[piano intro] - [Deborah] Next on "North Carolina Weekend," join us from Mike's Farm for a holiday weekend.

We'll celebrate 40 years at Fearrington House Inn, sample tapas in Asheville, and visit a historic Blue Ridge Mountain inn, coming up next.

- [Announcer] Funding for "North Carolina Weekend" is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains across the Piedmont to 300 miles of barrier island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[upbeat music] [upbeat music continues] [upbeat music continues] - Welcome to "North Carolina Weekend" everyone.

I'm Deborah Holt Noel, and this week we are celebrating the holiday from Mike's Farm in Beulaville, where the tea is sweet, the chicken is fried, and the ham biscuits are endless.

Here they have a family style restaurant, hay rides, Christmas trees, and the new North Carolina Products Barn.

We'll learn more about it later, but first come with me to Chatham County, where the five star Fearrington House Inn is celebrating 40 years of casual elegance.

I had an unforgettable weekend there, and so can you.

- It's just a place in the country, just a place to relax, just a place to cool out.

In the fifties, I was in the Air Force, and I was stationed in RAF Station, England, and I absolutely fell in love with England.

I love the gardens, and that's sort of what we've tried to create here.

- [Deborah] Developer R.B.

Fitch and his late wife Jenny purchased the 650 acre Fearrington Dairy Farm in 1974, and from it developed the seven acre Fearrington Village and the inn.

Throughout the years, he's maintained its pastoral environment, dotting it with signature Belted Galloway cows, Tennessee fainting goats, and Columbian white dot chickens.

Today the property is distinguished by "Travel and Leisure Magazine" as one of the world's best, and also it's a Relais & Chateaux property.

- Relais & Chateaux is an association of some of the world's best small hotels and restaurants.

There are about 580 of them around the world.

They are very well known for their quality of service, their cuisine.

It's a sort of a "Good Housekeeping" stamp of approval for us.

There's quite a bit to do in the village.

We have some shops.

We have Dovecote, which is our apparel and accessory store, and we have designers that come in twice a month to do trunk shows, so you'll get to meet the designers sometimes.

We have a children's store called Sprout.

We have Nest, which is home and gift.

And then we've got our bookstore.

It was started in 1989, and it is one of the premier independent bookstores in the area.

- [Deborah] And all of this is available to any visitor to Fearrington Village.

For me, it was part of an overnight weekend stay at the Fearrington House Inn.

But before checking in, my mother and daughter joined me for afternoon tea service at the restaurant, which was the original farmhouse.

They loved the country setting.

- There's a windmill out there, and a lot of things to keep you interested so you could walk around all day out here and be entertained.

I love it.

- [Deborah] They also loved all the treats and savories prepared in house by Fearrington's pastry team.

- That little cookie there with the white drizzle on top, that'll be a pumpkin spice donut.

- [Deborah] Afternoon tea is a relaxing way to experience the delicious foods from Fearrington's Kitchen, but you can also find them at The Belted Goat, which was once the granary of the farm.

Now it was time for me to check in and check out my accommodations for the weekend.

- Massage at one o'clock tomorrow, Friday.

- I was delivered to one of Fearrington's grand suites, featuring a private garden.

My home away from home was supremely appointed with a king size bed, luxurious spa-like bath, and a cozy fireplace, plenty of space to wind down before grabbing a bite in the Village at the Roost Beer Garden.

Can you believe this used to be an old corn crib?

Today you can get a pretty phenomenal pizza, and occasionally find live, local music.

♪ That's enough outta you, baby ♪ Fearrington Village is ideal for taking in the gorgeous North Carolina weather, whether it's breakfast on the great porch at the restaurant, or a stroll through nearby Camden Park.

But places to exhale are not limited to the outdoors.

For the ultimate in relaxation, unwind and indulge at The Spa at Fearrington.

This boutique spa offers facials, body treatments, and nail services in beautiful spaces designed to pamper before, during, and after your treatments.

Evenings at the Fearrington Restaurant are vibrant, with locals and visitors gathering at the bar for wine and cocktails, or making a night of it with the bar's dinner menu.

Of course, it's the exceptional culinary experience in the dining room that's earned this restaurant a five star rating.

- This is our full wine and cocktails list.

Hope y'all have a fabulous evening.

- Thank you.

- You're very welcome.

- [Deborah] A seasonal menu sources fresh ingredients from local farms, and its crown jewel is the chef's tasting menu.

Executive chef Paul Gagne grew up surrounded by good cooks, and he's a risk taker in the kitchen.

His menu tonight is inspired by the 40th anniversary of the restaurant, and Jenny Fitch, author of "The Fearrington House Cookbook."

- The first one is a foie gras mousse with a sherry jelly and apple butter.

The second course is a truffle chicken sausage with celery root, yuzu, and yuzu kosho chicken cream.

