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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
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| Dec 17 2007, 5:20 PM EST (current) | chanelope | 36 words added |
| Dec 17 2007, 5:05 PM EST | chanelope | 40 words added |
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Where to Eat in Durham, NC
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Denotes a Food & Wine Editors' Pick| Restaurants Bullock's Barbecue 3330 Quebec Dr Durham, NC 27705-3029 Phone: (919) 383-3211 The succulent, savory taste of Bullock's Bar-B-Que is enough that travelers to and through Durham plan their trip around its hours of operation (Tu-Sa, 11am-8pm). The green beans and hush puppies are unrivaled anywhere. The family style meals are great for big groups. |
| Serena Restaurant and Bar 5311 SOUTH MIAMI BLVD, SUITE A, DURHAM, NC 27703 (919) 941-6380 One of the only decent places to eat in the RTP wasteland. Good for a business lunch or after work drink. |
| Foster's Market 2694 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd 919.489-3944 Catering 919.489.4114 Foster's Market, near the city's epicurean-friendly Rockwood District, makes tasty wraps, salads, and desserts. Their chocolate chess pie is a treat one can't resist. |
| Pomodorro's Italian Restaurant 1811 Hillandale Rd 919 309 1656 Experience the tour platter at Pomodorro's Italian Restaurant |
| Honey's Country Restaurant 2700 Guess Rd (and Interstate Hwy 85) Durham, NC 27705 Phone: (919) 477-2181 the blue cheese burger at the venerable Honey's Country Restaurant --they'll make it either Duke or Carolina blue! |
| Home Plate Restaurant 3327 Holloway St Durham, NC 27703 (919) 598-6817 home cooking at Home Plate Restaurant |
| Shrimp Boat 2637 Chapel Hill Blvd Durham, NC 27707 (919) 489-6591 |
| Bali-Hai Mongolia Grill 2414 Wake Forest Rd (919) 828-3103 health-conscious |
| Tyler's Tap Room 324 Blackwell ST, STE 400 Durham NC 27701 Phone: 919.433.0345 www.tylerstaproom.com delectable desserts |
| Magnolia Grill 1002 9th St Durham, NC 27705 (919) 286-3609 Just one of celebrated cuisine restaurants in Durham with owners Ben Barker, a James Beard Foundation "Best Chef in the Southeast" and Karen Barker, named the nation's most outstanding pastry chef. While everything is quite good, Ben's specialties are pork and duck, so those are usually the most outstanding dishes. Their motto is "not afraid of flavor," and it shows; they're willing to try some really wacky things, and they almost always work out, but there's an occasional one that just misses. The atmosphere is more casual than your standard "nice restaurant," so this might not be your best bet from prom, but for a foodie this is paradise. Whatever you do, do NOT skip dessert! "Ben and Karen Barker have run this landmark restaurant for more than 20 years, preparing innovative dishes rooted in the quintessential flavors of the South..." --Food & Wine, July 2007 |
| George's Garage 737 9th St Durham, NC 27705 (919) 286-4131 www.ghgrestaurants.com |
| Dillard's Barbecue 3291 Fayetteville St., (919) 544-1587 A South Carolina, mustard-based barbecue joint, here in NC. This is probably considered a food heresy in these parts, but oh, what a tasty heresy it is. Service is cafeteria-style. |
| Anotherthyme 109 N Gregson St Durham, NC 27701 (919) 682-5225 www.anotherthyme.com An old standby of the Durham restaurant scene. While they added meat dishes in the early 1990s, this place opened as a vegetarian restaurant, and its roots show in a much wider vegetarian selection than most places. |
| Dale's Indian Restaurant 811 Ninth St. (919) 286-1760 Don't be fooled by the rather Anglo-sounding name. This is good, fairly authentic northern Indian food. |
| Thai Cafe 2501 University Dr 919 493-9794 |
