CityView Magazine

Editor’s Corner TOAST OF THE TOWN I t’s a good day at work when you’re sampling a glass of wine, all in the name of research, of course. This Food & Wine issue is a tough assignment, but we do it for you, dear reader. As a matter of fact, we began working on this issue last spring when we skidded into the McNeill family strawberry patch just as the McNeills closed up for another season. Likewise, we arrived early on the doorstep of Stedman Blueberry Farm as the first fruit dangled from the branches. When folks talk about eating local, it doesn’t get any better than berries straight from the field or honey harvested from the comb. It turns out that homemade honey is as simple as a class offered by our very own agricultural extension agents who were kind enough to save a seat for writer Nathan Walls. Urban beekeeping may be the newest trend elsewhere, but Fayetteville’s backyard gardeners have been putting up pint jars of golden honey for years. Yes, for this issue, we tromped the fields and places far flung to bring you phenomenal food. And drink. It’s an easy afternoon drive to a host of North Carolina wineries, including Cypress Bend Vineyards where we caught up with winemaker Jim McClanahan who transforms sweet Muscadine grapes into delicious whites and reds. But you don’t even have to leave the house to throw a great wine and cheese party – the Fayetteville Wine Society shows us how. And we are excited to introduce the 12 | Food & Wine • 2010 city’s first cocktail contest. After enduring one of the coldest, dampest winters on record, we were ready to embrace summer with the city’s best drinks. Many staffers stepped forward to take on the job of sampling contest submissions, but we turned that task over to an independent source: CityView blogger Amelia Forman- Stiles who spent two weeks sipping the best martinis, spiked lemonade, tea and all sorts of fruity concoctions. Her top 10 favorites start on Page 41. We stopped eating and drinking just long enough to bring you an update on Stone Manor. If Jason Tyson’s story on George Novikoff (April/May 2010) intrigued you, you won’t want to miss this new look at the mysterious Russian artist. Tyson’s digging took him through U.S. Census Bureau reports, Social Security records and correspondence with those who knew him or knew of him in Fayetteville, Philadelphia and Baltimore. The series on Stone Manor concludes in June with a look back at the fascinating family which built the home and a look ahead at proposed drawings for the home’s future. We don’t want to give away too much, but I think it’s quite possible that Stone Manor will be the toast of the town.CV Allison Williams, Editor

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