Above is the Heck-Lee House in 1972. Below is a view taken last night.

Back in 1971-72 or so, before Oakwood became “Historic” Oakwood, I would often ride my bicycle through the neighborhood (with my Kodak Instamatic, of course) and take snapshots of the faded Victorian houses lining the streets. I remember being intrigued by three near-identical, flamboyantly-towered structures that comprised a corner of E. Jones and N. East Streets. They appeared to me as miniature versions of the opulent Heck-Andrews mansion on N. Blount St. Hmm, I wondered, could there be a connection?

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The next time you’re in the Cameron Village area, swing by The Flying Biscuit for both the eclectic dinner menu (and all day breakfast!) as well as to view the beautiful mural work created by local artist Ryan Cummings.

A graduate of the NCSU College of Design, Ryan paints with a broad stroke–working in areas such as trompe l’oeil, venetian plaster, gold leaf finish, as well as decorative painting and murals.

His most recent work at the Flying Biscuit (above) includes not only a decorative mural, but also has elements of trompe l’oeil (using realistic imagery to give the illusion of a 3D object) in the form of butterflies that appear to be fluttering outside of the painting. By utilizing shadows and object placement, he gives a landscape the impression of being deeper and more lifelike than it really is.
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Kuki, located off of Wake Forest Road in North Raleigh, has the best sushi in town. I’ve tried almost all of the other places: Sono, Sushi-Thai, Sushi Blues, and countless more, and while most of those places were good, none have left the impression on me that Kuki has. Kuki’s food beats anywhere else in town hands down, and is wonderfully free of the pretension and edge that plagues most high quality sushi bars.

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