What a lovely drink to look at! The picture doesn’t do the contrasting colors justice. The North Carolina Sour is a pretty one with its bottom half orange from the combination of Carriage House apple brandy and lemon and the top half full of McRitchie Ring of Fire red wine. Simple syrup is the final ingredient in this citrusy drink.

Make that a tad too citrusy. The lemon juice dominated, and it actually made the drink taste somewhat like a hot black tea in combination with the wine, a red blend that the makers describe as black cherry, chocolate, and toffee. I enjoyed the apple brandy flavor, but overall, the drink was flat in terms of vibrancy. It’s a good cocktail, but Foundation usually hits it out of the park.

Reviewed 4 May 2012.

Me: Maya, you seem like such a down-to-Earth woman, but tell me, how did you end up with a litter of ferrets?

Maya: Oh, that. [She waves it away with a giggle]. My husband — ex-husband, now, of course, but he was my husband  then — he never let me live that one down. What happened was that Meredith Viera one day on the Today Show had these long, furry animals I’d never seen before. They were so cute, I just had to get one. So I headed to the pet store that very afternoon, and what did I find but a mother ferret with a new litter of four babies! They were all so cute, no longer than my index finger, and I just couldn’t separate them. It felt like the right thing to do, taking them all home! Chuck turned bright red when he saw them, but he never did complain, not really. He’d been married to me too long! You might say I’m a creature of instinct.

Me: That’s hilarious, and don’t tell my husband, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I did something like that one day! Animals are hard to resist. Speaking of things that are hard to resist, what did you say about your first boyfriend recently? Something about how kissing him was like a great glass of tempranillo?

Maya: Honey, if I were kissing Dean again, I’d drain the bottle. He was — he was something else. It was so long ago when we were together, and I was probably just giddy with first love, you know how that goes, but I can still remember how he made me feel every time we — well, you know. [She blushes]. But you can’t keep that sort of relationship forever.  We’ve all got to grow up sometime.

Me: Do you really think so? Don’t some people manage to capture the magic forever?

Maya: I suppose I believe that. But don’t you think that sort of connection is scary? I mean, I loved Dean, I loved him so much that I moved from home at 18 to live with him in a rundown flat by the beach that I thought was heaven. We were going to be painters together, but he left and then . . . I couldn’t wait forever, could I? [She wipes a tear from her eye and breathes deeply, straightening up]. But how did we get to this topic? Let’s talk about something more fun.

Me: I can certainly do that! What’s your favorite dish, Maya? What food would you want on a deserted island?

Maya: I’ll take that bottle of tempranillo, for starters! But to help wash it down, I’d go for comfort food like chicken and dumplings—it might get a little lonely out on that island. I can’t help but dress up a recipe, though, so I’d stir some gruyere into the dumpling batter and probably roast the chicken first with tarragon and oregano.

Me: That sounds delightful! Thank you for your time, Maya.

Maya: A pleasure!

If that little peak into Maya’s life makes you want to learn what the future may hold for her, then pick up Maya’s Vacation today! It’s available in all e-book formats, including PDF, at Astraea Press, Amazon, or Barnes and Nobles.

Sparkling Torrontes! Hooray! Torrontes quickly fought its way to the top of my favorite white wine varietals, so trying a sparkling version is trés exciting. This bottle has a fun purple rubber cork that contrasts with the simple, elegant label design, but I think that just makes it all the more amusing. This grape makes for a sweet, sparkling wine with rose, orange, vanilla, and cream flavors mixing together in the glass. The bubbles are fancifully large.

Torrontes Dolce 1591 is pleasant, but ultimately, it’s too sweet to make me enjoy it free of qualms.

Other Bloggers’ Thoughts

Cheap Wine Finder

The color is almost clear with just a hint of yellow, the bubbles are tiny and numerous. The nose is light and delicate, pink grapefruit, juicy apricot and pineapple with a touch of honey. This is a sweet wine, but not sugary, candy sweet, more very ripe fruit sweet. It tastes of a potpourri of pear, melon, and lemon/lime. The mouth feel is slightly syrupy and the mid palate adds a hint of Sweetarts candy. The bubbles hit your tongue and quickly disappear, they are very light, other than a tingly sensation in your mouth, it almost does not seem like Sparkling wine. There is a good amount of acidity evident on the finish that acts as a counterbalance to the overall sweetness of the wine.

Reviewed 21 April 12.

The Roxy hosted a bourbon tasting the night before my birthday, and bourbon is something I’ve definitely grown to love during my time in NC. And let’s be real — I’m down for tasting any sort of alcoholic beverage. This was the first time I went to a bourbon tasting, although I did LOVE the bourbon dinner that Jujube held a few years back in which I tried a bacon bourbon cocktail for the first time. But that was spread out over several dinner courses. Bourbon tasting at the Roxy is a more casual affair with chips and salsa and some cheese pizza strips as snacks.

