Last night I decided that I was going to drive up to Greensboro so that I could have pizza at Sticks-n-Stones Pizza. Several years ago I was watching something like a network morning show (don’t recall which one) and someone mentioned that “Sticks-n-Stones” in Greensboro was ranked 3rd nationally for artisanal pizza. They have a wood fired pizza oven. So, I made a note that at some point I would visit this pizza place and try their pizza.

I don’t recall when my first visit occurred, but I do recall that I enjoyed the pizza, and definitely thought that was really good pizza. I chose their “To Be the One,” a margherita pizza, roundish in shape with a raised edge and garnished with hand-crushed peeled tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil leaves. Eventually I would add jalapeno peppers to my pizza order, but have stuck with the margherita style. *Today, I brought a small glass container that included both anchovies and sundried tomatoes. I liked the anchovies, but the tomatoes really added nothing to this pizza. I generously sifted on parmesan cheese and hot pepper flakes.

I think there were four groups of customers at tables and in a back booth and a few more women came in separately and were directed to the back booth (maybe 5 women total before I left). I first asked for only water but a short time later asked for unsweet tea with sweetener. They have Splenda sweetener. The tea isn’t that flavorful, which I should have already known and remembered from a previous trip. I make a note now, if I ever go back, don’t order the unsweet tea.

If I ever go back? The pizza was good, but not exceptional (which I have had exceptional pizza there previously). I think the good pizza maker or makers have left and whomever is left or current doesn’t either have the skills to make a great pizza, or the desire. I put some anchovies and sun dried tomatoes on a couple of slices of the pizza which already had the jalapenos I had requested (not pickled). ***I would add anchovies again, but the sun dried tomatoes did nothing extra for the pizza flavor. I think I noted a slight orange color to the cheese on my pizza today, which I equate to Cheddar being added to the Mozzarella… and I don’t like Cheddar on my pizza. I didn’t taste Cheddar, but.

I left with a to-go cup for my unsweet tea. In my car I added a packet of Dragon Fruit powder to the unsweet tea and this made it more palatable.

I got to Sticks-n-Stones after 11:30 am this morning but that is because I had chosen to go to Ken Chappell’s Peaches (stand) near Candor, NC. and then to Deep Roots Market in downtown Greensboro before hitting lunch. This was the correct order, and the route was so fluid, with little wasted time or any backtracking.

I had a really good time at Chappell’s and bought two bags of peaches. I honestly think that the “Sugar Giant” peach (white) had better flavor than the “Blushing Star – White” peach that I bought two or three weeks ago, and that was a really flavorful peach. And the “China Pearl” peach (also white) had good flavor, but not as good as the “Blushing Star.”

I wanted to try a peach of each type before I bought a bag of them, and the “girl” that I have known for years (but never asked her name) was willing to let me taste both. Surprisingly, I thought both of these peaches were delicious and worth buying. I also saw and bought a couple of ears of corn @ .50. *I just had an ear of corn and it was pretty good. Not the best I’ve ever had, but definitely flavorful and big in size.

I left the girl a Bosch novel (paperback), “Trunk Music.”

But I also wanted to see if I could find a vendor for Dulse. I googled and “Deep Roots Market” came up as a possible provider. This is a co-op, but you don’t have to be a member to shop there. I came up 220 from Candor to Greensboro, and the phone GPS directed me right to Deep Roots.

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I took my yellow shopping bag in with me. I was impressed immediately with the way the fruits and veggies were displayed (different, but noticeable care like Wegman’s). Shortly I found a spice section and ended up weighing out some Fenugreek powder, Horehound Herb and around the corner was some coffee and assorted tea, and I bagged some Assam loose leaf tea.

*I recalled that I had tried and enjoyed some Assam Brahmaputra tea at Dobra in Asheville several years ago. The Dobra tea was brought to me in a pot but there was no sweetener, and I drank it all, and enjoyed it even without sweetening it.

**I think I later googled and found that Assam was the tea type and Brahmaputra was the region of India where the tea was grown. And just across the border in China is also their tea growing region.

I added some Fenugreek powder to a recipe some time ago, but couldn’t distinguish if it had added any additional or different flavor to the finished product (and I don’t even recall what the recipe was for), so I had thrown out this powder ages ago. But it smelled interesting this morning so I bought some more and will google for how to use it. The Horehound Herb smelled good also. I had bought a Horehound flavored hard candy several times at Dunrovin near Southern Pines. This flavor was unusual but pleasant.

I asked about dulse at Deep Roots Market and a young woman checked, but there was none on the shelf where it was usually located. I asked specifically if the Dulse they carried was the one I’ve see for years (from Maine) in a small cardboard shaker. She said it was and that it had been reordered and should be in tomorrow.

So it was a relatively short distance from Deep Roots Market over to Sticks-n-Stones. There were a few parking spaces in front of the restaurant/bar and I took one and went inside.

I was planning to go to the book store in downtown Burlington but never made it as I saw a sign advertising Replacements.com. I missed which exit to take for this but saw the building as I passed it and took the next exit, thinking I had missed the correct exit. I had the urge to try to come back to the Replacements Showroom via a side road, but ignored this feeling thinking that the Interstate would be quicker. My bad! After much zigzagging, back and forth, I came at the side road from a different direction and finally arrived at the Showroom just as a good downpour of rain started. I got out of my car and walked quickly into the Showroom.

Seems that several years ago there was an easy, off the Interstate exit for the Showroom, but this had been blocked and now the one side road, with little signage was the only way in and out. They must do more business online than actual in store sales.

The young woman that came up to me was very attentive (I think she was almost ready to go home.) and listened to me for a long time. I didn’t buy anything from her choosing to go the the bathroom and then browse the Showroom, Museum and Bob’s Back Door offerings before coming back to eventually buy an Oneida Golden Julliard Cocktail Fork from another salesman. The first girl had gone home for the day, by that time, but I did ask for her before making my purchase.

I did ask about an Oneida Stafford Satin finish serving spoon, but they didn’t have one. This was the spoon I lost after taking it to work for a casserole, and then forgetting to take it home afterwards. Never saw it again, and I am left with the slotted serving spoon which is much less useful, unless I was serving some green beans, and potatoes with seasoning meat and didn’t want a bunch of liquid on the plate.

The Oneida Golden Julliard Cocktail Fork was something that I had become used to using for years, before giving them to Jeff and Robin. I didn’t realize how comfortable this fork was for digging out pickles, olives, smoked oysters and other veggies for my homemade hummus. I bought one of these and yes, I do use it often.