Tom from Raleigh's Profile
Venable Bistro Carrboro
Aren't we missing the point? What does "Venable" mean? Are they cooking some dishes on a rotisserie?
This place looks interesting The Pig
Nice menu! Gotta love a place with porchetta, brains, and octopus. A well balanced beer list as well.
Venable Bistro Carrboro
Perhaps, it would make sense to remember that the word, "bistro" can be used to refer to a casual restaurant that serves comfort food. Unless they're calling themselves "a French bistro", I won't deduct any style points.
I look forward to trying this place.
Farm to Fork 2012 [Triangle, NC]
Rockycat-
It could also be seen as a way to feature the ingredients of the farmer. I don't know many of the farmers, so I can't say whether they raise animals in addition to field crops. Notably, Cane Creek wasn't there.
Meatn3-
My kids were never thirsty, so I'd say there were enough beverage options. There was no silent auction.
brentk-
You're right. When we have to pay for one of the kids, the math won't work anymore.
Venable Bistro Carrboro
I go to Weaver Street a lot. I can always find a space. There's more parking near the comedy club behind the Teeter. I'm looking forward to trying this place.
Farm to Fork 2012 [Triangle, NC]
We went to Farm to Fork this year. The weather ranged from threatening to beautiful. As always, it was a good feed. Highlights include a shredded pork taco (like cochinita pibil) from Centro, homemade root beer from Market restaurant, andouille sausage dogs from Watts (I think) and pretty much everything from The Pig: chicken bologna, rabbit liver pate, kimcheez (pimento cheese with kimchee). My wife really liked the kale "nachos" which were crispy kale "chips" with Vegan cheese, etc. Vimala had a veg dosa that was good as well. It seemed like most of the chefs included kale in their dishes, which is in season. There were a couple of interesting beet dishes. One was a beet drink from Watts and the other was a beet tea cake - can't recall who made it. It seemed like half the dishes were vegan. I was a bit disappointed that no one except The Pig had offal. A few years ago, Lantern served grilled pig tails and they were legendary.
Drinks: Fullsteam, Bull City Burgers and Mystery Brewing served. All the samples I sampled were quite good. Bull City had a smoked rye that was nice. Fullsteam poured me a refreshing shandy, essentially beer + lemonade. I didn't taste the wine. The water situation could be improved. It was a hot day and water wasn't readily available. Beer, wine, iced coffee were.
Was it sold out? It seemed quite busy to me. People were spread out. Some were under a large tent with the drinks vendors. My group was camped out in lawn chairs. "We" are my wife and I and our two kids, 8 and 11.
Good Eats right off of I-95 through NC and SC
Agreed on Fuller's. Great food and relatively fast if you can tear yourself away from the buffet.
There's a log burner in Lumberton now as well. I've driven by but haven't stopped.
Saffron in Chapel Hill, NC
At Saffron, the best app is the bindi. Crispy fried okra gets no better. I actually prefer the Morrisville Saffron to the one in CH. The bindi was better in Morrisville.
Can't miss eats of all kinds within 100 miles of the Chapel Hill/Durham area
There's another site that has interesting food-related destinations:
http://www.ncfolk.org/ncfood/holyweekfanesca.aspx
Magnolia Grill in Durham is Closing
Maybe they have arrange a trip in June to go white water rafting with Charlie Trotter.
Magnolia Grill in Durham is Closing
I don't think of this as a loss. To me, a loss is when a restaurant closes when it's on the way up, like when Chef and the Farmer closed due to fire (happily they'll open again soon). Mag Grill has been at the top level of the local scene for many years. MG's influence is felt throughout the community in several restaurants and at least one bakery and even in a brewery.
The Barkers have worked hard night after night for many years and now they want to make a change. They easily could have sold their place to someone who would run the reputation into the ground. They're going out on their own terms and on top. I say congratulations and thank you!
Farm to Fork 2012 [Triangle, NC]
Mikeh-
I thought you were in the Bay Area. If you're again in theTriangle, welcome back. I also thought of TerraVita and more than a few beer events when trying to reconcile Farm to Fork's approach to pricing. I'm still confused. I'm ok with a price increase. I'd just like a solid rhetorical argument to support it.
Farm to Fork 2012 [Triangle, NC]
Bf-
I'm missing the point of your question. I posted the above comment before the thought was complete in my head and I still can't make a good point out of my thoughts. I'm our DD, so there's no way I'll have more than 2 beers and those beers seem might pricey right now.
There was something on Twitter about Whole Foods offering discounted tickets. I emailed the link that was tweeted but never got a response.
We've already bought our tickets at full price. Next year, our son turns 13, so if the policy is the same next year we'll likely pass.