That’s Chris Houldsworth on the left from Republic National who talked us through the tasting. We tried a total of four bourbons and learned plenty about the spirit in general. There was a group of around 20 people drinking together, and it was a friendly crowd, skewing toward the forties in age. Here’s what I learned:

• Standard bottles of bourbon are generally aged around 4 years. Any longer than that and the bourbon makers get bragging rights. Bourbon isn’t aged as long as other whiskeys because of the hotter weather in the central and southern US. Scotland and Ireland, with their cool climates, can maintain ideal aging conditions for longer periods.
• To be bourbon, the spirit must be at least 51% corn and made in the US. It does not need to come from any specific region in the US. It does need to be aged in American white oak barrels.
• Bourbon stops aging once it’s out of the barrel, so no need to store it away for longer.
• Those barrels are usually charred, thus creating a natural filtration system as the bourbon seeps in and out of the wood as it ages.
• Adding a drop or two of spring water is the ideal way to enjoy bourbon. And no sloshing of that glass to smell the nose! It actually makes it more difficult to taste the bourbon.

Now on to the shots! I don’t have many pictures because it was dark, and well, bourbon really just looks like bourbon for the most part. We started with Elijah Craig 12 year. Elijah Craig, Chris told us, is the largest holder of bourbon in the world. Also, bourbon’s very popular in Japan. Elijah Craig is a top seller there.

Buttered popcorn leapt to mind when I smelled it. It tasted much the same but with a little bit of film to it and the addition of caramel. I thought it was lovely, but it did not compare to the Elijah Craig 18 year, which we tried next. The difference was pretty strong in terms of smoothness. The color was redder, the nose lighter, and vanilla came into play. It was the first one I tried with a little spring water, and that did open up the layers, letting some floral and spice come out. Chris convinced me to go out and buy a bottle because Elijah Craig will soon be running out of their 18-year stores.

The third bourbon was Four Roses, and we learned that it used to be considered top quality straight bourbon until Seagram’s shifted the brand midcentury. It then became a blended bourbon and developed a lesser reputation to go along with the change. In 2002, Kirin bought it, and the name is now reattached to a nice quality straight bourbon, so don’t let that old reputation fool you.

The smell was super mellow. It was thinner than the first two and had less depth, but that’s not a bad thing depending on your mood. It was golden in color and hinted of vanilla, leaf, and cream.

It was at this point that I realized my taste buds were dead after three shots of bourbon. That should be a check in the con box for bourbon tasting generally, but by the time another comes up, I will probably have forgotten. Our fourth bourbon was actually not a bourbon at all because it’s 51% wheat and 49% corn: Bernheim Original Wheat.  No pictures, and my notes consist of “It does have a different quality, more …” Yep, I never finished that thought. Oops. I can say I liked it, but I’d take bourbon over it any day unless I’m just in the mood for something different.

My tongue was screaming that it was done, but then Chris offered tastes of Concannon Irish Whiskey! Like I can say no to anything — and I mean anything — that I haven’t tried before. It’s made by a Californian winery in partnership with an Irish distillery. The whiskey is aged in both wine barrels and bourbon barrels. Historically, I am not a fan of Irish whiskey or Scotch, but I liked this one, and that’s high praise as far as I’m concerned. It’s also all I can remember about it. If I couldn’t take notes on the Bernheim, you can bet I wrote down nothing once the Concannon came around.

So how was bourbon tasting at the Roxy? Pretty darn informative, I’d say. I already love the relaxed atmosphere there, and it was nice to try a variety of bourbons and whiskeys with a friendly group of fellow imbibers. However, I’m not sure that bourbon lends itself well to a tasting that doesn’t also include a meal and several hours for taste bud recovery. But like I said, I’m sure I won’t let a little thing like that stop me in the future.

Drank much bourbon 3 May 2012.  

Clay asked if I wanted to try out Food Neighbor for the blog, and I said, “Free food? Sure!” I’m easy like that. He arrived a few days later with two huge bags of food. Each individual ingredient was packaged separately, from the herbs to the tablespoons of milk and soy sauce.

Now that is quite the bounty of food! I appreciate the bright color of the bags and the care that Clay takes in clearly labeling what everything is. However, the sheer amount of packaging seems like overkill to this recycler — perhaps group those veggies together in one bag and all the little plastic ramekins in another rather than giving each its own?

Included with the ingredients were recipe cards for two nights’ worth of meals.

Now, those recipes say they are portioned for two, but they each made at least twice that amount, and I don’t think I skimp on portion sizes. I even refused to use about a third of the zucchini and new potatoes because I knew it would be just too much food, and so I was able to use them in other meals later that week. Thus, you do not need to worry about not having enough food, and you may end up with extra to inspire another dish later in the week. Can’t complain about that!