The third is a seared tuna with chick pea, takoyaki sauce, and a burnt lemon puree.

And the veal is pretty classic.

It's prosciutto wrapped with carrots, local mushrooms, duxelle, and a smoky veal sauce.

Today we're gonna do our famous souffle, so that's a recipe that came from Jenny Fitch herself, and I couldn't imagine taking it off the menu.

I wouldn't be that one.

- [Deborah] At the Fearrington Restaurant and Village, you'll discover the cuisine is indeed second to none, but the generosity of service, extra touches, and warm hospitality are what make this small haven in Chatham County a Relais & Chateau property worthy of a short visit or a relaxing stay.

The Fearrington House Inn is at 2000 Fearrington Village Center in Pittsboro.

To find out more about dinner reservations or a wonderful overnight stay at the inn, give them a call at [919] 542-2121, or go online to fearrington.com.

We love when a restaurant in our state gets national attention, so when a popular Spanish influenced restaurant in Asheville won the James Beard Award for Hospitality, we sent Rick Sullivan to Curate to check it out.

- [Rick] Since opening more than a decade ago, Curate Bar de Tapas has been reaping awards.

Often nominated for James Beard Awards for its talented chef and co-owner, Katie Button.

[saxophone plays "Tequila"] But in 2022, the Spanish tapas restaurant's very active attention to hospitality earned the top award in the nation.

- This year particularly, I think that the James Beard Foundation honored the fact that we are kind of taking that hospitality piece and extending it to our staff as well as being like a real tenet of who we are as a company and what we're trying to kind of accomplish in the restaurant industry.

- [Rick] What Curate is doing is placing as much emphasis on the wellbeing and satisfaction of staff members.

- Get a glass for free, why not?

- [Rick] As it is for its customers.

- We got a bottle of this, Honey.

- [Nathan] Hospitality does start with genuine care for the guests as they're coming into the restaurant and the experience that we deliver for them.

- [Rick] Did you get a good Spanish wine with it?

- Yes, two different ones, yeah.

- But that really doesn't happen on a really high level unless your staff is feeling like they are taken care of.

- Most people, when they think of the restaurant industry, you know the customer's always right, and you come in, you make your money, you go home, and you sort of leave it all at the door.

We want to create a place that we can attract people that are professionals in the industry, that are career servers, career bartenders, that really think of their craft and their career choice as that, as a career that they can be proud of, and not just a gig.

- [Rick] A great example of the restaurant's inward soul searching approach to hospitality is the owners, Katie Button and her husband, Felix Meana, declined starring roles in this story, preferring instead that I focus on their everyday crew that collectively earned the James Beard Hospitality Award.

But giving credit to employees and praising their efforts has surely been an important part of any great restaurant's success.

Health insurance, 401ks, and job security for restaurant employees, now that's a game changer.

- And if you're taking care of your staff, and you are giving them health insurance, you're giving them, everyone, a living wage.

More than a living wage is what we're looking to do.

You're giving them the training, the continuing education, you're having involvement and engagement with your staff on a daily basis.

They know that you genuinely care about them as a person, just as we genuinely care about our guests.

They feel you there supporting them, they come into work in a better place, and if they're in a better place personally, then they're going to be able to give a better experience to their guests on a personal level as well.

- [Rick] So I haven't even mentioned the high caliber and very diverse menu at Curate.

One that features a variety of meats from Iberico pork.

Those are pigs that are bred in Portugal and Spain and raised on an acorn diet, with a taste that has to be experienced to be appreciated.

The food here has been routinely heralded, but Curate is not just about taste.

The food and drink is prepared with a flare that is entertainment in itself.

- One of the pieces of magic with that open bar being the heart of the restaurant, with the open kitchen, is the energy and the liveliness and the ambience that is created from all these people being in this space, interacting with the food, and just having a great time together.

There is just this, I'm literally getting goosebumps talking about it.

There's just this level of just like everybody's having fun, and, you know, we say it every day, we're here to make people happy.

And you really feel that happening in the restaurant when we're focused and we're making everyone happy on an individual basis.

- [Rick] And finding your chance at happiness inside Curate isn't as difficult as you might expect.

True, the restaurant is usually booked days or even weeks in advance, but a few spots are held back for walk-ins every day.

And next door to Curate is the sister restaurant, wine bar, and all day market, La Bodega.

Quick meals and carryout are standard here.

- [Deborah] Curate is at 13 Biltmore Avenue in Asheville, and they're open for lunch Friday through Sunday and dinner Tuesday through Sunday.

For reservations, give them a call at [828] 239-2946, or go online to curatetapasbar.com.

We are so excited to be back here at Mike's Farm, and Theresa, you and your husband really started agritourism here in North Carolina with the tree farm.

Tell me a little bit about that.

