North Carolina

What’s the most expensive restaurant in Wilmington? Here’s what we found.

Published

8 months ago

September 13, 2025

What’s the most expensive restaurant in Wilmington? Here’s what we found.

It’s a question asked by lots of foodies. Just how spendy are some of the best restaurants in the area? The Lovefood.com website recently addressed the issue with their “most expensive restaurant in every state” list.

They looked for the priciest main course or tasting menu at restaurants and avoided those that offered just one very expensive dish. Many of them were steakhouses, or Michelin-starred restaurants like The French Laundry in California or Alinea in Chicago. Or Masa in New York, where the 26-course omakase menu is about $750 per person.

For North Carolina, the most expensive restaurant was Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, a chain with 15 locations – including one in Charlotte.

Wilmington doesn’t have a Michelin-starred restaurant right now, but we do have some luxury dining experiences and some high-end steakhouses. Here’s a look at what we found.

Decadent dinners

Offering dishes at a certain price point can be a difficult reputation to carry.

“I believe there can be a stigma,” said Taylor Trumbetti, chef at G Prime Steak & Cellar near Wrightsville Beach. When he started as executive chef there more than a year ago, he said one of his tasks was to balance the experience and the prices at the restaurant.

“I don’t want it to be pretentious,” he said, adding that he tries to have dishes at a variety of price points. “I want this place to be welcoming. I want everyone to be able to come in and enjoy it.”

David Gerin, of the Alfalla Hospitality Group, which owns the Sugo Italian Steakhouse at the Hotel Ballast in downtown Wilmington said their focus is on providing a luxury dining experience that emulates the best Italian-style New York steakhouses.

For those restaurants that offer great food and an upscale experience in the Wilmington area, there’s a similar range of entree prices, usually from $30 or so to $70, or a little more. Some of those are for pastas, or fresh-caught seafood. You might pay more for a shareable seafood tower, or specialty caviar. But often the most expensive items on a menu are the steaks, especially with beef prices up more than 12% this year. Because of that, prices often fluctuate at local restaurants, too.

It’s the wagyu

Steaks at restaurants like Sugo, G Prime, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and True Blue Butcher & Table in Wilmington typically start at more than $40. Ruth’s Chris signature bone-in filet is listed at $86. Sugo also dry ages steaks in house for 35 days for the ultimate beefy and nutty flavors. A 16-ounce ribeye prepared and babied in such a way was recently priced at $89. True Blue’s Steak Flight, with samples of several selections, can be around $125 but varies with market pricing. Showy tomahawk steaks can also cost more than $100, but are usually served in portions meant to serve two (or more).

But wagyu is usually the priciest choice. Some local restaurants import A5 Japanese wagyu that has a distinctive white marbling that melts into a buttery texture when it’s prepared. Australia and America are other sources for the elite beef.

At True Blue Butcher & Table, diners can get wagyu tenderloin or strip by the ounce, recently priced at $30 and $26 per ounce. Sugo offers it as four- or eight-ounce steaks, recently priced at around $30 an ounce. They also offer an American Wagyu, with a 12-ounce ribeye listed at $125.

At G Prime, the Georgia flatiron wagyu is the introductory selection at $55 for 14 ounces, Trumbetti said. The Australian wagyu filet is $76 and six ounces of the A5 is $149.

“We see a few people come in for wagyu each night,” said Shannon Smith, sommelier for Sugo. She’s the one who comes to the table when meals are ordered to help pair them with a great glass of wine. One of her favorites with wagyu is merlot, she said.

“It has a softness that pairs well,” she said.

At G Prime, Trumbetti said he sells five to 10 A5 wagyu steaks a week.

“But our big seller are the Australian filets. We move 50 or 60 Australian filets a week,” he said. “It’s so tender and has the most beautiful marbling. … People come here for that steak now.”

STAY CONNECTED: Keep up with the area’s latest food news by signing up for the Port City Foodies newsletter and following us on Facebook and Instagram.

Allison Ballard is the food and dining reporter at the StarNews. You can reach her at aballard@gannett.com.

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North Carolina

Families locked out of NC State graduation ceremony: ‘Ridiculous’

Published

11 hours ago

May 9, 2026

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Families locked out of NC State graduation ceremony: ‘Ridiculous’

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — A graduation ceremony for NC State University’s Department of Biological Sciences at Reynolds Coliseum on Friday night left hundreds of family members outside, frustrated and emotional after they were not allowed into the building.

Inside, graduates were met with pomp and circumstance as they walked across the stage to accept their degrees.

Outside, people shouted in confusion as they realized they would not be permitted to enter.

“I’m hurt. She’s hurting. We’re hurt,” said Dr. Darlene Jackson, a grandmother from Winston-Salem. “They’re asking, can’t we get here? But this is ridiculous. Ridiculous.”

We get here, and we are turned away. That’s BS. It shouldn’t be happening like this. They did not plan this well,

– Sally Charlet, NCSU grandparent

Families said they arrived about an hour before the 7:30 p.m. ceremony, only to find a line wrapped around the building. Many said they were eventually told the venue had reached capacity.

“They are saying the fire marshal shut it down because it’s too crowded,” Jackson said. “They should have known how many occupy this. They should have had it in a different place.”

Sally Charlet said she flew in from Florida earlier in the day to watch her granddaughter graduate.

ALSO SEE | Donor surprises NCSU textile school grads by paying off loans

“We get here, and we are turned away,” she said. “That’s BS. It shouldn’t be happening like this. They did not plan this well, and they should have tickets. That would have made a lot of sense.”

According to GoPack.com, Reynolds Coliseum seats about 5,500 people.

Some families said they were especially devastated after years of supporting their students’ work.

This is awful, and it needs to be made right.

– Eddie McFall, NCSU parent

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“It’s very disheartening,” said Rhonda Bartone, whose son earned his Ph.D. In toxicology. “He did a five-year program getting his Ph.D., and we have no family. And they’re seeing him get his Ph.D. right now. We had to text his professor and ask him to please take some pictures of him. It’s hard not to cry.”

Several people outside shared photos sent by students inside showing empty seats.

“There was unfortunately not better planning for the hundreds of students, maybe even thousands of students, and, of course, thousands of students, even more people, parents, siblings, loved ones,” said Julia Norton, whose fiancé earned his Ph.D.

One father, Eddie McFall, who is also an alumnus of NC State, said he has three children at the university, including a senior graduating Friday.

“His mother was five feet from the door when they shut it down,” he said. “Won’t let anybody in there.”

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About 45 minutes after the ceremony began, someone came outside to address the remaining crowd. Families were told their only option was to watch a livestream from the student union or on their phones.

“I can go to my house and watch the livestream,” McFall said. “Who’s the event coordinator? Who from the school did this? This is awful, and it needs to be made right.”

NC State did not respond to questions about how the situation unfolded or why the event was not ticketed. The university said it provided a livestream for those unable to attend in person and had posted earlier in the week advising visitors to expect delays around the coliseum.

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North Carolina

Fifteen North Carolina co-op lineworkers help electrify rural Guatemala village

Published

23 hours ago

May 8, 2026

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Fifteen North Carolina co-op lineworkers help electrify rural Guatemala village

NORTH CAROLINA — Fifteen lineworkers from North Carolina’s electric cooperatives recently traveled to Guatemala to help bring first-time access to electricity to a rural village.

The group spent three weeks working in El Plan Nuevo Amanecer.

Crews constructed three miles of line, bringing power to more than 50 homes, a school, two churches and the community’s only health clinic.

Photo: North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives

Without access to bucket trucks or heavy machinery, volunteers worked by hand across rugged terrain.

The project helped bring light to the village, creating new opportunities for education, economic growth and safer everyday life for the community.

The effort was done alongside NRECA International.

Volunteer lineworkers represented several North Carolina electric cooperatives, including EnergyUnited, Union Power Cooperative, Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative, Jones-Onslow EMC, Edgecombe-Martin County EMC, South River EMC, Surry-Yadkin Electric Membership Corporation and Rutherford EMC.

Photo: North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives

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NC Lottery Pick 3 Day, Pick 3 Evening results for May 7, 2026

Published

1 day ago

May 8, 2026

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The NC Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Thursday, May 7, 2026 results for each game:

Winning Pick 3 numbers from May 7 drawing

Day: 3-7-3, Fireball: 0

Evening: 3-5-8, Fireball: 9

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from May 7 drawing

Day: 8-1-3-1, Fireball: 5

Evening: 7-1-5-3, Fireball: 4

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 5 numbers from May 7 drawing

10-11-14-19-36

Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Double Play numbers from May 7 drawing

01-25-31-32-33

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 7 drawing

05-08-21-44-48, Bonus: 01

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All North Carolina Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599.

For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at North Carolina Lottery Offices. By mail, send a prize claim form, your signed lottery ticket, copies of a government-issued photo ID and social security card to: North Carolina Education Lottery, P.O. Box 41606, Raleigh, NC 27629. Prize claims less than $600 do not require copies of photo ID or a social security card.

To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a prize claim form and deliver the form, along with your signed lottery ticket and government-issued photo ID and social security card to any of these locations:

Asheville Regional Office & Claim Center: 16-G Regent Park Blvd., Asheville, NC 28806, 877-625-6886 press #1. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
Greensboro Regional Office & Claim Center: 20A Oak Branch Drive, Greensboro, NC 27407, 877-625-6886 press #2. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
Charlotte Regional Office & Claim Center: 5029-A West W. T. Harris Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28269-1861, 877-625-6886 press #3. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
NC Lottery Headquarters: Raleigh Claim Center & Regional Office, 2728 Capital Blvd., Suite 144, Raleigh, NC 27604, 877-625-6886 press #4. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Greenville Regional Office & Claim Center: 2790 Dickinson Avenue, Suite A, Greenville, NC 27834, 877-625-6886 press #5. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
Wilmington Regional Office & Claim Center: 123 North Cardinal Drive Extension, Suite 140, Wilmington, NC 28405, 877-625-6886 press #6. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://nclottery.com/.

When are the North Carolina Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky for Life: 10:38 p.m. daily.
Pick 3, 4: 3:00 p.m. and 11:22 p.m. daily.
Cash 5: 11:22 p.m. daily.
Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Carolina Connect editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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