If you’re not joining us in Aiken, South Carolina this weekend for Michael Stern’s Legs & Cans event, maybe you’re headed to Salisbury, North Carolina for The Cheerwine Festival. An annual celebration of the bubbly cherry soda that L.D. Peeler concocted in 1917 to circumvent a wartime sugar shortage, the event features stilt walkers, trolley tours, and sampling stations.
But on the off chance you’re craving more than fair food, here’s The Food Section’s updated dining guide to Salisbury.
All Southern cities with a still-active train station have a railroading history, but Salisbury’s is prouder than most. Rather than bring millionaires or industrial tycoons to town, the train that locals awaited brought clowns, elephants, bass drummers, and trained seals.
Known as “the town that loved the circus,” Salisbury, North Carolina was the home base for Sparks World Famous Shows. Throughout the 1910s, Sparks kept up a punishing schedule from April until November, each week stopping in six different cities along a route that ranged from Maine to south Georgia. But the annual tour always ended in Salisbury, because circus owner Charles Sparks liked its railroad network and trusted the workers there to fix up his 50 red-and-yellow train cars.
Salisbury is no longer the site of extravaganzas, save for the Cheerwine jamboree. But it’s a lovely town to stroll, with a terrific bookstore and an independent wine shop with a selection of fairly priced French reds. Plus, it’s home to a citywide outdoor sculpture show with an accompanying audio tour, accessible via app.
“It’s here for a year, and if you don’t like it, it goes away,” the Public Art Commission’s vice chair said when the exhibit first opened. (Fortunately, the same can’t be said of Salisbury’s favorite soda.)
College Barbecue
Travelers who reach Salisbury by car will doubtless be tempted to drive the additional 20 minutes to Lexington, the cradle of the barbecue style that bears its name. But train passengers and others inclined to stay put can get a serving of pork shoulder at College Barbecue, which opened just down the road from Catawba College in 1965.
It’s always a good sign when you can smell a barbecue joint before you can see it. College Barbecue cooks its meat over hickory wood, neatly stacked in a planked hut alongside the parking lot Unfortunately, the smoke doesn’t seem to have left a lasting impression on College’s chopped barbecue, but the bracing vinegar sauce is a fine match for Cheerwine. (117 Statesville Blvd., 704-633-9953)
Yummi Banh Mi
It’s increasingly common for popular food truckers to open permanent locations, but Scott Tang deviated slightly from that path by settling down about 40 miles north of his customer base in Charlotte. Tang in 2018 opened Yummi Banh Mi next door to his parents’ longstanding restaurant, Tokyo Express.
Tang envisioned Yummi Banh Mi as “Chipotle-style with Vietnamese food,” and its menu still follows a mix-and-match format. But the combinations only work because the fundamentals are so strong, including a robust, lemongrass-rich pho that doubles as the au jus for a banh mi riff on the French dip (which, by virtue of its crusty roll, is more Gallic than its stateside inspiration.) The overstuffed sandwich, slathered with garlic mayonnaise, is a vivid still life of fresh herbs and vegetables. (121 N. Long St., 704-209-4591, yummibanhmi.com)
New Sarum Brewing Co.
Conveniently located next to the Downtown Salisbury Visitor Center, New Sarum a decade ago took its name from Salisbury’s sister city in England. Yet German influences are more evident at the brewery, from its biergarten-style patio to the smooth, balanced flavor of its beers.
At least, that was true of the gose that I tried. But New Sarum also has a habit of packing every imaginable ingredient into a keg. For Halloween, it brews a Ghostbusters Ecto Cooler tribute with Hi-C punch, pineapple juice, sea salt, and three kinds of citrus peels. (109 N. Lee St., 704-310-5048, newsarumbrewing.com)
Sadly, Tita’s Cake House closed in March after a three-year run, so there’s no point in praising retired Chilean military officer Luis Gomez Valencia’s delicate thousand layer cake, lacquered with sticky manjar. But if you’re in the mood for dessert, Salisbury’s Dairy Queen is housed in a vintage building so charming that country star Luke Combs shot a music video there.
Great guide – and perfect timing. That’s a good-looking sandwich, and if it is what I will find at College Barbecue, I’m in! Love that vinegar + Cheerwine counterbalance of flavor. (Also a big fan of the New Sarum brews!)