Hello Friends,
It looks like I'm getting sent to Wilmington, NC for a week or so for work. I'm not sure how much free time I'll have, but I'd like to get out and explore as much as I can. If anyone has any recommendations for sites to see, places to eat, etc., it'd be appreciated!
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Lemme ask my fiance she's from Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach and I'll see about grabbing a list of things to do
Also: go to Blue Water for food... all food
Edit: She said "ditto" since everything is covered here
Great, thanks!
I will second the Blue Water recommendation! Awesome place!
I was born there! Sorry, but haven't been there since the early-mid 90s. There's a famous battle ship (retired) anchored there, plus (I think) NC Aquarium.
Oh yeah, and it's only the hometown of the greatest basketball player in history.
Magic was not born there
You mean Brian Scalabrini?
Jordan was born in Brooklyn and then his family moved to Wilmington
My father served on the USS North Carolina during WWII. He was, in fact, a plank owner, and fought in almost every major battle in the Pacific. The stories weren't often told, but between shooting down and dodging kamakazi pilots and throwing grenades at torpedos, it sounded like a trip I'm glad I didn't have to take, and am grateful he survived. They called that ship "The Show Boat", which speaks volumes. Shamefully, I have never visited the ship, and have had the opportunity to do so, so it is my bad, but those I've spoken with who have visited it say it is well worth the visit. If you get the chance to go, say hey to the memory of Chief Thomas N. Maynard Jr. from Dyersburg, Tennessee. While he'd just say he was doing his duty, I think he fully qualifies as a war hero.
That's so sad and awesome at the same time. You should have gone with him. When did he pass?
Sorry it took so long to respond. Dad died in '85, in his sleep at 67 years old. He went to only one reunion of the crew at the ship, but the story momma told of his reception from shipmates has me tearing up as I type. Self absorbed, otherwise directed...I have no good reason, much less an excuse for not visiting. I know most folks on this site likely still have their parents in their lives, and I envy them.
From the bottom of my gut, thanks for sharing that beautifully amazing story. Thanks and blessings to your Da for his service and life. My fam and I left Wilmington in '86 (I was only 3). My grandfather (dad's) was also I the Navy during both WW2 & Korea but he was mainly on carriers. He was a cook, quartermaster and accounted for the artillery. Seriously, if I ever become a quarter to half the man he is, I'll be content. I know he won't be around forever (probably much longer) but I'm trying to make it to the max. Thanks so much again.
Thanks for that, HokieMac, I really do appreciate it. Dad retired a Chief Petty Officer, but I'm not sure of his rank during WWII. Also, not too sure what he actually did on the ship, other than he spent his time on the bridge. Without a HS diploma, he taught at the Naval Academy in Annapolis in the early 50's, where my bro and I were born. My wife's father said of my dad, once, that he was "the kind of man you could go to war with". As a wounded Air Force veteran himself, I thought of it as high praise indeed. I know I'll never be able to live up to that. I miss him.
Front street brewery for some good food and beer, the USS North Carolina, Wrightsville beach area has some good places right on the water. The Wilmington "downtown" area is where market street meets the river and there's all kinds of cool restaurants and bars there. If you can get some friends coworkers together, Dig and Dive is an outdoor sand volleyball court/bar.
Oddly enough the best reason to go to front st brewery is because of the amazing whiskey selection. Largest in NC. You can get any of the allocated bourbons at a reasonable (still expensive) price...
Dockside has pretty good food. I prefer to go to Wrightsville Beach, it's just like 5 minutes away. Also, watch out for sharks this time of year.
Surfed the jetty for years there growing up and didn't find out till I was 14 how bad the sharks were. My dad never told me because he knew I would tell my mom.
Flaming Amy's Burrito Barn. Hit the beach I guess but the beach doesn't serve burritos.
Actually, the beach does serve burritos. Amy's opened up a Carolina Beach location a couple of years ago.
It's the same menu with a little flair added. It's also a sit down and order restaurant.
Of course I have to eat at the Wilmington location because they're the only one that has the side door for hippies.
