BryanZ's Profile
Restaurants in my new 'hood - Division and Wood?
These are great suggestions and I've been to many of them and know of a lot of them. I lived in Chicago for a summer a couple years ago and ate quite well.
I well acquainted with the VH. I've meet Toby a couple times, both in Chicago and in NYC, and I have nothing but respect for his bar and, probably even more so, his training standards. Contrast that with Schwa, a restaurant with which I've had a long, complicated history with and still haven't even eaten there. A canceled reso on my part, two on theirs. It's a battle.
Restaurants in my new 'hood - Division and Wood?
I was at Mado relatively recently when I was apartment hunting. A very solid spot, though I will say I wasn't as floored by it as most were. I thought everything was solid, but the headcheese felt a bit amateurish and the charcuterie across the board was much too cold. To me, the definitive neighborhood spot that every restaurant should have. I fully anticipate becoming a regular, but I wouldn't call it destination dining, even though many bloggers, board posters, and the media apply that label.
Maybe I'm lazy but the mile from my place to Mado is a bit further than I was planning.
Restaurants in my new 'hood - Division and Wood?
Great. Thanks for these. I will have to check them out.
Division St. itself is an interesting one. The double-wide sidewalks really give it a walking promenade kind of feel. If I'm going to take one issue, however, it's that a lot of the offerings seem, based on a couple quick walks along the street, a bit staid and/or corporate. This isn't to say that they're not good nor is it to say down-to-earth neighborhood spots don't exist, but are there any other gems beyond what ms. chow mentioned?
Restaurants in my new 'hood - Division and Wood?
I'm moving to Chicago in the coming days and am looking for solid neighborhood recommendations around my new place at Division and Wood Streets. I'm well-versed in Chicago's destination dining scene but part of the reason I love and chose to live in the Wicker Park/Division area is its walkability. Looking for places that I could easily walk to from my place on a whim. Any cuisine, any price point, restaurants, cafes, bars, pubs, whatever.
Thanks for the help. I'll be sure to report back.
Heat, Humidity, An Eating Itinerary...feedback please
Thanks for the helpful posts everyone. scrumptiouschef, you've definitely sold me on Bullet's. Should be an interesting time.
Heat, Humidity, An Eating Itinerary...feedback please
So I'm going next week, getting in Monday afternoon and leaving super early Thursday morning. First visit to the city. Other than oppressive heat and humidity I'm expecting to eat some good food.
Definites:
-Cochon at the counter
-Cure for cocktails
Classic New Orleans Lunch
-Galatoire's or Commander's Palace. I know I asked this before, but if you had to pick one, which would it be?
Cheap, local food:
-Parkway for po'boys
-Willie Mae's Scotch House for fried chicken
-Central Grocery for muffuletta
-CdM for beignets and coffee
-Acme for raw oysters
-Bourbon House for baked oysters. Should I do both Acme (cheaper) and BH (more interesting) or will one suffice? These would be less meal stops than snack ones.
-Hansen's Sno-Blitz for shaved ice
Bars (besides Cure):
-Lobby Bar at Pere Marquette for Chris McMillan. I should note that finding out this guy's schedule has proven next to impossible. Apparently, it's a call the evening of kind of affair.)
-Swizzle Stick
-Arnaud's French 75
-Napoleon House. Is this place worth going to?
-Are there any non-cocktail bars that are cool/divey/cute/interesting that anyone can recommend?
Misc. questions:
-I can't make Kermit Ruffins's Thursday show but his Myspace page lists a weekly Tuesday 6:30 pm show at Bullet's Sports Bar. Not much written about this place. Anyone know anything?
-Are jackets seriously the norm even in the summer at Galatoire's and Commander's Palace?
-At the likes of August, MiLa, Herbsaint, how are they about diners just ordering a couple starters in the dining room? I'm not sure I want to commit to a full meal at any of these pricier spots and might want to visit a couple on a night. Is this frowned upon?
-Is Parkway better for po'boys than Liuzza's?
-Is the Southern Food and Beverage Museum worth going to?
-Any particularly good jazz or blues clubs that have solid tunes regardless of the night?
-Am I missing anything?
