Over Thanksgiving weekend, Mrs. Malik and I traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina, for some family time at my brother’s house.

Approximately five hours north, Raleigh is a look at our town’s future, maybe 20 years from today.

We spent three nights at the hip Longleaf Hotel. Once a motor lodge from the early 1960s, an age of vinyl and velour, it now sparkles with modern touches while embracing its past. The Longleaf Lounge offers early-morning, locally roasted coffee, as well as sublime cocktails and conversation in the evening. Its “Investment Advisor” cocktail — a blend of two bourbons with a black cherry, a dash of vanilla and rosemary — took the chill off our first evening.

That night our family dined on exceptional Southern favorites (fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits, collard greens

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