Last fall, Angela, Glory, and I road tripped to Winston-Salem for a little weekend adventure. The three of us have traveled together quite a bit, but Winston-Salem was one of our most favorite travels. With the holidays right around the corner, we decided to make another trip back to see the city decorated in all its holiday glory.
Our weekend started with a drive to Winston-Salem from Raleigh after work. FYI, I-40 is under construction for the next 20 months around Winston-Salem, so you’ll want to plan for more travel time. If you are heading out west towards Asheville, Blowing Rock or Bryson City, you’ll also want to keep this in mind. I’d suggest planning for a stop in Winston-Salem for supper. You can see more information here.
We arrived in Winston-Salem and headed straight for our dinner reservation at Spring House Restaurant, Kitchen, & Bar. I was so excited to have dinner here because of the Southern menu with a progressive twist, but also to check out this beautifully restored 1920s mansion. Spring House is the last remaining mansion from “Millionaire’s Row,” a street where many of Winston-Salem’s prominent leaders lived during the ’20s. Spring House is founded by Lynnette Matthews-Murphy and this restaurant is one reason why Winston-Salem is rising in the “women-owned” restaurant category. The restaurant is beautifully restored and has such character and charm. I highly recommend ordering lots of small plates and sharing, and definitely get recommendations from your server! Ours was incredibly helpful and gave us the best suggestions.
For starters, we ordered the bread service plus Yukon Gold Kettle Chips with bacon, blue cheese, and scallion fondue and the Oysters: Southern Style with pimento cheese, bacon, & spinach. For our main courses, we ordered the Bahnson Burger, which is a house speciality, cast-iron skillet pork chop, wild mushroom “toast,” and crispy salmon fillet.
Faux Fur Jacket (similar here) | J. Crew Factory Sweater | J. Crew Velvet Pants | J. Crew Mules
After an amazing supper at Spring House Restaurant, we checked in at the Historic Brookstown Inn. This building was established in 1837 and the renovation was designed to be a living museum of art. There is a nightly wine and cheese reception featured local Yadkin Valley wines and milk & cookies at bedtime.
Saturday morning, we woke up and headed to breakfast at Mary’s Gourmet Diner. Mary’s is located in the historic downtown arts district and is made with mostly local, organic ingredients. Mary’s is another woman-owned restaurant, and also serves as an unofficial art museum with local artwork commissioned specifically for Mary’s. For breakfast, I ordered the breakfast croissant, while Glory ordered biscuits and gravy and Angela ordered the cinnamon French toast.
After breakfast, we walked across the street to Black Mountain Chocolate Factory. Black Mountain Chocolate Factory is the original chocolate maker in the Carolinas and has been around since 2007. Black Mountain offers self-guided tours of Black Mountain Chocolate Factory for guests to see how their chocolate is made, and offers a wide variety of drinks and dessert options. On some Saturdays, guests can take a 40 minute tour and see the entire chocolate making process. You’ll definitely want to order a drinking chocolate with a marshmallow for your time exploring the factory and get a box of truffles and a chocolate fruit cake to take with you.
We made a stop at the 55th Annual Piedmont Craftsmen Fair at the newly renovated Benton Convention Center. There is a permanent Piedmont Craftsmen shop on Trade Street that houses over 400 artists’ work and provides educational opportunities as well. It is an amazing celebration of artists and their craft and is located in the heart of the downtown arts district.
We made a stop at Mast General Store and knocked out some holiday shopping there. I always love their outerwear selections and their candy selection is what my sister-in-law’s dreams are made of.
J. Crew Factory Coat | J. Crew Skinnies | Vince Camuto Booties
After stopping at the fair and Mast General Store, we made our way over to lunch at Canteen 411 Market & Bistro. This is a new spot in Winston-Salem and offers an eclectic food and drink market and a gorgeous bistro-style restaurant. It is an absolutely stunning place and a great spot for lunch. The market carries a wide variety of wines, beers, and mixers, and has a carefully curated selection of speciality food products.
