The Basics, Wilmington

A Letter from Chef and co-owner, Mary Long: John and I moved to Wilmington in August of 2007 and immediately began searching for a location to open a new restaurant. We felt that Wilmington needed a dose of good Southern cuisine, and I feel passionately that people need to respect the Southern traditions of cooking as its own cuisine and not just a cute way of eating fried chicken. Our history is as old as our country, and carries with it a great agricultural tradition, with many fresh vegetables and fruits thriving in our climate and used extensively in cooking and canning for the cold months. Our culture blends African, French, English, Native American, and creative new ways of cooking into one mish-mash of delicious traditions. I'm very proud of the culinary history of the South, and like to do it justice by introducing people to the details of Southern cooking they may never have experienced before, even if they grew up here. I was amazed when we opened the doors, how many people didn't know what chow chow was. Anyway, we moved from Athens, Ga. to Wilmington after having been in Athens for 16 years. We brought with us a sense of fun and rock 8n' roll that characterizes many college towns, but especially Athens, GA. We have lots of music posters on the wall and spend a lot of time with our play lists so that we might share our love of music along side our love of food. At The Basics, we try very hard to preserve the history and to advance the tradition in new ways. The prix fixe menus we do at night combine traditional Southern foods and ingredients with new ways of preparation and combination to update the old standards. But at the same time, we do Back to Basics Wednesdays that feature antique recipes at an antique price ($6). We serve fried eggs in the morning and filet mignon at night, so there's a little something for everyone, whether you're out for a romantic dinner or out to experience the finest in Southern cuisine.