I decided to make the turkey lettuce wraps first. The recipe was easy to follow, and other than accidentally using too much soy sauce, it turned out great.

That’s one serving size. A few nights later, I made the pork tenderloin with the squash medley and classic mashed potatoes. I roasted it rather than use the grill as the recipe called for, but the pork was very succulent either way. The mashed potatoes were a simple dish, and they tasted fantastic. I’d recommend cooking the squash for a shorter amount of time than specified, but that’s because I like my veggies to retain some crispness. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted my picture of the end result — bad blogger! Rest assured, the portion sizes were still very generous.

So what do I think about Food Neighbor? The convenience of having all the ingredients just show up on my doorstep is appealing, and it’s a great idea for those nights when I don’t have the brain power to even try and figure out what I want to cook. Clay’s recipe choices change every week; they are culled from various recipe sites online and include a range of options like pork kebobs with pineapple rice, chicken taco salad, and strip steak and tequila-grilled shrimp — I do love variety in my life. However, I think the price would be an obstacle for me. This week, the brown-sugar-glazed salmon for four would cost about $70 and that strip steak for two would be $46. Those prices, of course, include the luxury of not having to go shopping or figuring out my own recipes and portions and just having the ingredients arrive on my doorstep. But if I’m spending that kind of money on a meal, I don’t want to cook it myself — I want the laziness that comes with restaurant dining and prices.

I must conclude that I don’t see myself becoming a regular Food Neighbor customer. But if all that convenience and those quality ingredients sound good to you, then give it a try. How? Head to the Food Neighbor website and create an account. You’ll get the weekly e-mail of recipe options, then you can order online and get your first delivery the next week. It’s not a subscription service, so you are under no obligation to buy a meal every week. Just do it when you want to or perhaps when you know a busy week is ahead. Clay is currently delivering to any Triangle address.

Thanks again, Clay, for offering me the chance to check out Food Neighbor and providing my husband and I with two great meals.

Doesn't winning feel great?

Now for those reviews. Here are just a few of my favorites, though there are plenty more out there with nice things to say about Maya’s Vacation. The most recent one comes first, from just this February. Emma Rae from Romancing the Book had this to say:

 Definitely worth the buck or so for this little novella. Go ahead and judge the book by the cover. The two characters are both painters, and so is Rebecca Farrell. I’m not putting a “favorite quote” because I want you to discover the beautiful imagery in this book for yourself. I’m not usually big on descriptions or scenery, and this story doesn’t overdo it, but what is there is superbly written. Calibre tagged this novella as “Christian” when I added it. It’s not, but it’s perfectly clean with just the right amount of chemistry.

The story is mostly from Maya’s point of view, and has an excellent supporting cast. You just know Chuck is a slimy user trying to wiggle his way back into Maya’s life, and he wouldn’t be good for her at all. Dean hasn’t been pining for thirty years, and brings his own hurts to the woods. I wish we’d had some more from Dean’s point of view. I like that nothing is perfect and smooth and clear-cut. There’s regret and sadness, but it’s not the focus of the story and that’s fresh. It’s nice to know romance is still alive at fifty, and there’s always room for second chances.

At Amazon, fellow Astraea Press author, J. Gunnar Gray has the following review:

This is a remarkably fun story of a woman caught between two love interests, and I honestly didn’t know how she’s choose until the very last pages. Becca Farrell writes with subtlety and imagination, building Maya’s character with artistic brushstrokes and showing how she’s tugged between doing what’s smart and comfortable, and doing what she really wants. This little novella isn’t getting nearly the attention it deserves.

And an anonymous review over at Barnes and Nobles:

If you like food, art, romance or any combination of the three than you will thoroughly enjoy Maya’s Vacation! The characters are likable and the plot moves at the perfect pace. There are cute analogies and moments the author describes that are laugh out loud funny. The story starts out with Maya taking a brief escape from her current day to day life — and that is exactly what this story offers the reader: A sweet escape from the everyday. If you’d like a short read that will give you a break from your own reality, then look no further than Maya’s Vacation.

Hooray! And looking for these reviews reminded me that I really need to keep a list of all the reviews the book has received, because I’ve forgotten already! If only I were a better organized writer…someday!

Twenty-year-old Maya knew, as she watched Dean walk away from her front door, distraught at her silence and her father’s threats, that she would never love anyone with the intensity that she loved him. He was her painter, her artist, her soul mate and being apart from him hurt too much. She tucked those feelings away, determined to enjoy the safe and secure life her parents approved of: business school and a marriage to Chuck, a successful real estate agent.

