Archive for May, 2009

Restaurant Review–Rue Cler, Downtown Durham

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

Rue Cler 401 East Chapel Hill Street Downtown Durham Website:  http://www.ruecler-durham.com/ Brunch/Lunch:  $7-17 Dinner:  Prix Fixe $30, a la carte $9-17 Rue Cler is a French restaurant and bakery café located on a cozy corner of downtown Durham. The bakery opens up at 7:30 for orders at the counter and continues until mid-afternoon. It gets [...]

At the Doughman Finish Line

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Last Saturday morning, I actually managed to get myself out of bed by 8:00am and headed downtown to Durham’s Central Park to watch the first few teams finish The Doughman, a crazy, food and athletics filled event that is in its second year.  In their own words on http://www.doughman.org/: The DOUGHMAN is the world’s premier [...]

Wine Review–Petit Caprice Vin de Pays 2007

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

Petit Caprice Vin de Pays 2007 Other words on the label: Mis en bouteille a la propriete, Vin de pays de vaucluse, Red table wine, Product of France. The nose of this wine is light and plummy, yet the first mouthful is very juicy and tannic. I honestly taste zucchini once the initial punch of [...]

Wine Review–Pancake Cellars 2007 Big Day White

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

Pancake Cellars 2007 Big Day White Other Words on the Label:  Paso Robles, California This wine is worth buying for the novelty of the label art alone.  A giant flapjack grape terrorizes a city block and a quick turn to the back reveals that it is all the dream of a young pancake grape, safely [...]

Eno River Hike

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

My sister, who is not the outdoorsy type, actually suggested we take a hike while she was here a few weeks back.  After I got over my amazement, I decided to give the Eno River a shot as I’d never been there before and it’s only 15-20 minutes from home. We headed out to North [...]

Restaurant Review–Il Palio Ristorante, Chapel Hill

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

Il Palio Ristorante at the Sienna Hotel 1505 East Franklin Street Chapel Hill http://www.sienahotel.com/ilpalio.cfm Lunch:  $10-14 Dinner:  $18-31, Tasting Menu Available I finally dined at Il Palio, the Italian restaurant in the Sienna Hotel, after wanting to try it for a long time.  A friend and I decided to give it a go for lunch [...]

Wine Review–Mars and Venus Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Mars and Venus Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 The nose is musty but in a good, inviting way.  It smells closest to sweet tobacco from a pipe. The taste is complex and not obnoxiously so, like some wines that pack in too many flavors.  Extra ripe fig is the main player.  It is medium-bodied and has a [...]

Restaurant Review–Piazza Italia, Brightleaf Square, Durham

Monday, May 18th, 2009

Drum roll, please…this is my 40th restaurant review!  Yippee!  Thanks, Triangle, for having so many awesome places to dine at! Piazza Italia 905 West Main Street, Suite 18A Brightleaf Square, Durham http://piazzaitalia.us/ Entrees:  $11-24 Piazza Italia is a combination of two restaurants and one gelato counter.  Per their website, there is also a market but [...]

Book Signing and Discussion with Michael Lux

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

Last night, I finally made it out to an event sponsored by Traction, a Triangle organization dedicated to discussing and promoting progressive issues in politics.   I’ve wanted to many times before but the stars just never aligned until now.  So I headed on over to The Regulator Bookshop and decided to learn a little more [...]

Wine Review–Chateau Vielle Tour La Roche Bordeaux 2006

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

Chateau Vielle Tour La Roche Bordeaux 2006 Other words on the label: Grand Vin de Bordeaux, appellation Bordeaux controlee, EARL Vignobles LABONNE, proprietaire a F33790 MASSUGAS, Mis en Bouteille au Chateau, Produit de France.  There’s also the certification of the French agriculture department but my brain was too tired to type it out. This Bordeaux, [...]