Taste Carolina

06/17/2026

A Taste Carolina tour tasting plate at Neal's Deli in Carrboro. House-made pastrami on rye, pimiento cheese biscuits, and seasonal veggie salads. These are the kind of lunches we daydream about.

When it comes to sandwiches, biscuits, and salads in the Chapel Hill/ Carrboro area, Neal's Deli is the way. Featuring Guglhupf's fresh bread and homemade biscuits as vessels to their scratch-made fillings, trust Neal's to handle your mid-day meal.

06/12/2026

Johnny's personality shines through on his tours, as it does in this video. I vividly remember meeting him at The Market at 7th Street nine years ago when Taste Carolina was expanding tours to Charlotte. After his interview to be a tour guide, we explored the city together. I was excited to start discovering the locally-owned, independent restaurants around Uptown, and it was really fun to bop around town with Johnny. Hired!

About that cocktail bar, we have been serving new guests the old fashioned at The Cotton Room weekly since 2017. It's quite the discovery - then and now.

Please watch this video all the way through. At Taste Carolina, we all take Eat Local very seriously. You can see why Johnny is the unofficial hype man of Charlotte and was officially recognized this year as Ambassador of the Year by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, aka Charlotte's Got a Lot.

Charlotte is awesome, and Johnny is, too. I am a fan of both!

-Lesley (of Durham)

06/10/2026

Charlotte tours in the sunshine! This crew spent the afternoon exploring local food and city history, and ultimately they graciously answered this difficult question: What was your favorite stop today?

Thanks for joining us in the Queen City!

06/05/2026

Strolling along historic streets. Eating amazing local food.

And someone else is making all of these decisions and plans? Honestly, that is self-care these days.

Thank you for the sweet review!

06/02/2026

Are we drinking dirty sodas this summer? The answer is YES 🥤 Specifically, we have been going for the orange creamsicle at Chill Nitro in Winston Salem.

If you are new to the dirty soda game, think root beer float but in various flavors. Choose some kind of bubbly beverage, like a craft soda (or energy drinks for a kick 😜), and add in syrups and creamy elements. Chill Nitro uses their liquid ice cream base for the cream, so you know it's gonna be gooooooood.

05/29/2026

Meet Jeff. If you like your food tours with a side of history and a lot of local pride, you are in the very best of hands.

Jeff originally found his way to Taste Carolina as a guest! After joining us on a tour with his wife back in 2024, he reached out to ask if there might be some space on the team. The rest, as they say, is history...**

**...This segues nicely into our next Jeff fact. By day, Jeff is an AP World History teacher in the Wake County Public School System. He has a natural love for storytelling, and, on tours, blends Durham’s food scene with its rich - and sometimes unexpected - history. He connects all the dots in a way that keeps things engaging and entertaining.

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Jeff has called North Carolina home for the past 20 years, with 14 of those spent in Durham. He definitely knows his way around the city, and he knows where to eat. With a background that includes six years in the restaurant industry, Jeff appreciates what goes onto a plate and what goes on behind the scenes at restaurants.

A few things you might learn about Jeff along the way:
-He can connect just about any topic back to history if you give him enough time.
-Buffalo will always have a place in his heart (and yes, he has opinions on wings.)

05/26/2026

It's a berry good time of year. Read about strawberries and spring tours & treats in Taste Carolina's newsletter.

Come see us soon! We'd love to host you.

05/26/2026

North Carolina has incredible seafood, and Sea Level in Charlotte is taking full advantage of it!

Sea Level supports NC's family owned fisheries that are dedicated to sustainable practices and non-threatened species. The restaurant also partners directly with local oyster farms located in Sea Level, NC to bring Sea Level Salt oysters in-house.

Wash it all down with their unexplainably delicious cocktail, Deep Eddy. This drink is so popular that you can buy it by the pitcher, and they have even started to keg it.

05/22/2026

Seventeen and a half years, eighteen tour guides, eight cities, countless bites, one food tour company 🐖 🎉 🎈

These are the folks that make our tours more than just walks across town with plates of food. They bring the stories of the cities, restaurants, and tastings to life!

We loved getting together in Carrboro a few weeks ago to celebrate Taste Carolina's halfway between 15 and 20 birthday. Cheers to many more years of eating local, supporting small businesses, and washing it all down with a tastefully made cocktail 🥂