Gadding About in Parrots General Store

The parrot in Parrots Store. (Photo by Anthony Benson)

Laura, Anthony, and I motored down to Kinston to have dinner at The Chef and The Farmer, but we went early enough to browse around in Parrots General Store before dinner.  What a fun place!  This place has been in business in this same location for over 70 years.

Live chickens and rabbits for sale. 

After you raise your live chicken as a pet you can buy a harness for her. 

Cheerwine and RC Cola.

Mary Jane candy. 

Wagons in the window.

I guess this is for whatever ails one. 

Used to pick up nuts. 

Handmade oak basket. 

There's not much tobacco grown around here anymore. 

If you find yourself in Kinston, NC I recommend visiting this old timey store.

Cheerwine Cake

A piece of moist Cheerwine cake.

After a ballgame the other week, Michael, Zach and I stopped by PDQ Barbecue to get a snack.  When I walked in I saw this enormous pile of Cheerwine cases.  Cheerwine is just about my favorite soda. Back in the 50s we rarely drank sodas, but when I did my choice was Cheerwine which has its roots in Salisbury, NC.

Cases of Cheerwine soda at PDQ in Raleigh. 

 

I immediately remembered seeing a reference to Cheerwine Cake in a recent Our State magazine.  I bought four.  One to drink and the others to take home for making the cake.  The waitress told me I could buy a case for $32.00.  I was tempted, because it is sometimes difficult to find Cheerwine even here in North Carolina where it is made.  I resisted because I try not to drink many sodas. 

 

Here's a recipe.

Cheerwine Cake

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup Cheerwine or Coca-Cola
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup Cheerwine or Coca-Cola
1 Tbsp maraschino cherry juice

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 inch pan well with butter or shortening.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix to combine.

Mix dry ingredients.

In a small saucepan combine the butter, cocoa powder, Cheerwine, and buttermilk. Stir over medium heat until butter has melted and mixture has combined.

Melting the butter in the liquid ingredients.

Remove chocolate mixture from heat, and with the mixer running on low, slowly pour into the flour mixture. Add in eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Mix until combined, then pour into prepared baking pan.

Ready to pour into baking pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While cake is baking, make the frosting/glaze. In a large saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder, Cheerwine, and maraschino juice. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and carefully whisk in 4 cups of confectioner’s sugar until smooth. Pour the frosting over the warm cake. 

Let sit for at least 2 hours before cutting, or even overnight. We let it sit overnight and enjoyed it the next day.  It was so moist. 

Very moist cake.

Here it is ready to eat.  It was a bit sweet with the frosting.  It would be delicious without the frosting and next time I will omit the frosting.

Ready to enjoy.

It's nice with a dollop of whipped cream and garnished with a maraschino cherry.
And by the way.  I enjoyed a nice cold Cheerwine while I was making the cake. 

A nice cold Cheerwine.  Delish!!!!

A Secret No More: Merritt's Store and Grill

Our State magazine July 2013 issue featuring Merritt's Store and Grill.

 A feature article in this month's issue of Our State magazine was "10 Best Kept Secrets in North Carolina", and one of those listed was Merritt's Store and Grill in Chapel Hill.  Judging from the crowd that was there on Wednesday, it's no longer a secret.  I had hardly noticed this tiny little store on South Columbia Street that I passed each time I visited my PCP at the ACC in Chapel Hill.  But after reading that this Grill is known for its B.L.T.'s and learning that it is the little store that I had passed so many times, friend Marcia and I headed over for lunch the other day.

Marcia at the side of Merritt's Store and Grill.

Robin Britt and her husband Bob own this Store, and it was she who greeted us as we entered.  She explained that we ordered at one place, waited until the sandwich was ready while we selected our drinks from the cooler and then moved to the other side of the store to pay at the cash register.  So we got in line and both ordered the single B.L.T. (they come in three sizes single, double, triple---based on the number of layers of bacon, lettuce and tomato) between two slices of homemade sour dough bread.

Their BLT's come in three sizes.

Making sandwiches.

Our sandwiches were made very quickly, (the service was faster than most so called "fast food" places) and by then a long line had appeared.

Long line of customers waiting for their favorite sandwiches.

We just managed to get a table where a couple were leaving.  There is outdoor seating as well, and I noticed that many were getting their sandwiches to go.

I must say it is one of the best, if not the best, B.L.T.'s I have ever eaten.  And for my drink I chose an old-fashioned Cheerwine in a glass bottle with the metal cap. They have an old-fashioned bottle opener mounted near the door. 

My BLT.

Cheerwine in old-fashioned glass bottle with metal cap.

The store, at one time an Esso station, is now just a country store that is well-known for its sandwiches, particularly the B.L.T.  Sometimes on Saturdays, there is live music in a corner of the store.

After sharing my experience with my dear husband, my son, and my grandson, they are all ready to go with me the next time I head over for a B.L.T.  Best Kept Secret no more, not in our family.