| Piedmont  401 Foster St. (919) 683-1213 Fusion of rustic Italian and North Carolina foods. Meats cured in-house are a highlight -- the pastrami sandwich at lunch time is on another plane of existence from your average pastrami. Casual atmosphere, no reservation required, highly reasonable prices. "It was big news last year when Andy Magowan (and Abby Pearce) left Federal, Durham’s popular gastropub, to join forces with Drew Brown, formerly of Thomas Keller’s Bouchon in Las Vegas. The result of their collaboration is the wildly successful Piedmont, serving an ever-changing selection of Italian- and French-inspired dishes, like roasted duck breast with fig risotto and house-made pâté with house-pickled vegetables. The cheese selection and wine list are consistently first-rate." --Food & Wine, July 2007 |
| Rue Cler Restaurant 401 E. Chapel Hill St. (919) 6  82-8844Focuses on a three course prix fixe menu for $25, as standard Parisian cuisine made with local NC ingredients. Atmosphere is a great, in a small footprint with exposed brick walls. |
| Pop's at Durham 810 W Peabody St (919) 956-7677 Subtle twists on Italian cuisine. Wood-fired brick oven pizza makes for an inexpensive dinner, with the standard courses going for a bit more. Calamari with harissa aioli and "chicken cooked under a brick" are standards, with good fish and vegetarian specials to go along. Excellent wine selection, friendly atmosphere: one can also eat at the bar or at a counter overlooking the kitchen, which is good fun. |
| Nana's 2514 University Dr # 104 (919) 493-8545 Along with Four Square and Magnolia Grill, one of the Big Three that sit at the top of Durham's culinary scene. Chef Scott Howell has stepped back from his other projects (Pop's, Pop's Chophouse, Q Shack) and returned to focus on the flagship. Howell worked as sous chef for Ben Barker at Magnolia Grill, and shares the same touches of bringing French technique to southern cuisine, along with more standard French and Italian dishes. "Chef-owner Scott Howell opened this Durham favorite 15 years ago, and it continues to lure locals, visitors and luminaries (Faye Dunaway, Robert Rauschenberg, members of the Saudi royal family) with its inimitable blend of Italian and Southern cooking. " --Food & Wine, July 2007 |
| Four Square 2701 Chapel Hill Rd (919) 401-9877 While the question of whether it or Nana's or Magnolia is the best restaurant in Durham is the subject of debate, Four Square has easily the most romantic atmosphere in town. Situated in a huge old house near the intersection of Pickett Rd. and Chapel Hill Rd., Four Square calls its version of the local fusion "Globally-influenced Contemporary American." Consider it the same general cuisine as Nana's and Magnolia Grill, but without quite as much zaniness. |
| The Original Q Shack 2510 University Dr. 919-402-4227 Okay, let's get a few things out of the way: First off, this isn't the same as the Q Shacks found in Raleigh and Cary. They split off because one of the owners wanted to franchise the thing out. The "Original Q Shack" is still owned by Dan, who just wanted to tend his smoker and run his restaurant, and frankly the resulting 'cue is a lot better. Second thing, while there may be the standard happy pig on the sign outside, this is not your standard NC barbecue restaurant. While they have your basic pulled pork sandwich on the menu, the meat and sauce are far smokier than your standard NC-style, to the point that many purists turn up their nose. Which really means you should probably be ordering the Texas beef brisket or pork ribs, considering that Dan's from Texas himself and these are really the house specialties. I can't count how many people call the ribs the "best I've ever had." As for the beef brisket, let's just say I've been known to drink the sauce straight when no one's looking. The smoked turkey, beef sausage, and brisket chili, are all very good too, but that means you have to tear yourself away from the brisket or the ribs. Not easy. Excellent choice of sides, almost all of which can be served vegetarian (they put bacon on top of the collards by default, but can be requested not to). Easy-going atmosphere with occasional live bluegrass, and an excellent beer selection, including Shiner Bock on tap, to stay true to their Lone Star roots. |
