal — even on Long Island, where I grew up and where Emeril, on the other hand, takes a purist’s approach, starting with the oysters colonies once bedazzled every bay and inlet.

In Guilford County, 17 percent of the residents live below the poverty line. It’s 16.5 percent in Forsyth County. Among them are an alarming number of families, children and the elderly. For them, a proper Thanksgiving may rely on the generosity of others.