Thirty years later, Chuck has cheated on and divorced her. But when he comes back, begging for reconciliation, Maya follows her intuition and takes a vacation to think it over. Her love of art, food, and wine combine at this retreat in the woods, and she prepares for a week of making new friends, tasting exquisite wines, and learning to paint again. What she hasn’t prepared for is the familiar voice she hears the first morning at camp . . . a voice that makes her skin tingle and brings back memories of who she used to be before Chuck. Has Maya buried her passion too deep to find love with Dean again.

You can also listen to me read from Maya’s Vacation, so if you’re interested in an excerpt, what better way to get one than by listening to the author speak for her characters? Each clip is about 3 and 1/2 minutes long, and you do need javascript enabled for the clips to work.

Don’t want to wait to see if you won the contest? You can purchase Maya’s Vacation now in any e-book form direct from Astraea Press (direct from the publisher is where I get the biggest cut, hint hint), Amazon, and Barnes and Nobles.

Next week, along with the contest winners, I’ll share some of my favorite reviews of Maya’s Vacation. There are some great ones out there!

This red table wine smells like a black raspberry gumdrop. It tastes like a liquid black raspberry gumdrop with hints of licorice and eucalyptus. The aftertase is all spice, mostly cinnamon. Some strawberry and vanilla also comes through.

It’s a thin-bodied wine with exquisite layers, making it infinitely and easily drinkable.

Other Bloggers’ Thoughts:

The Wine Newbies on the 2009 vintage

This French wine had a very pleasant bouquet and was easy on the pallet. With aromas of blackberry, oak, and spice the taste closely followed with added flavors of cherry . . . and more spice. The color was ruby red and had a light to medium texture. I was hoping for a longer finish, but the lingering spicy flavors made up for it. This wine had a mysterious quality that took a few sips to determine the aroma and taste, but overall, was pleasant to drink.

Reviewed 18 Mar 12.

In early February, I was invited to try the new mac and cheese options at Noodles & Company. I said yes because 1. I have no aversion to chain restaurants beyond when they let success get in the way of creating delicious food and 2. I’d never tried their mac and cheese before. I have this compulsion to try everything once, and who was I to say no to adding something as tempting as a restaurant’s signature mac and cheese to my list?

You should know two things before reading my thoughts on Noodles & Company’s versions of this American staple. First, I’d been to Noodles & Company twice before and was pleased, if unenthused, about the Asian noodles and salad dishes I’d had. Both were good, but they lacked any particular flair that would bring me back in for more. Second, I’m over the gourmet mac and cheese phase. I’ve yet to find a truffle oil or lobster version that makes me happier than a simple bowl of creamy, cheddar-swimming noodles. Thus, I may have been a bit of a tough customer, so to speak — it’s hard to call myself a customer when all the food was free — before stepping into the Brier Creek location.

Brian Rosenfeld, their friendly manager, greeted me and asked me to take a seat. I helped myself to a remarkably good glass of iced black tea for a chain restaurant and waited for the food to arrive. First, I tried their chicken potstickers, an order of 6.

These surprised me a lot. The dipping sauce was especially memorable with a great kick from red chili flakes, but the filling also impressed. It was very fresh and unique for potstickers. The chicken was finely ground and mixed together with carrots and a mixture of herbs — I think I could pick out oregano. It had a great distribution of filling to shell, and each bite went from sweet to fiery.

But I was there for the mac and cheeses. Noodles & Company first introduced their “grown-up” mac and cheese options last spring for a temporary time, then brought them back again this past winter to appeal to our comfort food longings in cold weather. There are three: Truffle Mac using white truffle oil and baby portabella mushrooms; Bacon, Mac, & Cheeseburger, “a deconstructed version of another classic American comfort food, the bacon cheeseburger”; and Chili Mac, “zesty red chili, crumbled meatballs, shredded cheddar-jack cheese, and diced green onions on top of a creamy bowl of Wisconsin Mac and Cheese.” I opted to try their base mac and cheese dish first to compare it with one of the fancier options.

The Wisconsin Mac and Cheese is made with cheddar and jack cheeses, cream, and elbow macaroni — it can’t get simpler than that. Like all of Noodles & Company’s pasta but the udon, the macaroni is made from amber durum wheat that is grown and made into pasta by the Dakota Growers’ Pasta Company in North Dakota.   This delicious mac and cheese serves as the base for Noodles & Company’s fancier options, but it’s honestly one of the best mac and cheeses on its own that I’ve had in years. It’s what I think of when mac and cheese comes to mind—a thick, creamy sauce with most the flavor coming from the cheese. It was tangy in all the right ways, and the generous sprinkle of just-melted cheddar on top only made it better.

Buoyed by how good the Wisconsin Mac and Cheese was, it was time to try one of the variations on it. Only the Bacon, Mac, & Cheeseburger was safe for my taste buds – you’ve noticed that mushrooms are my worst rating, right? And the smell of chili makes me sick rather than tantalizes me. So the choice was easy.