It would be smart and progressive for the Farm 2 Fork folks to have a reduced price ticket for a designated driver. I guess what I was trying to say was that
Farm to Fork 2012 [Triangle, NC]
On 4/28, I received an email from Triangle Slow Food re: Farm to Fork. They're saying that the state is requiring them to include alcohol into the ticket price. Here's a direct quote from the email:
"Due to state regulations around alcohol sales and state-funded agencies such as CEFS, we had to include drinks in the ticket price this year, and we hope that isn't an inconvenience for you. "
I would disagree with erovinm0's assertion that the alcohol vendors will be making money on this event. If the chefs and farms are donating their time and wares, why wouldn't Farm to Fork require the beer & wine vendors to do the same? I know many of the vendors seek exposure and see this as an event to get access to the foodie crowd as marketing.
The other concern that I have around the inclusion of alcohol is the location. The farm is far away from Hillsborough with no public transit option or any credible alternative to driving.
Meat sandwiches for lunch in downtown Charleston?
Butcher and Bee would be my nom. When we were there a few weeks ago, it was awesome! Great sandwiches. Also, take a look at Two Boroughs Larder. They had our favorite dish of the trip - mix of Piquillo peppers with crispy duck skin. I'm drooling at the thought of it....
One week near RDU - where to eat?
Go to Lantern in Chapel Hill. They have a whole fried fish on the menu. It's an awesome dish.
Also, there are a couple of community supported fishery programs where you can buy fish directly from NC fisherfolk.
Craft Beer in the Triad (GSO - WS)
I think Best Way is a better place to buy beer than City Beverage, since Best Way has more of their stuff cold. If you've never been, check out beer advocate and rate beer. There may be some local breweries you're not aware of.
Charleston’s Best Mid-priced Restaurants?
I had remarkable meals at Two Boroughs Larder and Butcher and Bee this week. At Butcher and Bee they served pastrami wings: wings that tasted amazingly like pastrami. Highly recommended. Their sandwiches were excellent as well, but the wings were absolute genius!
TBL was really great as well. They served gutsy dishes that reminded me of Momofuku. Their beef belly tartare was layered and subtle. The best dish we had there was the shisito peppers with duck skin. It was rich, balanced and perfectly executed. It provided a counter point to another fried skin dish in Chucktown.
Charleston is a great food city, better than most (anywhere?) in the Southeast.
Fresh tortillas in Durham
Didn't Don Jose's change hands? My last Mel there was mediocre.
Fresh tortillas in Durham
Just searched and found a fresh tortilla connection in my current home of Carrboro. It's located in the same complex as Amoco station on Jones Ferry. The sign says Tienda, Carnercia, and something else. I had to ask if they had fresh corn tortillas and was rewarded with a pile of smallish discs, still warm to the touch.
Authentic szechwan option in Durham
According to noted Sichuanese cooking expert Fuscia Dunlop, pork belly is authentic in twice cooked pork. I understand your desire to eat less fatty pork To avoid this in the future, you could ask for "lean". Salt and pepper shrimp should be served with the heads on b/c they're delicious. Heavy bread coating sounds off putting
Triangle New Restaurant of the Year
My lovely wife and I had another excellent meal at Lantern. It would be hard to go wrong by giving a gift certificate to this James Beard award winning spot.
Chinatown in RTP?
rockycat-
Do you know if the open house is going on today as well? It sounds like a great place to hit for lunch today.
Lamb Belly in the Triangle?
I bought a lamb from Capt. John's. I even picked it up at his farm. The meat was excellent and the operation was clean and the animals were well treated.
Chinatown in RTP?
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. It seems the usual approach in the life cycle of a commercial/retail property. Long after the high rent retail tenants have moved on, independent retailers lease space to serve specialized clientele. I'm reminded of Sim City for some reason...
This Chinatown Mall project has me excited. I love going to Grand Asia and that other big market in South Raleigh. RDU is just closer to me my home in Carrboro.
Chinatown in RTP?
It does seem a little odd, but I'm behind any effort to bring additional, authentic Chinese food to the area, especially one that will bring new dollars to the area (the backers are from China). When one thinks of Chinatowns in other cities, one thinks of neighborhoods. In the Triangle there are almost *no* ethnic neighborhoods in that sense. This is not one city at the center of a large metro area like San Francisco, New York, or Chicago. The Triangle is a handful of small cities connected by an interstate. It kind of reminds me of Old Chicago, an indoor amusement park in the Chicago area from many years ago, for some reason...
place to buy durian fruit in Chapel Hill / Durham area
Durian is really something to experience. I've never smelled anything so revolting in my life. Words fail to describe the odor.
I think they sell durian at the Asian market in Carrboro Plaza. It's a largely Thai store.
place to buy durian fruit in Chapel Hill / Durham area
Li Ming's Global Market in Durham should have durian. I've tried it twice. I recommend cutting the fruit outdoors.
Delicious Asian restaurants in Raleigh
One place that I've been meaning to try is LAZIZ BIRYANI CORNER on Avent Ferry Rd in Raleigh. It's a Pakistani place that I've heard good things about.