Mekong Delta Cafe- Baltimore
I quite liked this place. It's got a good neighborhood vibe to it and although it could be a bit more efficient, you feel like you're supporting somewhere that's really trying their best. Spoke to the owner for a bit as were the last customers in the place last night. Really nice guy, gave me tips about an upcoming trip to SE Asia. He should be working the room, however, explaining the menu, helping out here and there. Unfortunately he's serving, bussing, and running food. I'm sure they could hire just one waitress and it would make everything a lot smoother.
These service speed bumps aside the food here was surprisingly good. Better than your typical strip mall/corner Vietnamese noodle shop. Some of the cooking could be more precise--beter frying on the cha gio, harder char on the meats--but the flavors were pretty spot on. The pho is a richer broth than most, something traditionalists might see as a minus, but it is very tasty, very meaty. Would've liiked some more noodles in the portion, but the meats were generous, especially the tendon.
No banh mi as of yet but the owner suggested that if there's enough demand he'd look into it. Please, suggest he make them. Definitely a place to support and watch.
Cathay 22 in Springfield
Have to say that I really like this place. Ordering from the normal menu yields good results, but as is often the case, the real goods are found on the Chinese menu. Seeing that I don't read any Chinese, you're best off asking your waiter for recommendations off the Chinese menu. Tonight, they even prepared something just for us based on a special on the board and our desires. It seems that the waiter's willingness to guide you through the menu is based on both personality and how busy he is, but a great meal can be had with a little bit of thought and care.
Highlights on this most recent visit included sliced conch in ma-la sauce. Very similar to the more traditional tendon but more delicate. Also, shredded dried beef in the same sauce. Different flavor, however, given the sweet cure on the meat. The three pepper chicken is a Westernized classic that we order every time. Two new dishes, however were the braised pork belly with minced salted greens, and fried filets of flounder in a chile sauce with snow peas and bell peppers. Both dishes were pretty awesome.
I've noticed that this place is pretty light on the heat. I think it's a stylistic choice rather than one pandering to non-Chinese diners. I prefer spicier, but the subtleties of the dishes certainly do come through.
PYO apples in MD whats good this season?
Yeah, this place came up in my research, but they're not offering PYO apples this year. Lame.
PYO apples in MD whats good this season?
Sorry to hijack a bit, but my request is a bit more broad. I'm looking for a decent PYO apples place as close to Baltimore city as possible. There seem to be lots of places, especially in Baltimore County, that offer pumpkins and corn mazes, but what about PYO apples?
Thanks.
Chubby's Tacos-Durham. Anyone else been there yet?
I quite liked this place and think it's existing in an interesting niche. As others have stated it's not the full-on authentic taqueria experience. At the same time, it's definitely, and thankfully, not another Torrero's/El Rodeo clone.
I'm just not sure how successful the place will be, even though I think the food is quite good. The location hasn't been the most successful, and I don't see students or the Hispanic community fervently supporting this place. Again, this plays into the not super authentic yet not completely gringo'd paradox. If anything, it'll be more of a locals spot. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I had a large lunch here today consisting of a barbacoa taco, a tilapia taco, and a carnitas torta. The barbacoa was well-spiced but a bit dry. La Vaquita is still my standard bearer of Barbacoa. The carnitas taco wasn't stuffed as generously as what one might get at a local taqueria but it was serviceable. The lack of avocado was also a bit of a downer. This was remedied an extra addition of the guacamole-salsa-hybrid sauce but I would've preferred full-on slices.
I really like the fact that they make up for not having a salsa bar by putting out five really solid salas in squirt bottles. I think the squirt bottles will appeal to the gringo types who think salsa like ketchup or something. My only minor complaint here is that the holes at the top of the bottle are too small for the chunks, leading to the potential for inadvertent squirting. We all hate when that happens. There's a spicier once that tasted like it had been seasoned with a bit of floral habanero available on request.
Finally, the whole "green' thing is cute and an obvious attempt to appeal to all the socially conscious types in the neighborhood. I understand that they products cost more but charging 25 cents for a cup of water to offset the costs of these items is going to piss some people off. College students like to think they're green but don't like paying for it, even if it's 25 cents for something they think they should be getting for free.
Myrtle Beach, SC - OK Hounds - Lets update the rec's for MB
Wow, Myrtle Beach, never seen anything quite like it. Spent 4 nights in North Myrtle with side jaunts to Myrtle proper and Calabash, NC.