- We started in '83, and the 1986 was when we sold our first trees.

After the Christmas tree farm, we expanded the gift shop.

The next thing we did was we added a bakery, then a restaurant, then we doubled the size of the restaurant, then we added a banquet room for parties and gatherings, family get togethers.

Then we built a barn where now we host a lot of weddings in, and we do dinner shows in it at Christmas.

- And we're standing in one of your newest additions, which is the North Carolina Products store.

Tell me a little bit about this space.

- We got in this building September of 2019.

It was our goal to carry items from all 100 North Carolina counties, so we are daily striving to do that.

We feel like by doing that, we can showcase vendors in North Carolina, and at the same time promote our business as well.

- That's so wonderful, and there's so many things that you can do here.

What do people do to get into the holiday spirit?

- Well, this time of year especially, they come and go to the restaurant.

For the kids, they come and visit the farm animals.

We have dinner shows, and we do a big Christmas light show, Festival of Lights it's called, and that starts November 17th.

- Sounds like so much fun.

Now, you mentioned the restaurant, and I hear it's extremely popular.

Tell me a little bit more about that.

- We do family style dining, where we bring everything in bowls to your table, all you can eat.

We are known for our macaroni and cheese, which is a recipe I actually came up with.

And that is our number one food that we always get comments on.

- Well, you can't go wrong with macaroni and cheese.

- No, you cannot.

[both laugh] - Theresa, everything sounds absolutely delightful.

I cannot wait to explore more of Mike's Farm.

- Thank you, Deborah.

- Mike's Farm is at 1600 Haw Branch Road in Beulaville.

Their bakery and gift shops are open Tuesday through Saturday, beginning at 10:00 AM.

Their restaurant is open Thursday through Saturday, and to book reservations for their holiday events, visit them online at mikesfarmnc.com.

Boy, they are busy as bees here in the bakery at Mike's Farm, just making sweet magic.

Culinary artist Seraphim Smith was recently in eastern North Carolina painting a mural, and he discovered an authentic first generation Italian restaurant that tourists just flocked to and the locals adore.

Let's join Seraphim Smith as he discovers the secret in the sauce at Alfredo's in Clinton.

[gentle music] - [Seraphim] Did you know that Clinton, North Carolina has the largest dogwood in all of North America?

Recently, they asked me to create a mural celebrating the tree and their bicentennial.

I got to spend some time exploring the old town.

Clinton's revitalization efforts over the past two decades have filled the streets with a variety of arts and amenities.

Alfredo's is one such institution on the square, and that's where I'm taking you today.

- Chicken Marsala is very good.

- Alfredo DiPinto, owner and native Italian, invited me into the kitchen to see some of their culinary artwork.

- Inspiration for the restaurant really was from my mom and father, but primarily my mother.

Just her abilities to cook very simple recipes, no formal culinary experience, just good old fashioned recipes that had been handed down for many generations.

And living with that all my life just motivated me to begin a restaurant.

- [Seraphim] The restaurant makes many of their delicious foods from scratch, including the bread.

Their house-made mozzarella is showcased in tantalizing selections, like the veal saltimbocca.

Chefs cook daily with fresh produce and meats.

- The Italian sausages we use for the pizzas and for the spaghettis, and other utility is made from a company in the Greensboro area named Cangialosi.

Really, really good sausage.

- [Seraphim] After a long day of painting, I wanted to sit down to a great meal, and I kept hearing about this delicious house-made marinara.

The marinara serves as a base sauce for many of their appetizing entrees.

Chef Brian Smutko said that I just had to try the vodka sauce with penne.

Shallots, peas, and prosciutto are added to a scorching saute pan, then grilled chicken, followed by an explosion of vodka.

The flames are quenched with a ladle of Alfredo's house-made marinara.

Finally, the vodka sauce is enriched with cream, seasoned, and mounted with butter.

Basil chiffonade lends color and a verdant herbaceous note.

Even the pasta is special.

It's imported from Italy.

[light music] I can't wait to dive into this bowl of deliciousness.

Wine connoisseurs will delight in the exceptional Captain's List, which features choice vintages from all over the Italian peninsula.

The upper room at Alfredo's is Clinton's favorite gathering place.

- So it is an event venue spot.

Upstairs is reserved for the most part for large groups.

Wedding rehearsals, receptions, reunions, birthday parties, those kinds of things.

[light music] - [Seraphim] When I first arrived in Clinton to start my mural, I had no idea I'd find an authentic Italian restaurant in this small eastern North Carolina town.

And now that you're going to come to Alfredo's for the sauce, be sure to stop by the new bicentennial mural.

Buon appetito, y'all.

- Alfredo's Ristorante Italiano is at 101 Wall Street in Clinton, and they're open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner only.

For more information, give them a call at [910] 592-1657, or go online to alfredosofclinton.com.

