Tallulas
456 W. Franklin Street
Downtown Chapel Hill
Website
Pizzas/Mezzes: $7–$12
Entrees: $15–22

Tallulas is a formal Turkish restaurant in the evening that transforms into more of a bar/lounge from 10 PM onward. We were there for the dinner service when a variety of small plates, Turkish-style pizzas, and full entrees are available. The décor was lush, but I may be prejudiced as Moorish lamps and patterns are my favorite interior design style. The lighting was dim with a red sheen. Light wood walls were covered in giant rugs, and classical Turkish music played.

Tallulas has a great drink list, and my Visne Vodka was a near-perfect cocktail. The bread served seemed too thick to be lavash, so it might have been tandir, but whatever it was was delicious: crispy on the outside, soft and warm on the inside. The accompanying dipping oil seemed to have a citrus tang to it or maybe some sort of sweet roasted pepper (piquillo?), but it may have been an herb I couldn’t place.

My husband and I shared an appetizer, a platter of red lentil patties made with bulgur, Antep pepper, scallions, mint, and parsley, and served with a row of tomato slices. It was called mercimek koftesi.

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Momokawa Pearl Sake
Junmai Ginjo Nigori Genshu
Oregon

This sake is nigori, so it’s unfiltered, and I’m happy to report that it doesn’t taste like sour milk like the Snow Maiden nigori sake did. Instead, it’s got a delicious creamy flavor of banana, breadfruit, and a bit of kiwi. There’s a strong floral element also, which I’ll dub lavender. Definitely enjoyable and I will drink it again, with pleasure.

4 stars

La Leche
Dos Perros, Downtown Durham
Website
$9

This drink is nothing but horchata and dark rum. I love both of those ingredients, but I have to say, for $9, it wasn’t tasty enough. It’s a classic milk punch, like the New Orlean’s Milk Punch at Papa Mojo’s with bourbon and nutmeg, but that one succeeded better because there was less ice. The ice definitely watered down the horchata in this drink, and thus the horchata flavor and spices were hardly noticeable.

As a cold drink, La Leche was okay, but I think it could shine as a warm drink in the winter.

2 stars

Reviewed 7.9.10.

Last night, I made my first batch of cold-brewed coffee based off of the first two links on a Google search of the term: Smitten Kitchen and I Need Coffee. This is seriously a simple procedure, though I’m already musing some variations to try, based mostly on time considerations.

Here’s what you need:

• Glass/container for holding the coffee. I used my french press pot.
• Fine mesh strainer to strain the end result. Again, I just used my french press strainer and found I didn’t need another line of defense against the grains, though there was a small amount of residue at the bottom of the cup. The websites I mentioned recommend cheesecloth or a small kitchen strainer to place over your drinking glass.
• Water. Cold or room temperature works fine. I used 3 cups.
• Coffee ground to medium thickness. I used two-thirds of a cup. You do not want fine grounds for this.

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A Gracious Plenty Cafe
3530 S. Alston Avenue, Durham
Website
Hours: Mon–Fri, 11–2
Lunch: $5.30–$7.80

A Gracious Plenty is tucked away at the corner of Cornwallis and S. Alston Drive. It’s another of those cafes and catering companies that primarily exist to cater and serve lunch to the RTP crowds, so hours are quite limited. Much less limited than those of Good, Better, Best Bakery down the road, which I had planned to try out instead: it appears that RTP lunch spot is closed down for good.

A Gracious Plenty looks appealing from the outside with a yellow storefront, green awning, and a deck peeking around the corner of the restaurant.  That deck is quite lovely on a nice afternoon, and there are potted herbs arranged around it that I’m sure are used in the kitchen.

The inside was stuffy by contrast, with very plain décor and tables. Definitely opt for the outdoors if it’s not too warm of a day. The staff and owner are very friendly and get props for remembering my name right away. Fewer props go to the length of time it took for my food to come–far, far too long for lunch time. I overheard someone saying they had catering problems that morning, though, so it may generally be faster than the thirty minutes I waited for my meal.
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Hot Guava
Dos Perros, Downtown Durham
Restaurant Review
$8

The Hot Guava is a margarita made from guava juice, jalapenos, tequila, and lime. The jalapeno was bright and powerful from the first sip, but I think that was the problem—all you could taste was that sweet heat and a little bit of sourness. It cancelled out the guava flavor entirely for me.