The concentration of chain restaurants and buffets here is unreal. Like something out of a parody. I was taken aback. Based on what I read here I avoided the buffets and such--a friend in a different group of kids went to Calabash Seafood Buffet and didn't speak kindly of the experience..
A quick report on the spots I chanced upon. Nothing I ate was that great but it felt regionally authentic.
Dinners:
South of the Border - Not in Myrtle at all but something of a tradition for those on a college road trip. My previous visit on a road trip down to Miami a couple years ago included an 8 am foot long chili dog and lots and lots of fireworks. This time, the "salad bar." Wow, talk to about terrible.
Rockefeller's Raw Bar, N. Myrtle Beach - Not really a raw bar in truth, more a seafood shack. Quality of the ingredients was rather low and the garlic-butter mussels I had weren't that great. Fries way too greasy. My attempt at moules frites was pretty much a failure. I didn't mind the chumbo or my friend's steamed oysters, however.
Casa Villa, Little River - This place actually wasn't that bad for a generic Mexican restaurant. Great cinco de Mayo specials--Can you say $1 draft Dos Equis? I can. Repeatedly.---and one of the better plates of carnitas I've ever had. I'm a hardcore Mexican food fan so this place was a pleasant surprise. Mole was a bit boring but serviceable. My friends' combo plates were less inspiring. Recommended overall.
The Seafood Hut and Dockside restaurants, Calabash, NC - Ate at these places back to back to compare. Had a large seafood platter at the former and a small at the latter. I think I preferred the batter /frying at Dockside; my plate was just tastier. I did find the quality of the seafood to be of a marginally higher quality at the Seafood Hut, however. Were these places good? No, but they have a certain Americana appeal that was pleasing.
Lunches:
River City Cafe, Myrtle Beach - Not a bad burger spot for a fast food-style burger. Thin patty, fine grind, cooked on the flat top. I would've really liked this place if it was right on the beach and overlooking the water. Overall, fine, I'd go if I was in the area but I wouldn't seek it out.
E Noodles & Co. - Strange name. Did they just add the "E" to avoid copyright infringement? Anyway, dropped in here for a late lunch. Not all that great but it looked a lot better than the China Woks and Hunan Palaces we saw. My red curry, ordered spicy, was anything but, but at least it was relatively tasty. Not bad with a 22 oz Sapporo after a morning on the beach.
Breakfast:
Plantation - Standard pancake house. Not really a huge pancake fan so I made my own meal of sides--an over-easy egg, some crispy hashbrowns, and a bowl of sausage gravy. Can't really mess up the first two items so there's not a lot to say. The sausage gravy was incredibly thick, wayyyy too much starch in the roux and light on the sausage but I can't say it was awful. I used only a couple tablespoons of the bowl due to the thickness but was able to put together a relatively serviceable breakfast.
Oh, Myrtle. Not really my scene but worth seeing once, I suppose.
New ideas for nice dinner in Durham or Chapel Hill
I got three courses and wine pairings for like $105ish after tax and tip. You can see my full report in the BS thread.
New ideas for nice dinner in Durham or Chapel Hill
While I'd argue a tux and evening gown are perhaps over the top, I applaud you for wearing what you want. Most people, however, would feel uncomfortable in that attire in ANY restaurant, three Michelin stars or not.
A jacket works at BS and is what more gentlemen wear. Some people don't like jackets. Fine. I wear them to class, some people wear sweats. I'm not saying you should wear sweats to BS, but just go in what you're comfortable in and will help the evening feel special. That's most important.
It's not at all an intimidating place.
I had the stuffed quail a couple weeks ago, and it was killer.
New ideas for nice dinner in Durham or Chapel Hill
5 stars. That's a lot. Look at the menu first. I'll be honest, previous ones have been painfully boring. Supposedly the place looks nice, as the poster above also mentions, in a big box kind of way.
The chef there may or may not be working on some more creative items which I find interesting. Whether these actually come to fruition remains to be seen.
New ideas for nice dinner in Durham or Chapel Hill
Yeah, BS has anniversary written all over it. Much stronger cooking--technically speaking--than the other spots you mention if you're into the classic thing.
ad hoc Monday night
I apologize if this has been answered elsewhere, but can someone clarify the "second serving" aspect of Ad Hoc. nicedragonboy mentions that some people get two portions of chicken or some such. Does this only apply to the chicken or to other main dishes on other nights, as well? How about to the other courses besides the main course? Do they only bring out extra servings for large groups?
