A Day Well Spent in Davidson, North Carolina
Davidson is a small lake town in the middle of my favorite U.S. state North Carolina. To me as a European, Davidson resembles true small town America everyone on the old continent dreams of. Why? Well, it basically has it all: a film-worthy college campus composed of splendid brick houses, a more than picturesque main street, gorgeous Victorian-style houses featuring dreamy porches, and friendly Southeners who smile and make me happy all around.
When traveling to visit friends and my boyfriend's family in Concord, I have a list of places I try to visit on every trip. Davidson is on said list. It usually goes down like this: We visit the campus where I can pretend I went to American college, then take a stroll along Main Street to peep into independent stores and mingle with the store owners, and grab amazingly good coffe at SUMMIT COFFEE CO., one of my most favorite coffee shops in the entire world. Their coffees are just sensational and the vibe cozy and warm.
Spending a day in Davidson is truly romantic every time. And during fall season, it's magical too.
KINDRED RESTAURANT
Recently, I discovered that a new culinary experience was added to the Davidson family: KINDRED restaurant. During the holidays in December I finally got to check it out.
One shoe into the restaurant I was more or less convinced. The design is on point. We were seated on the second floor and handed lovely menus. Everyone was so attentative and our wishes were basically read from our eyes. The bartender prepared mixed drinks and cocktails with so much grace and style, it was fascinating. While watching him, it was the first time I thought of barkeeping as an art.
When we ordered the Skillet Burger and the Avocado sandwich I hoped that my ecstatic mindset wasn't going to be shattered. Not much time passed and our orders arrived. The presentation of the food was just as flawless as the design of the restaurant itself. And the taste was devine.
When one of the waiters realized I was taking a bunch of photographs, I was invited down to the place where the magic happens - the kitchen. Apparantly, I looked like a journalist. Between friendly cooks smiling at me, beautiful home made pasta and breadloafs I felt a bit like an intruder. However, I got to briefly meet the owner who was down there himself, cooking away. Such a treat.
In a nutshell, at KINDRED, design, taste, and serious cooking skills merge. It wasn't just the top-notch food that made for an all around great lunch experience, it was the friendly staff, the tasty cocktails, and the sublime design.
KINDRED is now one more place which made it on my must-visit-list for our trips to the lovely Piedmont region of North Carolina.