| JC's Kitchen 706 E. Main St. (919) 680-6227 "Where the food is anointed and you won't be disappointed." Top-notch soul food. I highly recommend the smoked sausage breakfast. |
| Starlu 3211 Shannon Road, Suite 106 919-489-1500 American cuisine with a broad view but local inspiration, offered in an open-plan, hip dining room. The menu changes regularly, but the standbys remain, if with some variation. Whether it's for one of the burgers, the arancini or the grouper or wahoo, Starlu is my new Durham standard. Unfortunately, Sam (owner of Starlu) has announced that Starlu's last day of operation will be Saturday December 22, 2007. This was a wonderful restaurant and a real contribution to the Durham foodie scene. It's very sad to see it go. |
| Vin Rouge 2010 Hillsborough Rd Durham, NC (919) 416-0406 Great French Bistro with traditional menu items and creative specials. |
| Tonali 3642 Shannon Rd., suite 1 919-489-8000 "Formerly sous chef at Four Square, Macias now calls the shots at Tonali, and from the look of his often-changing Mexican menu, he’s well suited for the top job..." -- Food & Wine, July 2007 |
| Watts Grocery 1116 Broad St 919-416-5040 or wattsgrocery.com "Early this fall, local chef Amy Tornquist (who, with her husband, runs the excellent catering company Sage & Swift) will bring her special brand of locally inspired cooking to this casual Broad Street spot...." -- Food & Wine, July 2007 |
Where to Shop in Durham, NC
(Click the EasyEdit button at the top of the page to start. Please try to include the shop’s name, address, phone number, web address (if available), and a description.) | Butchers Name of Venue Address: Phone: |
| Specialty Food Shops Name of Venue Address: Phone: |
| Farmer's Markets Durham Farmer's Market Every Saturday, rain or shine, 8am-12pm Address: the Pavilion at Durham Central Park on Foster Street Phone: (919)667-3099 Web site: http://www.durhamfarmersmarket.com/ From the website: "We are strongly committed to local products: every item you see at the market was produced by the people selling it, and it all comes from no more than 70 miles away. Like small farmers and crafters everywhere, we believe in raising food sustainably and being good stewards of the environment." |
| Bakeries & Pastry Shops Guglhupf Address: 2706 Chapel Hill Blvd, Durham Phone: 919-401-2600 Best bakery in town, with a lovely cafe. Rue Cler Bakery 401 E. Chapel Hill St. 682-8844  Less strictly European than Guglhupf, the whole wheat loaf is fantastic and the scones are flakier and butterier than any others I've had. Fresh bread from 2-6PM daily. When they run out, that's it -- no more. |
| Coffee Bars Broad St. Cafe 1114 Broad St. (919) 416-9707 Most laid back atmosphere of any coffee shop in Durham. Features live music most nights of the week, along with poker nights on Tuesdays an Thursdays. Currently has food out of a cooler, but the kitchen should be opening soon. (August 2007 or so) |
| Ice Cream Shops Loco Pops 2600 Hillsborough Rd Market St 919 286-3500 gourmet popsicles - unique flavors - water and milk based "When Summer Bicknell opened her first paletas (Mexican popsicles) shop in Durham two years ago, locals went wild for the traditional Mexican flavors, such as mango-chile and tamarind, as well as the unusual hybrids like honeydew-lavender and chocolate-rosemary..." -- Food & Wine, July 2007 |
| Chocolate Shops Name of Venue Address: Phone: |
| Cheese Shops Name of Venue Address: Phone: |
| Wine Shops Parker and Otis 112 S. Duke St. (919) 683 3200 Wine Authorities 2501 University Drive (919) 489-2884 They're back! Craig (Heffley from Fowler's Gourmet in Durham through 2001) and Seth (Gross from Wellspring/Whole Foods in Chapel Hill through 2003) are back in retail wine sales and have opened "Durham's premiere wine shop." Focused on wine education, technology, and a comfortable, unpretentious setting. They have 8+ wines on tap and a big LCD screen for classes. Even a small play area with complimentary juice boxes to keep Junior busy while you shop. |
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