Thanks.
Chapel Hill to Lexington, A 6-Stop Barbecue Extravaganza
I sauced more heavily at Allen & Son than anywhere else. It just seemed to wet the meat as opposed to make it more "moist," if you know what I mean.
Yeah, I really don't know what was so great at Stamey's besides the perfect balance. I was able to taste sauce, rub, pork all in one bite. Likewise, I was able to git a nice crunch/crackle from the outside brown but still have the soft, barely toothsome interior all at once.
Chapel Hill to Lexington, A 6-Stop Barbecue Extravaganza
O M F G. As I'll be leaving the South for good in a matter of days and don't have finals during exam week it seemed necessary to hit some of the 'cue places I'd heard about but never got around to visiting. Naturally, I'd have to eat at all of them in one day. Mayhem ensued.
So, six stops, six trays, all solo, over 4.5 hours. It was intense. I'm in pain. But I think it was worth it.
Starting in Durham, I ventured to Chapel Hill to visit Allen & Son. Then to Mebane to eat at A&M Grill, then Graham for Hursey's, then Greensboro for Stamey's, then finally to Lexington for Barbecue Center and Lexington Barbecue.
My rankings and brief comments follow.
1) Stamey's - Perhaps the surprise winner, the outside brown, sliced was near perfect. A great balance of smoke and salt and just enough contrast between chewy exterior and firm yet still tender interior. Service here was also great. Super fast and super friendly. I also like that they serve pretty much only 'cue and no fried chicken, fish, etc. The Brunswick stew was an unnecessary, but surprisingly tasty addition to my fourth meal of the day.
2) Lexington Barbecue - A great product and really nice balance between smoke and texture. I actually thought the sauce was too overpowering for the meat and preferred the rendition of Lexington-style sauce at Barbecue Center. I ordered soft outside brown, coarsely chopped and it was really very nice. Had I not been so surprised with the quality and experience at Stamey's, Lexington Barbecue would've taken the prize. I could see craving either depending on the day. Also, despite the fact that this was my sixth meal and I was in terrible pain, I NEEDED to order the basket of hot, fried pork skin. These were super-duper porky. Like porkiness verging on gaminess. Best in small quantities or crumbled atop one's 'cue.
3) Barbecue Center - I really "got" Lexington-style 'cue here. The sauce was still NC-style, but the addition of tomato gave the sauce a freshness that worked well with the acidity and pepper. Here, I had outside brown, chopped. A really solid spot, no complaints at all.
4) Allen & Son - I had been to Allen & Son once before and sampled much of the menu with a large group. It was my standard bearer of NC barbecue until today. Allen & Son really ups the smoke, which I quite like, but at the expense of porkiness. The former three find a great balance between rub/seasoning, smoke, and natural flavor of the meat, not to mention texture/moistness. Allen & Son puts out a great and unique product, but I found it too one-dimensional today. Too smokey, too dry. I enjoyed eating it, sure, but it wasn't new heights. At first I thought it was because I had ordered outside brown, chopped, but my experiences at the other restaurants proved that the balance I was looking for could be achieved.
5) Hursey's - Taste-wise this was actually my least favorite. It was, however, a very unique product. Not much smoke at all, but the chopped meat--they don't do outside brown here--was unbelievably moist. Not watery, as in sitting in its own juices on the place, but as soon as it hit my mouth it just exploded with porky juiciness. If one could serve a pork roast with this same juiciness you'd have a hit. This was, however, not barbecue to me because the smoke just wasn't there. Think of it like a better version of Bullock's The slaw here was actually not good, perhaps the only objectionable side I had all day.
6) A&M Grill - All in all, not bad, but not that great either. I had the sliced barbecue--no outside brown here either---as the waitress informed me that this would be the best option. This was more like roast pork, also light on the smoke but not so light as Hursey's. It lacked the mouth-filling unctuousness that Hursey's provided and so lacked any defining characteristic that could've helped its standing.
On the drive home I was pretty much drunk off of pork fat. Still, I recommend driving east on 64 as opposed to picking up 85 and 40. A pleasant, farm- and church-filled drive, minus a few strip mall-filled towns.
I'm eating nothing but raw fruit and veggies until Friday. Seriously.