This dish was less like a deconstructed cheeseburger and more of a cornucopia of the three main cuisines Noodles & Company specializes in: American, Mediterranean, and Asian. The American came from the mac and cheese base and the bacon. The burger was actually sliced up meatballs from the Italian side of the menu, as well as breadcrumbs sprinkled all over. The Asian came in with the green onions sprinkled on top. I loved the idea of it as being a truly American dish because it pulled from all those different cuisines, but ultimately, this one was lost in an identity crisis. There was too much going on in each bite, and the bacon served only to dry the dish out and make it too salty. The saddest part was that the delicious creaminess of the base mac and cheese was lost. It wasn’t horrible by any means, but I was definitely disappointed after falling in love with the simpler Wisconsin Mac and Cheese. Of note, this version and the Chili Mac are no longer on the menu, so I may not be the only one who held that opinion of it.

Overall, this tasting experience confirmed my opinion that fancy mac and cheeses don’t add much to the dish. Manager Rosenfeld told me that the Truffle Mac receives many compliments, and it’s his favorite, so if you’re inclined toward those flavors, you may enjoy that one. Personally, I’ll stick with the Wisconsin Mac and Cheese, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to try it. It and the potstickers were delicious reasons to return to Noodles & Company next time I end up in Brier Creek. Noodles & Company’s recipes may not always succeed, but when they get it right, they get it very right.

Anyhow, I’ve got a list of fun events to share with you all, in order of which is coming up fastest.

South Durham Farmer’s Market, 4/28 and all Saturdays thereafter, 8 am to 12 pm, Durham

South Durham is getting a Farmer’s Market! The chosen location is the Greenwood Commons Shopping Center in Parkwood, home to Papa Mojo’s, Thai Lanna, and Sarah’s Empanadas among other restaurants and stores. It opens this Saturday, and they’ve got a long list of producers signed on to sell their wares. But for this night owl, the hours are still way too short.

Much more to my liking is the . . .

LoMo Market, 5/3 and thereafter, various hours, Triangle-wide

LoMo Market is a mobile farmer’s market that’s hitting the road next week. They bring a range of products from local farms and producers to you, wherever you may be! Actually, they are bringing the mobile market to a few areas that pledged the most support in a fundraiser leading up to their first week on the road. The chosen locations gave the most in pledges to purchase from the LoMo Market. Here is the schedule that goes into effect next Wednesday.

Sundays

Magic Wings Festival, 5/5, 10 am to 5 pm, Durham

a dark comedy about a food-service industry professional who is invited to an exclusive, underground dinner party and discovers there’s much more on the menu than he bargained for.  It premieres in Wilmington this Saturday (28th) at the Cape Fear International Film Festival where it is nominated for Best Horror of 2012 and we were lucky enough to get a screening at Motorco on May 17.  Flip from KoKyu BBQ Food Truck has offered to create menu items that reflect the “menu” in the movie, which will be insane!  We’re asking for a suggested donation of five dollars at the door to help us with our film festival entry fees (we’ve applied to Cannes and Sundance… cross your fingers!) and we’re planning on having a great time.

Single Source Supper, 6/17, 7 – 10 pm, Hillsborough, $130

Daylight magazine and Chef Aaron Vandermark of Panciuto in Hillsborough are pairing up to create this fantastic evening out in celebration of Daylight’s new art space and highlighting the produce found from a single different farm at each meal. As their website describes it,

Our inaugural event will celebrate the launch of the Daylight Project Space in downtown Hillsborough, NC. The night’s events will feature food grown and raised by John Soehner and Cindy Econopouly of Eco Farm, local beer and wine, live music by The Hammond Eggs, a series of short film screenings and the quintessential buttered popcorn. We’ll have chairs, but bring a blanket for the movie if you prefer the grass.

Tentative Menu:
Pan seared sausage with long cooked collards
A shot of chilled green garlic cream soup
Pulled pork en crescia sfogliata with mustard, arugula, jam and radishes
Grilled romaine with radishes, buttermilk dressing and cornbread crumbs
Toasted, cold noodle spaghetti with chard-pecan pesto, olive oil, parmesan
Chocolate chess pie with strawberries and soft cream

So come sit outside with your neighbors, enjoy some delicious food, great music, watch a movie and help support a local non-profit arts organization. We only have room to host 50 people and we expect to sell out tickets quickly so sign up today!

That’s it for this rendition of the Triangle Foodie Happenings. Planning to go to any of them?