I live there. Plenty to do. Beach, downtown, battleship - all covered. Myrtle Beach is a little over an hour away which brings a ton of good golf into the equation. There are 3 beaches within 45 minutes that are all different and deserve an exploration. Wrightesville Beach is in Wilmington and is singles-type beach. Not that there aren't families, just lots of college kids. North is Surf City/Topsail - chill, free parking, and families sums this up. South is Carolina Beach and Kure Beach. Carolina Beach is kinda white-trash but has its moments. Kure Beach is where the aquarium is. There is a small waterpark in town called Jungle Rapids. Not bad during the week. We have a relatively new laser-tag facility by the airport that is killer from what I hear. It's a pretty cool place. Since you are here on business downtown will probably be your most likely destination. It's actually quieter in the summer because the college kids are gone. Still lots of good food and booze, though. School is letting out this week, so vacations are getting ready to pick up and this is a bit if a tourist destination in the summer.
Hey, we used to go there when I was a kid, that's...wait, yeah, no, that's about right. Dammit.
Everybody already covered mostly everything, but my two cents...
Downtown is pretty awesome, in my opinion. Good walking around area, good drinking, good food.
The aquarium is good if you're going with kids. Otherwise, I'd skip.
Barbeque in Wilmington sucks, for the most part. Johnson's Big Oak gave us boiled ribs with sauce dumped on them. Casey's I've heard good things about, but haven't had a chance to eat there myself. Smithfield's is good, particularly for a chain, and is the best I've had in Wilmington (sadly) aside from my own.
I'm going to have to defend Carolina Beach...I thought white trash went to Murder Beach, I mean Myrtle Beach.
Definitely try out a Haunted Pub Crawl in downtown Wilmington. You'll hear plenty of great ghost stories while enjoying adult beverages at some of the local bars.
I enjoy some of the beaches south of there (Ocean Isle for non fishing, Oak Island for fishing.) Be wary, lots of sharks and very little infrastructure if you don't want to just lounge on the beach all day.
As for spots, if you go to Ocean Isle, there was a place called Sharkey's Pizza that was awesome. It is still there, but I think it is a gastropub now. I bought a red Sharkey's t-shirt around 1997 from there, and for close to a decade it was my lucky fishing shirt. That shirt saw more big fish than most will see ever. Loved it.
My dad lives at Ocean Isle. We surf fish there a lot, as well as in the waterway. We also Take the occasional trip to the Little river jetty. Next time you are in town, try Inlet View restaurant. The food is fantastic
Hit up Elijah's on the waterfront downtown. Great food and great atmosphere. One half is white table dining, the other half is an Oyster bar with a huge deck that extends out onto the boardwalk. Worked there for a summer back in '99 and enjoyed every minute! Went back with my wife a few years ago and it was just as good as I remembered.
Thank you, everyone, for the suggestions and recommendations. This has given me a lot of great options.
So I just saw this thread but I lived in Wilmington for years.
Downtown:
Lots of good bars/restaurants:
Midtown:
I mean, it's midtown.
Wrightsville:
Some decent food and bars. Also, the beach.
I hope that helps. I agree with everything other people say as far as activities - USS N.C., Fort Fisher Aquarium, Wrightsville/Carolina/Kure beaches, etc. I'll check back if you have any questions.
I live in Wilmington as well, and this is definitely the best review so far, but I wanted to add some notes because I love living here and I think everyone of my good friends (i.e. Hokies) should move here (non-hokies and all other outsiders can go to Myrtle)
Downtown -
Higher priced go for Manna - amazing spot, but is a bit pricey. Also order an Old Fashioned at the bar and you will be in for one of the best around town, they make their own bitters and put on a good show for making a classic.
Fork and Cork gets a second for awesome place to eat on a dollar sign down from Manna.
My favorite place for lunch is Copper Penny.
Raw Bar, the Shuckin Shack is always an easy time. I respectfully disagree on the Slice of Life, but I go there mainly for their cheap lunch special or because they are open until 2 or 3am.
Also there is free live music at the riverfront park, mostly all cover bands, this week is a Chili Pepper cover that was fantastic last year.
