FORKS & THE ROAD

Old Salem in North Carolina is a step back hundreds of years in time. Settled in 1766 by Moravians, a devout religious group from Moravia and Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), it has an abundance of original buildings. Regular residents still own properties within the Old Salem Museums & Gardens district but most of the buildings operate as living museums. At historic workshops, visitors can learn how to make things as they were done in the 1700s. At the cooking workshop, participants cook on a hearth from recipes found in a 1795 German cookbook. The Moravian culinary series is a trio of virtual trails to the best of Moravian foods: cookies (crisp and whisper-thin with intense spicing), sugar cakes and chicken pies (double-crusted, filled with shredded chicken and topped with a rich gravy). At 200-yearold Winkler Bakery, bakers dress in period clothing, making cakes and bread in the original wood fired dome oven. Ask for a free sample or buy a rosemary loaf or gooey sugar cakes to take out. The Tavern at Old Salem, built in 1816, serves up fresh Moravian cuisine and often sources their produce from the surrounding heirloom gardens of Old Salem and local organic farms. Wait staff wear historic Moravian attire. A family business, managed by Rick Keiper, wife Lori does the baking, son Jared is the chef, and son Jordan handles the bar and cocktails. On the menu is authentic Moravian chicken pie, bratwurst with house made sauerkraut, hand-cut fries and steak from all grass-fed cattle. visitwinstonsalem.com/moraviancookietrail