The Gourmez

More foodie events! Seriously, folks, October is an absolutely ridiculous month for us food and drink lovers in the Triangle. First, the Bull City Vegan Challenge launches tomorrow. The official kickoff is Sunday at the Pinhook, during the monthly vegan brunch by the Fiction Kitchen. Throughout the month, you can dine on vegan dishes at [...]

Shelton Vineyards Madison Lee Red Wine Dobson, NC I like Shelton Vineyard’s pinwheel logo—it has a bit of renaissance flair to it. This is the first time the filter on my wine aerator has come in handy; there’s a lot of silt in the bottle. It smells of Dove dark chocolate (you know, that somehow [...]

The only days when all of my coworkers come in are rainy ones.

Two weeks ago, the Busy Bee invited me out to a promotional event for Cruzan 9, a new spiced rum. Appetizers and drinks were provided for free and highlighted a range of Cruzan’s offerings, in both cocktails and cooking explorations. The Busy Bee cleared their liquor shelves of all but Cruzan’s several flavored rums, and [...]

Apologies for the lack of posts this week—I was in DC! Which, of course, means a travelogue is in the works, and several other posts are close to ready, including one on the Cruzan 9 event at the Busy Bee last week. There are lots of exciting foodie events coming up in the next few [...]

International Delights 740 Ninth Street, Durham Sandwiches/Gyros: $6–$8 Platters: $7–$10 International Delights is a staple of the Ninth Street dining scene, an order-at -the-counter spot that serves up lots of Middle Eastern fare but also some American subs for variety. If you are interested, they also have hookahs for sharing and selling.

Marqués de Cáceres Crianza 2006 Cosecha Rioja, Spain Everything I like about Spanish wine is in this glass—spicy, leathery, fruit that is ripe to bursting, cayenne, maybe even a mild curry. The first notes, though, were of chocolate and raspberry.  The chocolate’s mostly from the nose, but it helps mellow the wine, almost giving it [...]

Spiced Blackberry Jam 1/4 shot green Chartreuse 1 1/2 shot St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur 2 shots citrus vodka 1/2 shot lime juice 2 shots blackberry juice A few champagne grapes Shake everything together but the grapes. Place a few grapes in each cocktail glass, then pour the cocktail on top. Of course, using blackberries would [...]

William’s Gourmet Kitchen 2114 East Highway 54 Highways 55 and 54 Crossroads, Durham http://www.williamsgk.com/ Sandwiches:  $4.29-$6.49 Sides:  $0.99-$2.49 A year ago, I posted my first review of William’s Gourmet Kitchen, and I thought it was pretty good, definitely a step up from fast food, but nothing that made me crave running back there again. With [...]

Sicilian Firefly Serena, Durham Website This pretty, and nicely sized drink, is made with banana schnapps, coconut vodka, and melon liqueur. I admit, the menu description sold me with its poetic waxings about the sweet hues of dancing Sicilian fireflies. The flavors dance as well as their namesakes, with the coconut and melon pairing smoothly. [...]