It is a romance novella, reaching just about 50 pages in all, and it was published by Astraea Press in March of last year. The whole process of having a book published was so exciting, from perusing the editor’s suggestions, seeing cover art for the first time, and watching as the reviews come in. Maya’s Vacation is available in e-book only, but you can get it for your kindle, nook, or in basic PDF form — however you want it! Here are the buy links from Astraea Press (direct from the publisher is where I get the biggest cut, hint hint), Amazon, and Barnes and Nobles. The novella will cost you a whopping $1.99. And if that’s too much, I’ll be giving away 5 $0.01 copies in next Thursday’s post!

We’ll be on Maya’s Vacation in the bragging series for a while, because it brought me much to brag about! I plan to repost the recordings of myself reading from the book, highlight a few of the reviews, and highlight a few of the interviews at other author blogs to promote its publication in the next few weeks on Thursdays. For this first post on my book, I’m including an excerpt from it. I hope you find your romantic leanings intrigued!

At 4:45, the three of them made their way out of the cabin. Opal led them on the trail to the dining hall. The smell of sap on the pine trees made Maya smile, and she wondered if anyone had ever made a sap-based paint. It would be dreadfully hard to work with, but the smell would be so much better than oil ones. Dean used to smell of nothing but oil paints and sweat.

It was strange how being here made her think of him when she hadn’t in ages. He had come back those many years ago, but it was a year after she’d accepted her parents’ check, and by then she was already engaged to Chuck with their blessing. Dean had found her at her parents’ home in New Rockford. She didn’t know how he found the house — she’d never mentioned which development they lived in — but she wasn’t surprised when she saw him striding up the walkway, holding a large, polished conch shell that must have been for her. Maya wanted to run to him then, everything within her screamed to go, but she’d made her decision months ago.

She’d wept in her bedroom, behind the curtain sheer, as he rang the bell. Her father opened the door then stepped outside and closed it behind him. Dean’s hopeful expression dissolved into one of shock as she heard her dad say, “. . . engaged . . . her life’s on track now . . .” in an increasingly louder voice. Somehow, Dean knew which room was hers, and she could feel him staring at her window, his blue eyes pleading silently with her through the pulled sheer.

“I came back for you, Maya,” he called out in the voice that used to inspire her to paint the sun cresting over a sand dune. She stood and ran toward the front door but stopped short when she heard her father threaten to call the cops.

Dean left.

Her father came back in a few minutes later and threw the shell in the kitchen trash. Maya wiped away her tears and forced her thoughts toward floral arrangements for the reception. Later, when her parents were asleep, she fished the shell out of the garbage. Painted on its pink lip was a miniature portrait of herself in profile, with a slight smile on her lips. It doesn’t look like me, she had thought, at least not anymore.

“You okay?” Esther whispered as the three women reached the dining hall. It was roughly four times the size of their Downy Woodpecker cabin. “You look pale.”

“I’m fine,” Maya answered, though she felt a little shaky. Odd how thinking of Dean could still affect her after all these years. “I was daydreaming a little. The fresh air feels good, you know?”

Opal opened the door to the Toucan, as the sign above it read. Maya was amazed by the set up inside. She’d been imagining the summer camp cafeterias of her adolescence, long plywood tables and a stainless steel buffet of indiscernible foods in the center of a large, colorless room. This was much more intimate. The left half of the cabin was filled with a cozy, open kitchen, and the other side held a few scattered, high pub tables and a larger table of polished cherry wood that could seat at least ten. The windows were floor length, exposing a view of the tops of pine trees and storm clouds gathering along the mountainous horizon. It was gorgeous. A handful of people stood around, chatting.

“I’d forgotten how lovely that view is!” Esther gushed. Maya nodded in agreement as she watched an older woman in coveralls pull a tray out from the oven and place it to cool on the counter. The woman caught sight of them and clapped her hands together.

“Oh, more guests!” She scuttled over and exclaimed, “Opal and Esther! You both look wonderful.” She gave them each a warm hug. Then she introduced herself to Maya. “I’m Catelyn, Cliff’s wife. We are so excited to have you here.” Her gray hair was in a loose bun. She gestured toward the pub tables. “Please take a seat!”

Opal and Esther sauntered off, and Maya offered to help with dinner. Cooking had been a passion of hers ever since she and Chuck had moved into their first home. Its kitchen was almost completely enclosed, and she had loved how the different spices lingered in it, making her feel like she entered another world every time she stepped inside, one that she wanted to contribute to each day with fresh flavors and experiments. Catelyn set her to pouring flights of wines for the guests, eighteen total counting her and Ranger, though one of the men wasn’t due until tomorrow morning.

“He’s a bit of a strange one,” Catelyn whispered to her. “Just called yesterday, hoping we could squeeze him in and sounding all flustered, too, like he couldn’t explain why he was coming. Now, who would act so weird about coming to a retreat?”

“I don’t know,” Maya laughed. “Sounds like a head case! Guess we’ll see tomorrow, huh?” She recorked the bottle of zinfandel and took a seat at an empty table. Opal was chatting with a skinny man wearing a bowtie the next table over. She gave Maya a wink.

