brokegradstudent's Profile
Venable Bistro Carrboro
I imagine he collected a handsome sum for the right to the location. Even if he leased the space, getting bought out of a long-term lease isn't likely to be a bad deal.
Good restaurants near Mebane
Saxapahaw General Store or Eddy Pub, about 20 minutes from downtown Mebane.
Saxapahaw General Store, NC -- Shall We Try Again?
I meant to reply to this weeks ago. I've been slammed by work and things outside of work.
I should say at the outset that the Eddy (the Pub) and the store are our locals and our go-to places. My wife and I eat at the two places 2-3 times/week and are at the store for something pretty much every day. Obviously, we're really happy with what we get both places. We live nearby, but we have cars and work in Chapel Hill and Durham, respectively, and can eat and shop wherever. We choose to support the locals, who are, in turn, supporting locals.
Inconsistent? I guess. Things we order are pretty different on different days. Part of this is the consequence of sourcing locally (we cook the same stuff, the same pork from the same farm will cook differently, week to week); it is also the consequence of workflow. The stove at the store is smaller than that at my parents' house. When they're slammed, the food is different.
Still, it is almost always good. Sometimes it's great. Sometimes, it misses, usually owing to under-seasoning.
At the end of the day, at either the store or the pub, you can get a dish that features an animal raised humanely across the road. If you ask, you can get a real, hormone-free, farm-fresh egg at brunch. There aren't many places in the region where the commitment to community and sustainability is as real or as deep.
Duck breats in Chapel Hill, Carrboro or even Durham?
I've only seen them frozen around here.
Restaurants must be getting them from somewhere (unless they are buying frozen). In the past (and not around here, to be fair), I've bought product out of the back door of restaurants; someone with duck on the menu may be able to hook you up.
New Restaurant in North Hills (Raleigh) - The Yard House
No experience, but for me any place w/ 23 "House martinis" where not a single one contains gin (or where more than one does not contain gin, for that matter) hardly seems to be worth much.
Lamb Belly in the Triangle?
Neither is on the Raleigh side of things but I'd imagine that Captain John's or Cozi farm could hook you up if you'd called them
http://dorperscedargrovenc.com/
http://cozifarms.com/
belly is a real treat. My parents have a sheep ranch and belly is my second favorite cut after shanks.
Chapel Hill finally approves food trucks
The thing I like about twitter feeds is that you can use them the same way you might use a website (hmm, where is Pie Pushers tonight?...click link). I'm on twitter and I still keep the food truck twitter links in a bookmarks folder because its faster than sifting through my feeds.
The best resources though are Cranky Diners' food truck twitter aggregator and the Carpe Durham foodtruck map.
Basically all the food truck twitter feeds in one place (and off twitter)
http://www.crankydiners.com/food-trucks/
map of current food truck positions
http://carpedurham.com/food-trucks/
Saxapahaw General Store (between Triangle and Triad NC)
Featured in the NY Times today (I'll withhold my usual snide comment about the Times' weird (justified!) obsession w/ Triangle food).
The Pub was packed tonight and the crab cakes were first rate. Shepard's Pie was tasty (technically cottage pie since it was beef but I didn't leave any evidence behind). Also Foothills Brewery's "Total Eclipse Stout", new to me, is just about perfect.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/travel/saxapahaw-nc-middle-of-somewhere-becomes-a-draw.html?ref=travel
Triangle New Restaurant of the Year
I went to G2B for the first time the other night and didn't love it.
The portions were fine but a bit small at the price. I had the pork shoulder confit. The pork was a bit dry. Overall it felt like the plate was missing an element or two.
The frissee salad was nice enough.
Pint prices were higher than the same beers elsewhere ($7.50 for a Duck Rabbit Wee Heavy I see for $5 or $6 other places its on tap).
At nearly $70 for dinner (w/ drinks and tip) for 2, I left feeling like I could do much better at that price point elsewhere.
Southern Season's New Ownership (Chapel Hill)
Exactly bbqme. There are a few things where SS is the place I go when I buy them.
Whole bean coffee & loose tea: widest selection I know of and prices better than WF on the same beans, about the same as 3Cups and Open Eye (the other places I buy coffee)
Cold cuts: same prices as WF & Harris Teeter but much higher quality. I also really appreciate that they have 15 or 20 salumi in the case that they'll slice to order. I rarely want more than a quarter pound and love the access to variety.
Cheese: Trends expensive but there are great buys in there and not really a bad cheese in the whole case. On low-end cheeses, prices better than WF, quality miles better than HT
Mustard and vinegar: amazing selection, if you could find what they offer elsewhere, their prices would be pretty competitive. Like with cheeses, there are some great vinegar buys hidden in there. The little round jars of aged balsamic are phenomenal and very fairly priced.
Wine: I love wine but rarely buy/drink anything over $10/bottle. In the $7-10 range, I find the wines they sell to be superior to those in the same range elsewhere. As with the cheese, their wine section is heavily curated and I can think of only a handful of bottles over the years that were disappointing. The $7-8 bottle at SS usually compares favorably to the $15-20 bottle from the grocery store.
Work trip, 3 meals, am I wrong?
Thanks for the advice folks! I ate at Linkery ($8 half-beer and a sausage special, perfect) and Super Cocina this afternoon (double lunch!!).
Trying to figure out dinner tomorrow.
The Great Triangle (NC) Pastrami-off
I bought it there yesterday. A sandwich of it was a brunch special but I bought a pound sliced. You'll probably want to call ahead. I don't know how much they made in this batch or the timetable for future offerings
The Great Triangle (NC) Pastrami-off
So, my lunch today was the house-cured, house-smoked pastrami that Jeff (Saxapahaw General Store) and Damon (ex-BBQ Joint) collaborated on. Ate it at home, heated up with Lusty Monk mustard (Asheville) on La Farm miche.
