Fabulous Food Destinations in the Outer Banks

When we planned for fun in the sun in the Outer Banks, while we planned dinners, we left some days free to give us some flexibility to go out or get takeout, or whatever struck our fancy. While the Corolla area is full of the typical sub shops, pizza joints and barbecue stands, we found several culinary jewels during our stay. Our first night, since it was breezy and cooler we went to Steamers to Go and got one of our favorites- their clam chowder, which they sell by the quart. It is a little pricey, but delicious and combined with some mahi mahi en papillote, it made a great dinner on the screened porch! Steamers has all kinds of seafood, and other great pre-made foods meant to make your stay at the beach easier, even if you are the cook!

During our two week stay we had pizza twice trying both the recommended Tomato Patch and Corolla Pizza, a place with local flavor in a little strip mall north of the Currituck Lighthouse. Tomato Patch is popular since it is a family-friendly sit down restaurant as well as pizza take out. Since our children are grown, we care primarily about the pizza. The Tomato Patch makes good pizza, but I have to say that the pizza at Corolla Pizza was my favorite of the two. The shop itself reminds me of our own neighborhood pizzeria where you can watch the dough being tossed. The crust was just the right thickness to please my thin-crust loving husband, with a crisp bottom and freshly-made taste. The sauce was not too sweet or acidic and the toppings were fresh and delicious. As a bonus, they had Mexican Coke, which I had read has real sugar like the Coke of my childhood, so I got two for the girls to try.

Before we left to go on vacation, I had seen something on Food Network about Tullio's Bakery in Duck, and we definitely put it on our list of places to try while we were there. We were not disappointed. Tullio's is a dieter's nightmare- the cases were full of all manner of treats. Cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, cupcakes, muffins, scones and desserts that were so tempting. We got a dozen assorted goodies for breakfast one morning and by noon, there was only an empty box (and the added pounds) to remind us of our stop there. Tullio's also offers half a dozen assorted bagels at a very reasonable reduced price and the bagels are amazing! So what if we had to do a few more laps in the pool? Tullio's was totally worth it! (Actually, writing this post has made me want to make the drive back down just to go there and try more of their breads and desserts!)

Next post- an elegant meal out in the Outer Banks