Ranger came in with a few stragglers, a young-looking couple and a short man with a smile so large, it looked like he’d swallowed an orange.

“The wine’s all poured? Well, get out of town,” Ranger exclaimed. “Time to take a seat then, everyone. Let’s get this show on the road.”

By the time she’d finished her slice of mocha cheesecake and drank her port at the end of the meal, Maya had made fast friends with John, the short man. He’d taken the empty barstool next to her and spent the evening charming her with stories about his granddaughter and her new puppy. When he found out Maya was contemplating a reunion with her ex, he let out a low whistle and cried, “That’s a damn shame! If I’d have known that earlier, I wouldn’t have wasted the last two hours on you.”

“Am I the only person who came here to paint?” Maya replied with a laugh.

“Yes,” John answered then whispered, “but don’t tell Ranger Cliff.”

Consider this a potential glimpse into Catelyn’s kitchen.

The Maniña Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 tastes prominently of cigarettes. Leather and smoke may be a better approximation. Think of it that way— it’s more appealing. On drinking, piquant berry is the first flavor. Apricot, gooseberry, and sandalwood are also present. The smoke is dominant; I’d wager that it’s aged briefly in charred barrels. Frankly, I think it’s almost as smoky as Fullsteam’s Hogwash Ale, which is made from hickory-smoked barley.

The wine mellows some with airing, transforming the smokiness into more of a grassy or floral quality. It’s too big of a wine for me, honestly. But I’m drinking it anyway.

Chicken

Other Bloggers’ Thoughts:

Apparently, I’m the only one who’s thought about this one.

Reviewed 27 Mar 12.

The b. a. b. c. is a delicious cocktail made by the talented folks over at Revolution. Many people love their drink list, but it’s been hit and miss for me. File the b. a. b. c. under hit. It’s made with bourbon, mole bitters, Cointreau, lemon juice, and ginger beer.

The two most prominent elements were definitely bourbon and ginger beer, and that ginger tanginess cut through the bourbon effectively. This further cements my opinion that bartenders should give up on soda water or club soda and just use ginger beer instead—it brings so much more to the carbonated table. The Cointreau smoothed the cocktail’s edges. I can’t say I tasted the mole of the bitters, but the bitterness provided the perfect underlying element to brighten the other flavors in contrast. It’s well worth ordering.

Reviewed 23 March 2012.

Doolin’s Irish Pub is the newest restaurant in the same office building that houses G2B. This building has been notoriously harsh to its restaurants — the location is off the beaten path across the street from the Bank of America on Shannon Road. Doolin’s has the advantage of being in the front of the building so you can see it as you drive by, so hopefully that will help them with traffic. I was surprised that they were mostly full on a Thursday night.

The atmosphere is all Irish pub, and it has an interesting layout with the main bar taking prominence.
The rest of the tables are set up around the edges of the restaurant, and there are some pretty cozy spaces like couches arranged near a bookshelf and a cathedral-like corner.


It’s been open for a month now. They are still working out the kinks, mostly in the service and delivery of food. Our waitress, busser, and the manager (I think!) were super friendly, but somehow they would all drop by within the same few minutes to check on us then disappear for a while. Our food came out pretty slowly, and when food was ran out to tables, the runner often wasn’t sure what table was supposed to get it or all the dishes didn’t come out at once. But I bet they’ll get the timing down better with a little more experience.

For drinks, they have about eight red and eight white wine options, a full bar, and roughly eight beers on tap. I saw Guinness, Blue Moon, and Magner’s Cider, but I didn’t catch the rest of the draft selection — food blogger fail, I know.

My friend and I were very happy with our entrees. The menu is a mix of standard pub fare like smothered fries and buffalo chicken wraps and Irish options that included corned cabbage, boxty, and shepard’s pie. I went for the bangers and mash.

It was delightful, especially the Guinness gravy in combination with both the sausages and the mashed potatoes. The sausages were grilled to the point of having a nicely charred skin, and the mashed potatoes were delicious and covered with a thick layer of cheddar cheese.

My friend went for the half portion of fish and chips, and I honestly can’t imagine wanting a full portion, which would be twice as much fish.

The French fries had a bubbly coating, which I love, and my friend enjoyed the fish. It looked nice and moist from where I was sitting, and I was happy to see that they served them in stick form — I don’t really like the full fried fillets more common to the East Coast.

The dessert options could use some work, however. My friend had the apple turnover on special.

She said the turnover itself was fine, but the apples were scarce and didn’t have any spices that she could taste, just plain apple flavor. The ice cream was the best part of her dish.

I had the Bailey’s cheesecake, which I assumed would be an Irish cream cheesecake.