Now, I love spice, so I drank this happily, but it’s definitely not the best jalapeno cocktail I’ve had. The Sting at the Hive gets that honor.

2 stars

Reviewed 7.9.10.

Augey 2007 Bordeaux
France

This is a subtle wine with a lot of flavor, which may be a contradiction of sorts. It’s full of fruit–the fruitiest wine I’ve had in a while, truth be told. It’s also pretty thick. I like the simple berry goodness; there’s a smorgasbord of blackberry, raspberry, and strawberry all begging for your attention. The amount of oak is just right for me; it’s enough that you have to consider if a toothpick may have fallen in the wine but not too much that I actually consider wood to be a flavor component. There’s also a hint of vanilla.

It’s a good, pleasant, easy-to-drink wine. For Bordeauxs, it’s one of my favorites so far. I think that means I need to try more Bordeauxs.

2 stars

Hardee’s (Southern Fast Food Series #4)
Heavily concentrated in the Southeast, but with plenty of restaurants north to Pennsylvania and west to Montana
This location: 6116 Farrington Road, Chapel Hill
Sandwiches: $3.40–$4, add about $2 to make it a combo
Website

Oh, Hardee’s, how often I’ve wondered about you as I drive by and notice that your star is the same star as Carl Jr.’s, one of the fast food options of my native California. Turns out you really are the same chain, except that Carl’s experiments a lot more with burger toppings, and you stick to your Thick-and Six-Dollar-Angus burgers. You offer fried chicken baskets whereas Carl’s offers many chicken sandwiches, and egg biscuit sandwiches whereas Carl’s opts for breakfast burritos, but “Charbroiled Burgers” rests beneath both of your logos.

This was my second time at a Hardee’s.  My first was on a road trip to Myrtle Beach six years ago, and nearly everyone else on the trip felt sick after our stop at Hardee’s for lunch. I was fine, but that didn’t make me go running back to try it again anytime soon. Yet there comes a time in all southern fast food series when Hardee’s must be tried.
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French Quarter Cosmopolitan
Papa Mojo’s Roadhouse
Greenwood Commons, Durham
Restaurant Review

This riff on a cosmo is made with citrus vodka, grand marnier, cranberry juice, sour mix, lime juice, and grenadine.  Grenadine totally stands out when you are used to standard cosmos. It makes the French Quarter Cosmopolitan a nice option for people who want a sweeter drink than cosmos normally are; the grenadine, while definitely noticeable, doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the ingredients. The sour mix should be left out entirely, though, especially when there’s already lime in the drink.

2 stars

Reviewed 7.9.10.

Dos Perros
200 N. Magnum
Downtown Durham
Website
Entrees: $12-22

Dos Perros is an upscale, yet relaxed, Mexican restaurant that’s been open for about a year now. It is owned by the fabulous Charlie Deal, whom I call fabulous because I’m in love with his Chapel Hill restaurant, Jujube. Dos Perros focuses strongly on using fresh, local ingredients when possible, which is laudable but resulted in no avocados on the night we dined. I think it’s fair to keep that in mind as the review is read, as no avocado in a Mexican restaurant makes for a sad Gourmez.

In addition to Dos Perros’s dinner and pricier menu, they offer a late night menu of tacos after 10 PM at $2-3.50 a pop, which also replaces their dinner menu for Monday Taco Night. I’d be very interested in hearing if any of you have tried their tacos! Vegetarians can also rejoice, because Dos Perros’ offers a prix fixe vegetarian meal on Sunday nights and always has some vegetarian options on the menu.  Beer dinners are also common occurrences, and brunch, which sounds delicious, is served on Sundays.

This was our first time at Dos Perros, so we went for their regular dinner offerings to get the normal experience. I thought the friendly yellow walls, and of course, the cute logo on the exterior, were very inviting, and the inside nearly as appealing as sitting outside on a nice day. The main dining room had a lovely white-tiled ceiling, a peek-a-boo kitchen, a mix of brick and orange walls, and hung blankets and paintings of Mexican tourist posters. The bar is to the left of their main dining room, but I didn’t sneak a peek at it.
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