It blew my mind. I'm going to say I liked it more than Neal's (which I LOVE).
In another thread, some time ago, I suggested the Triangle had a critical mass of good pastrami, but now the field is even more crowded. Can someone talk to the organizers of one of the big foodie events like TerraVita or Farm to Fork and convince them to incorporate some sort of smoked meat competition into their festivities?
Chola Nad Chapel Hill
I ate lunch at Vimala's today (first time in store, I'd had take-out and eaten their food at events). The food was super.
I was surprised by the parking lot out back. They've repaved it, opened up the whole back and have a small adjacent city lot back there now (this may not be news to anyone else, but it was to me).
I also didn't notice Penang was closed. Surprised they lasted so long.
The Pig--Chapel Hill
The Pig's facebook page has a picture of a 600-day aged Cane Creek country ham they're selling. Has anyone had any?
Corned Ham
It is a short-cured ham common in eastern NC at holidays. Crooks Corner does a shockingly good version. Here are a few links and recipes:
http://www.algonquinbooksblog.com/blog/guest-authors/from-bill-smiths-kitchen-eastern-north-carolina-corned-ham/
http://www.ongo.com/v/217276/-1/BBD6EE097FC98923/theres-nothing-corny-about-this-ham
Work trip, 3 meals, am I wrong?
Hi everyone-
I'm making a quick trip to San Diego for work. I'm staying in La Jolla, have a car, and know my way around a bit from living there as a kid. I've been reading your board and this is what I've come up with.
2 dinners, 1 lunch.
The lunch (the only meal I'm 100% on my own for) I'm thinking Super Cocina, then maybe a snack/drink at Bahia Don Bravo as I wind my leisurely way up to where I'm staying. I'm looking for good Mexican and a fish taco with a cold beer, likely in that order.
The dinners are both work but I have some input. I'm thinking of pushing for the Linkery and Whisknladle. My priority is super-fresh, identifiably sourced food. Also, if I'm telling locals where to eat, I want it to be great so I don't look silly.
Can I do better on either count? Should I be doing something else instead?
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Linkery
3794 30th St, San Diego, CA 92104
Super Cocina
3627 University Ave., San Diego, CA 92104
Bahia Don Bravo
5504 La Jolla Blvd, La Jolla, CA 92037
Whisknladle
1044 Wall Street, La Jolla, CA 92037
Southern Season's New Ownership (Chapel Hill)
I've never been a big fan of the deli (the salad bar on the other hand...), but the coffee selection is holding up. I also really like the reorganization of the wine section (though I'd guess the total bottle count is a bit lower); I find it much more user friendly.
The cheese selection may also be a bit smaller. In particular, they may have stopped carrying Capriol O'banon, a particular favorite around here.
Elderflower liqueur near Raleigh
St. Germain is an elderflower liqueur and is sold at most ABCs on the Chapel Hill/Durham side of the triangle. I'd guess Wake County's stores would also have it or be able to bring it in without the ridiculous case minimum purchase.
Smoked Ham or Turkey for the Holidays? Any place selling their own in NC?
I saw a note somewhere (twitter? facebook? the farmer's market?) that the Pig in Chapel Hill is smoking turkeys for Thanksgiving
Chola Nad Chapel Hill
I thought I saw something (also from a moving bus) with that name but with a sub-title that included "...Italian concept". I got hung up on the use of "concept" and could be butchering the rest of it.
Need 2 restaurant picks (Lantern, Glasshalfull, etc.) in the UNC/Chapel Hill area!
oh no!
Need 2 restaurant picks (Lantern, Glasshalfull, etc.) in the UNC/Chapel Hill area!
A nice list you're starting from.
Everyone is right about Lantern.
I like Crooks more than most on the list (and Cheese Pork is back this weekend!). I've also enjoyed Glasshalfull. I especially like GHF for small plates at the bar.
Since you're including Durham in the list, I'd also consider Rue Cler and Magnolia Grill
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Rue Cler Restaurant
401 E Chapel Hill St, Durham, NC 27701
Glasshalfull
106 S Greensboro St, Carrboro, NC 27510
Giacomo Italian in Greensboro
excited to know Giacomo's makes a pastrami. Suddenly there is a pretty high bar for pastrami in the area between the Pig, Neal's, Cane Creek/Weeping Radish, and Giacomo's.
Chicago Italian Beef in Triangle Area, NC?
Not beef but Sandwhich in Chapel Hill has started doing a Chicago Dog ('whichcago® ) special on Wednesdays.
Poppy seed bun was nicely toasted, relish was an appropriately otherworldly shade of green, no ketchup in sight, good dog. 4 bucks (6 w/ a can of PBR). Real deal flavor.
Gourmet Kingdom (Carrboro) issues?
Actually, now that you say that, our take out orders are routinely spicier than when we eat there. One time we ordered take out and I asked if a particular tofu dish we hadn't tried was spicy (a friend who doesn't cope with spicy food. The women on the phone said no and I replied something like "ok, good". The dish came super-spicy. I think somewhere in the chain of communication, not spicy switched to v. v. spicy.
Once though, whoever started the dish substituted what tasted an awful lot like jalepenos for green bell peppers in a lamb dish.
Gourmet Kingdom (Carrboro) issues?
We're there about once a month or so. The only problem we've had is inconsistent spiciness. Different visits have yielded very different levels of heat in the same dish. One time a dish will be blazing hot, the next it will be very tame.
Both iterations are tasty but it makes it hard to recommend dishes for a particular taste.
G2B Gastropub - Durham, NC
via twitter.
Apparently Shane Ingram has left both One and G2B. I still have yet to make it to either
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/food/chef-shane-ingram-cuts-ties-with-one-g2b