Bonne Soiree in Chapel Hill
I've known about Bonnie Soiree since its opening in late 2006 yet for some reason I'd put off going. Despite the fact that it was a new restaurant, it seemed so "old-guard" and the mixed reports I'd heard from people I genuinely trust didn't help matters.
I'm kind of upset I waited this long to go. I had probably the most technically proficient meal I've had in my nearly four years in the Triangle. There are a couple other restaurants that are more creative and at a more accessible price point, but I pretty much have no complaints about my meal at Bonne Soiree overall. For me, that's saying something, especially given my penchant for creative cooking.
I visited Bonne Soiree this evening with my roommate and was able to try several dishes throughout the evening. The room is perhaps a bit stuffy, a caricature of fine-dining that doesn't really even exist in most fine-dining restaurants. Still, once I settled in it was quite comfortable. The clientèle skews older and toward special event diners. Not exactly the hipster crowd, but I can understand why. It's certainly no fault of the restaurant itself. The service was extremely friendly and well-meaning. They're not going to win Michelin stars on the account of the grace of their movements, but I felt coddled and very well taken care of. Realistically I couldn't have asked more.
The hand-written menus are great. Seriously old school, seriously cool. You just don't see that kind of thing anymore (not that I actually ever did, but I hear there was in fact a time before minimalistic menu printing was the standard, maybe the 1980s). Tina is a perfect matriarch, and I don't know where some of the criticisms I've read about her come from. She runs a tight but friendly ship and knows what kind of experience she wants to create for her guests. I can't fault that. She worked me through my wine pairings and checked in on us at least a couple times in addition. I thought the wine pairing was a great value and only had a slight issue with the "appertif," an Oregon pinot gris with a bit of fruit and a lot of minerality through the middle. I can see where she was coming from, but that's not quite an appertif, especially since we weren't served an amuse or anything. A glass or sparkling or a even a short pour of a riesling or gerwurtz would've seemed a better start. My second wine, with my first course, was a REALLY cool Spanish white blend the likes of which I had never tried. Tina described it as a white that drinks like a red. I couldn't have described it better myself. Another interesting pick was my dessert wine, a late harvest chenin blanc. The first time I've had a dessert wine made from those grapes from the Loire.
Between my roommate and I, we sampled the boudin blanc and sweetbreads as starters. Although one can get both at Vin Rouge, these were very refined examples. Textbook execution, refreshing in their unpretentious tastiness and subtle elegance. I preferred the sweetbreads, one lobe, crusted with breadcrumbs and dijon, sitting in a wine sauce with some spring peas. Great contrast between the rich/unctuous star of the plate and acidic/sweet accompaniments.
For our mains, we had the stuffed quail and the pork noisettes. The former was stuffed with, among other items, foie gras. While I've had better foie-stuffed quail from the likes of Joel Robuchon and Guy Savoy, the mere fact that this dish even renders comparison is the highest praise. I was all about this dish. My roommate's pork was an earthier affair thanks to pecans, spaetzle, and bacon-wrapped prunes. Not quite as refined but very, very tasty. Great wine pairing there with a tabacco-y cab franc that picked up similar notes from the prunes and well-seared pork.
For dessert, the pot au creme and the baba rum with tropical fruits. The former was perhaps the only marginal let down of the evening. A wonderful chocolate custard, perfectly bitter, but a bit boring. The rum-soaked cake however was excellent, so French in its flavor profile. A tropical fruit sauce sat at the bottom of the plate, topped with the cake, filled with a tropical fruit salad. Simple but so satisfying.
I realize this sounds like a love letter to this restaurant, and I suppose it is. Sometimes I get so caught up in the cutting edge that I forget how good the classics can be. Bonne Soiree was an unexpected surprise. I'm actually considering going back before I leave for good a few weeks from now.
After tax and tip I spent just north of $105. Not exactly cheap, but well worth it. Again, I want to go back. I'm usually apprehensive to rate area restaurants on the NYT scale of stars, but this place easily merits a strong two if not three.
The "New" Taqueria Lopez, post-3/08, Durham, NC
I've made it very clear I want the salsa bar back. The problem is that most of the staff, except for the owner, don't really speak English. Therefore they look at me like I've got three heads (as opposed to the usual two).
Mez on Page Road in Durham
Menu seems a bit expensive for lunch and a bit erratic. $8 for guac better be made tableside. Linguine? And an overabundance of piquillo peppers.
Haute Mexican can very very easily go wrong.
