We were itching to get out of the house. Call it early Spring fever or, cabin fever from our very modest rental. Or, just getting out of the city we live in, to just get out! Whatever the case, we needed to go! We considered a day trip to Blowing Rock, NC but that clocked in at nearly half the day… just in driving!
My wife and I discussed back and forth other options. High on the list was somewhere with a brewery/brewpub and some nearby shopping to occupy us and our teenager. We decided on a jaunt to downtown Winston-Salem.
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Foothills Brewpub
638 4th Street Northwest
Winston-Salem, NC
First on our stop was Foothills to feed our faces. We started with some beer for the Wife and I and the pretzel appetizer. I liked the beer cheese, the teenager didn’t care for it. And, really that’s just fine with us the parents :-) The pretzels weren’t sized for sharing but, there are three pretzels to an order so, that worked out very well for our family of three.
The kid and I each chowed down on a half order of the fish and chips. The fish and fries came out fresh and hot. The kid liked the malt vinegar. Not something I care for. The wife opted for one of the wraps.
One word of advice: If you’ve never had their housemade ketchup, try a little before you slather all over anything. None of us at the table found it too our liking. We asked for your ranch to go with our fries instead.
The front of the house soars with massive volume to two stories. An impressive space.
The function room upstairs
Generally, I am a fan of their beer but, I found their much lauded Sexual Chocolate largely a disappointment. We also learned there were no wheat beers. That’s sad, it’s our go-to style most places.
Overall we found Foothills to be a good experience. Service at times seemed a bit sluggish on this Saturday. That may have been due to the event upstairs and the Beer School.
After finishing our lunch we stepped next door to Design Archives.
Design Archives Emporium – Winston Salem
636 4th St NW
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
Design Archives is a melange of vendors selling everything from NC-themed t-shirts to local alpaca wool goods. The space at Design Archives Emporium was filled with a variety of vendors many with well thought out booths and branding to support their efforts. Lots to browse at Design Archives Emporium.
Design Archives Emporium in Winston has been open since 2014 and is the second location of the company.
After Design Archives we ventured down the block and then decided to head over by car to Mast General Store.
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The Mast General Store – Winston – Salem
516 North Trade Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
336-727-2015
Stepping into the Mast General Store in Winston-Salem is a bit like stepping back in time. The store is complete with creaky wood floors and a mix of old time favorite candies and premium outdoor brands. It’s a real treat to browse the two floors of merchandise. The staff are present but, none too intrusive. According to their website, “The Mast Store in Winston-Salem is in a building that was once the largest retailer in town”.
Image of Winston-Salem: By Paduman (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons