In downtown Wilmington, manna has been doing its own thing since 2010. Chef Carson Jewell’s playful menu changes frequently, drawing on local farms and North Carolina ingredients for cooking that is seasonal, confident and refreshingly unpretentious. Expect dishes such as light, crisp-edged NC blue crab cakes with chile creamed corn or Forsyth County duck confit paired with Carolina Gold rice, smoked squash ratatouille and burnt eggplant. Desserts follow the same thoughtful approach, perhaps Carolina Gold rice pudding with blueberries and candied pumpkin seeds. Owner William Mellon oversees a serious wine program, backed by the city’s only underground wine cellar, while genuinely warm service keeps the whole experience relaxed.