The "New" Taqueria Lopez, post-3/08, Durham, NC
As has been discussed on the blog CookingEatingDurham, Taqueria Lopez is aggressively trying to brand itself as, well, more than a taqueria.
The new menu came out in the past week or so and it is daunting. It's not a Tex-Mex restaurant, thankfully, but this menu seems to be taking a step in that direction. Often times "all things to all people" isn't the best way to go. The menu is very large and somewhat confusing. Many dishes appear in strange categories. There are combinations, platillos, beef/chicken/pork, fajita, and breakfast sections to name just a few. Is the cooking still pretty solid? Yes, but my visit today was a bit underwhelming.
I eat at Lopez quite frequently, perhaps every two weeks on average. I've enjoyed watching it steadily improve. At first it was good but terribly disorganized and slow. Although language has always been a problem there, in 2008 I've had numerous very tasty and quick meals there. It even became something of a study/hang out spot for me.
I ordered the chorizo eggs. While what I had wasn't objectionable, it also wasn't as good as I might have imagined. They do such a nice job within the simple constraints of tacos, I thought they'd be able to pull the same with Mexican breakfast. The eggs were scrambled with some chorizo strewn throughout. Rather than creamy eggs, however, these were cooked nearly to the point of rubberiness. Also, the normally generous helping of the restaurant's delicious beans was reduced to literally about three tablespoons. The addition of some salsa and the always-tasty tortillas made it such that I still enjoyed my plate. Still, for $6.89 plus tax and tip, I got probably two scrambled eggs, an ounce or two of chorizo, a few bites of beans, and a little puck of rice. The value proposition just wasn't quite as compelling.
Finally, one of the greatest culinary tragedies in my nearly four years in Durham. The salsa bar is gone!!!!!! No!!!!! The salsa bar was pretty much the reason I went to Lopez so often. With the chips, the wonderful nopales salsa, many fond memories were made. No longer. I spoke to the owner about this and he explained to me the story.
Apparently, a health inspector (everyone knows they're no fun), a new one, had an issue with it. Something about the lack of circulating air or something. So it's been 86'd. I'm just a bit skeptical, however, because on the menu they now sell many of their salsas for 79 cents each. Interesting. Perhaps too many people were just getting a couple tacos and they were losing money on the bar. Considering most of the other taquerias have similar salsa bars (if not as good) I wonder why Lopez in particular was singled out. Regardless of why, it's a tragedy.
Triangle Taco Trucks
So I went to the Taqueria Rubia(o?) last night at about 11. It was pretty solid. I can't confirm that there's pineapple in the pastor, but it is distinctly sweet. Quite interesting. Barbacoa taco wasn't as good as it La Vaq, but had a nice note of cinnamon. Tried to get a chorizo taco, but they were out so went with the owner's recommendation of an azada taco. It was the weakest of the bunch.
Tacos are $2, but they don't charge tax, so that saves a few cents. English was fine and the woman, who I presume was the owner, was quite friendly. Her sister runs Taqueria Lopez.
Triangle Taco Trucks
I live pretty much right there, and I think I know what you're talking about. It's like a dance hall that specializes in Latin dance. Will check it.
Good Showing from Piedmont in Durham
Loving the offal-ish items that show up from Piedmont menu from time to time. Headcheese is pretty tame, no chewy or crunchy bits of ear or anything like that. Not very game-y tasting, very loose construction. I was very pleased.
Bollito misto! Yes. Seriously. I doubt you can get this anywhere else in the Tri. When I saw it on the online menu, it decided that I would have to go. Tongue, some brisket, housemade freeform sausage, a chicken leg. Good stuff.
Toast Paninoteca (Durham)
Had a follow up meal at Toast today. Really enjoyed it actually. My sandwich, the rappini with sausage, was really quite delicious and firmly pressed. Too often pressed sandwiches are hardly even toasted, but this one was very nice. Added the soup, white bean or something. Served too hot, but other than that no complaints. Also tried the mushroom crostini. Unabashedly earthy with mushrooms and blue cheese. I was a fan.
Best Irish Pub/Restaurant in the Triangle
I'm not sure if we have a best per se, but let's start by listing the ones I know of in Durham. There's the Joyce and Bull McCabe's as far as I know.
Both are fine, but if I want a bar/pub dining experience I'm going to the Federal.