If you just want great seafood, Cape Fear Seafood (mid town), Bridge Tender or Boca Bay are both killer in the Wrightsville area. A smaller joint is Fish Bites, looks crazy because it is in a strip mall with an Exxon, but some of the best fish dishes in town and its farther south towards CB.
Indochine has the best Thai in the area and has awesome atmosphere if you can get a table outside, always busy is the difficult part.
The closest thing to a Hokie Bar is Sweet & Savory, owned by a Hokie. Amazing dinners and they sell wine SUPER cheap because they believe all dinners should be paired with wine. Also, nice benefit, any wine you don't drink, you can cork the bottle and take it home with you.
Another good bar Tower 7 has the best fish tacos and the best view in town. Don't buy into the Oceanic unless you want to go there for apps or just drinks, the dinners are worth the money they charge.
There should also be something live music-y in Wrightsville and Greenfield Lake.
Beach-wise: just don't be a tourist and stay away from the piers, and you will not have any shark issues, all bites I have read have all been near fishing piers. I prefer Kure because I have 2 kids and the parking is free and public bathrooms and nearby and always pretty clean. The USS NC is getting an underwater facelift right now, but the tour is still amazing to see what our forefathers went through.
Also agree with someone else comment on the Sand Volleyball, if you want to drink with your shirt off and play volleyball try Dig and Dive or Capt'n Bills - both are a ton of fun if you have a good group to go with.
Well that was a lot longer than I expected it to be! Have a great time!
Currently live in Wilmington, been here for 6 years and I've lived in Monkey Junction, Downtown, and currently just out of town with a bit of land. I also wanted to comment on this review (and VTank texted me expressing his disappointment in my lack of participation)
Downtown:
Duck and Dive - I prefer this for a dive to The Whiskey, local music, good crowd, pool table in the back
Cape Fear Wine and Beer - agree here, and yes, skip FSB unless you are just eating Nachos and not drinking beer
Copper Penny - Favorite place for sandwiches, burgers, beer between me and my wife
Midtown:
Bill's Front Porch - great beer
Katy's - Bar - Now I need to go there, drive by it all the time, never been (sorry!)
South College Deli - best sandwiches
Indochine - definitely eat here!!
Peno - (used to be Babagannouj) - middle eastern food, Gyro's, Shawarma, Wraps, so good
Wilmington Brewing Company - Homebrew Store + Microbrewery, best beer in Wilmington - started out as a tiny (tiny!) homebrew store and has really taken off because of great quality and atmosphere
Wrightsville Area:
Tower 7 or K38 or Las Olas - all very similar and delicious Tex-Mex
Lagerheads - Can get very busy, good place to drink way too many rail doubles (so cheap)
Jerry Allens, Palm Room - Busy beach bars
Favorite Beach: Freeman Park (aka North End, aka Carolina Beach) - very crowded on weekends, drive on with 4x4 for $30 - bring your own beer, games, camp at night (register online) - always a fun time
Favorite Breweries:
Wilmington Brewing Company
Waterline
Flytrap
Bill's Front Porch
I'll echo Elijah's on the water for good food and tour the battleship. There's a few good restaurants, shops and bars downtown.
Tour the EUE Screen Gems studio and/or do the "movie tour" around the area. It's amazing how many movies and TV series were filmed there.
-Weekend at Bernies
-Dawsons Creek
-Iron Man 3
-The Notebook
-Sleepy Hollow
-The Conjuring
-A Walk to Remember
-The Crow
-Eastbound and Down
-One Tree Hill
-The Cats Eye
I believe there has been over 400 total.
*disclaimer - I only know these because they told us during the tour
http://euescreengems.com/wilmington-nc-studios/
FLAMING AMY'S BOWL
via GIPHY
Wilmington is great. Family is from there, I have lived there....
The one pro-tip I have, is if you like Eggplant Parmesan, please go to A Taste of Italy on college rd and order some. It's life changing.
I have also heard this - need to try
Wrightsville has my favorite east coast surf shop, Sweetwater, and Red Dogs across the street.
Be careful
Fill me in....
i'm stopping in wilmington on monday for lunch on my way to myrtle (God help me) and hitting new anthem beer project, appears they make some tasty, hazy ipas and they just released them in cans yesterday. YAIS!