Looking for a place to spend a long weekend in the mountains with just a touch of elegance and a laid back, "put your feet up" kind of feel?

Producer Clay Johnson found just the spot at the GreenLife Inn right outside Tryon.

- [Clay] Few things say Southern hospitality like towering white columns and majestic old magnolia and mimosa trees.

- [Kevin] It has quite a presence, that's for sure.

- [Clay] This house was built in 1903 as a gaming parlor for the old Mimosa Hotel.

After the hotel burned down in 1916, it became the Mimosa Inn.

- And so it's been an inn basically all the time since it was created after the hotel burned down.

- [Clay] The inn was in foreclosure when a realtor showed it to Mary Parker.

- This had been sitting vacant for about five years, and ceilings were falling in and whatnot, but the actual structure was sound.

- So Mary and her husband, Kevin, decided to purchase the inn in 2015 with a plan to reopen it.

- I wanted to have the entire place ready before I opened the doors.

I mean, I had the rose colored glasses on, and I said, you know, "We're gonna debut this thing.

"It's gonna be beautiful," and [Mary laughs] - [Clay] Instead the Parkers took a slower, more realistic approach, first renovating just two guest rooms and putting them on Airbnb.

- [Mary] Since then, it's been out the gates, and we were just fix plumbing, fix electricity, throw some paint on the walls, furnish it, all the way down the hallway.

- [Clay] There was no furniture in the inn when the Parkers bought it.

- [Kevin] Mary was on the speed dial of all the thrift stores.

- [Clay] All of them had a list of what she was looking for.

- This inn was very, very popular in the '30s and '40s.

We found a lot of guest records, and it was very, very strong business in the '30s and '40s, so it kind of went to pulling a little bit of that '40s type feel into things.

- [Clay] The second floor has apartments on either end and nine guest rooms in between.

- [Mary] We have king size rooms, we have queen size rooms, and we have rooms with two full size beds.

- [Clay] All have a private bath.

The Parkers decided to rename the inn to reflect their commitment to sustainability and its history.

- We wanted to have it be a fresh start that still sort of honored the name of, and the history of the Mimosa Inn, so we went with GreenLife Inn at The Mimosa.

This is the fourth wall.

I think they went through three, two and a half.

- [Clay] Mary does the baking for breakfast, which she calls Continental plus.

It's muffins, hot and cold cereals, and fresh fruit.

The plus includes things like hot breakfast sandwiches and quiches on the weekends.

It's all self-serve.

- We try to be really cognizant of what our guests are asking for, and it's generally not a sit down breakfast that's quite elaborate.

- [Clay] The breakfast coffee comes from the Parkers' very own Tryon Coffeehouse in the heart of downtown.

- I think the vibe you get when you walk in it's like getting a hug.

- [Clay] The Coffeehouse is a community gathering place that also displays the works of local artists.

- [Mary] And that's really important to us is to have it be really about the community.

- [Clay] And it's a place the community can really depend on.

- The Tryon Coffeehouse has never been closed a single day for any reason in the entire existence of that, that business.

- Downtown Tryon has an eclectic mix of restaurants and shops to explore and a movie theater.

There are live performances at the nearby Tryon Fine Arts Center.

The area offers concerts and horse shows at the Tryon International Equestrian Center, waterfall hikes, breweries, and several wineries.

- That's why we had to change the code on the front door to enter, because, you know, you're doing a couple of wine tours today and you sometimes forget about what the code to get in the door is.

- [Clay] The Parkers made it easy to remember.

The inn itself hosts weddings, reunions, and other events, and has even been a movie set, but mostly it's just a nice home base for visitors to the the area, people like musician Christian Sharp, who came to perform at the Fine Arts Center.

- Everybody's super nice.

The breakfast and the way they have this place laid out is super comfortable, homey for sure.

- [Clay] Dominique Mancini says she certainly feels at home here.

- They're very accommodating.

The rooms are very clean.

The food is great, the coffee's awesome, and the little town here is really cute.

- [Mary] We try to have what people are looking for in the shell of an historic structure.

I want them to come in and just kind of shed everything at the door, and kind of be cared for.

- The GreenLife Inn at The Mimosa is at 65 Mimosa Inn Drive in Tryon.

To book your room, give them a call at [828] 436-0097, or visit them online at greenlifeinn.com.

Well, that's it for tonight's show.

We have had a fantastic time out here at Mike's Farm.

It's a great, family-friendly, warm environment to celebrate the holidays, and if you've missed anything in today's show, remember you can always watch us again online at pbsnc.org.

Have a great North Carolina weekend everyone.

[upbeat music] ♪ ♪ ♪ - [Announcer] Funding for "North Carolina Weekend" is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains across the Piedmont to 300 miles of barrier island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[piano outro]