We sampled a variety of dishes at Canteen 411, including the housemate bruschetta flat bread, tuna crudo, crispy fried oysters, seared lamb loin, fish & chips, cream puff, and a variety of sweets. Y’all, I cannot rave about Canteen 411 and their awesome menu enough. It is a new favorite for sure!
We spent some time exploring art galleries in the arts district before heading back to our hotel to get ready for dinner before our candlelight tour of Old Salem. The Tavern at Old Salem is a beautiful spot for dinner and has a delicious menu. Glory and I shared the fried green tomato and pimento cheese starter and the chicken breast entree.
After dinner, we headed down for our Christmas by Candlelight Guided Tour in Old Salem. The theme is “A Baking We Go” and there are multiple interactive activities on the tour. We made Moravian Love Feast Buns, Moravian Gingerbread Cookies, and glazed a chocolate cup for drinking chocolate. While we were at each stop, we learned a bit more about Moravian culture and how each of these items became part of the Moravian Christmas traditions. At the end of the tour, we go to sample a love feast bun, gingerbread cookie, and take home our glazed chocolate cup after having drinking chocolate. It was such a fun experience and I loved being able to learn more about the history of these traditions.
J. Crew Factory Coat | Black Sweater | Spanx Faux Leather Leggings |Steve Madden OTK Boots
Sunday morning, we woke up and finished exploring the Brookstown Inn a bit more. We checked out the holiday decorations and the graffiti wall on the 4th floor of the main building. The building was a former cotton mill built in the 1830s, and the girls who worked in the factory practiced their cursive on this wall.
J. Jill Sweater (c/o) | Spanx Faux Leather Leggings | Steve Madden OTK Boots | Quay Sunnies
After checking out, we headed across the street to Twin City Hive, and y’all, it is the cutest coffee shop I’ve ever been in. The carefully curated gift selection, the various work spaces, the nods to Winston-Salem history, the truffles and scones, and the coffee drinks are the best! The attention to detail was unlike anything I’ve seen. Our friend Drew also works there, and he designed the menus for the fall selection of drinks. We had the best time chatting with Terry and Joey, and honestly, we could have stayed there all day learning more about them and their business, but also their experiences in Winston-Salem.
Our last stop was lunch and a wine tasting at Childress Vineyards. It had been ages since I had tried Childress wines, and they were absolutely delightful. It is a gorgeous space and honestly, you could spend all day exploring the property and enjoying the food and drinks. I definitely recommend a wine tasting with Olga! She is so knowledgable and has great recommendations on wines.
Our Charming Holiday Weekend in Winston-Salem Itinerary
Friday Night
7:00PM Dinner at Spring House Restaurant, Kitchen, & Bar
9:00PM Check in at Brookstown Inn
Saturday
9:00AM Breakfast at Mary’s Gourmet Diner
10:30AM Tour & Tasting of Black Mountain Chocolate Factory
11:45AM Shop the 55th Annual Piedmont Craftsman Fair
1:30PM Lunch at Canteen 411 Market & Bistro
4:00PM Explore Downtown Arts District
6:00PM Dinner at the Tavern in Old Salem
7:00PM Christmas by Candlelight Tour: A Baking We Go!
Sunday
10:00AM Check out of Brookstown Inn
10:30 – Coffee at Twin City Hive Coffee Lounge
12:00 – Lunch and Wine Tasting at Childress Vineyards
Photos by Glory Roze Photography
Because we love Winston-Salem so much, we’ve teamed up with Visit Winston-Salem, the Reynolda House, and Old Salem, to provide you the opportunity to experience the city. Enter the giveaway below for three passes to The Reynolda House, Old Salem, and a gift basket from Visit Winston-Salem! Giveaway closes on December 14, 2018. Must be 18 years or older to win. Winner has 24 hours to claim prize before the next winner will be chosen.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you to Visit Winston-Salem for coordinating our experiences and to the Historic Brookstown Inn for hosting us! As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Winston-Salem is my very favorite place! I’ve been so many times, but have yet to try Spring House, and still haven’t ever done the house tour at Reynolda or the Old Salem official tour! So glad you enjoyed your trip! I can’t wait to go back!