I think I assumed wrong. It tasted like plain, but good, cheesecake to me. The problem was the gummy crust that tasted like graham crackers crumbs mixed with shortening — not my idea of a good cheesecake crust.

The desserts and service can definitely use improvement, but our entrees were great, and I liked the restaurant atmosphere a lot. We’ll be back to check out trivia night soon.

Reviewed 19 April 12.

Corena sits on a bench in a field of marigolds and cement. She sits and watches the people walk past her in the same direction, which is away. They tread on the endless sidewalks lying between the rows of marigold planter boxes. Their expressions are serene as they stare ahead, wearing shapeless clothes the color of corn silk. Some of the people turn and look at her; they turn their heads but don’t stop walking. Most continue onward, focused on the path that is the future. Corena sits. She records the sky’s markings in her notebook. There are many clouds, dark and light grays swirled together like mixing paint. They give her comfort, though the wind is strong today. She fears the time is near, but she hopes the clouds will stay.

You can read the rest of “Apocalypse” for free here. And because I’ve developed a habit for adding a possibly scene-setting photograph, here is a potential view of Corena’s bench as she waits for the world to end.

And here might be the sky on this fate-filled day.

Enjoy!

You may not have heard about Straw Valley Café from the Independent Weekly, Herald-Sun, or Carpe Durham articles on this coffeehouse, bar, and art gallery, but that shouldn’t stop you from visiting it. What might is its difficult-to-access location. It’s right off of Business 15-501; you can see it on the side of the road, but you can’t access it without turning onto the surface road right behind New Hope Commons. Take that first road past the Barnes and Nobles and Jason’s Deli, then follow it until you see the sign pointing toward the café’s gravel driveway. Then park and follow the signs to reach the coffee shop proper.

You’ll pass a fence on the way that obscures the hidden jewel of the rest of the property. But I’ll get there in a minute.

The main wares Straw Valley Café offers are coffee (no crazy drinks, just the regular brews and espresso options), beer (about 10 bottles, nothing local but a good range of Dogfish Head, Founder’s, Arrogant Bastard, etc.), and wine (about 15 by the glass, probably another 15 by the bottle only). The mix of sandwiches, tarts, and baked goods changes daily and is supplied by Mark Day Catering and Zen Cat Bakery. There wasn’t a huge selection of nibbles, but you’ll find something interesting, and there are options for vegans as well. I chose an orange-rosemary scone, and it was delicious.

The glaze offered a vivid orange presence, and the rosemary flavor in the scone was delicate. I decided on my standard cappuccino to go with it, and they get points for telling me I didn’t need to order it short because they make their caps to European standards already—I just don’t need all that extra milk most of the time.

You’ll note that everything was served on paper or plastic products, which is one demerit for the café. If they switched to reusable dishes, perhaps even crafted ones that fit the atmosphere they are aiming for, it would be a plus.

About that atmosphere . . . Straw Valley Café is a huge property made of former art studios and a large outdoors area. The art studios, called the Sanderson and Black Mountain houses, are set up with modern furniture and changing art that are all available to purchase or just to recline in while you relax.

Outside the houses, you can easily find a spot alone or enjoy the large courtyard with a group.

That stage is begging for concerts. Right behind it is a barn used for wine tastings that wasn’t open this midweek afternoon.

The clientele consisted mainly of several middle-aged women and pairs of folks meeting up for coffee and checking out the property. Just enjoying the view of the modernist lines of the house and the greenery makes it a prime location for coffeehouse regulars like myself.

They also stay open late! That’s such a huge deal for me, being a night owl. A lot of coffeehouses in the area close around 6 or 7—Straw Valley Café stays open until 9 on Sunday, 10 on Monday through Wednesday, and 11 on Thursday through Saturday. I know where I’ll be spending productive, pleasant evenings outdoors in the future.

As for their food and beverage, Straw Valley Café would benefit from adding more food and drink options and upgrading what they serve them on and with, but that won’t stop me from making frequent use of their facilities.

Reviewed 21 Mar 12.

The nose of this French red wine contains copious amounts of mocha. Deep, rich blackberry is also present, but the chocolate dominates the nose. It’s very smooth when drinking. You hear the term jammy a lot when talking about wine, and this one fits that bill. I’d describe it as jam-filled like a fig newton. It’s thin for a red wine, but sweet and bready like a newton that’s been chocolate dipped.

Pleasant fruit, pleasant everything. And FYI, it goes remarkably well with chocolate-covered pretzels.

Other Bloggers’ Thoughts:

Parched No More

This Bordeaux has a translucent black-cherry color with almost no legs. . . . There are significant floral notes, and the aroma’s a bit boozy, but nothing is too overpowering, and the fruit notes are almost completely hidden. . . .This Bordeaux is somewhat thin-bodied, which we guessed when we swirled it and saw how nonviscous it was. The first few sips are just alkaline tannins and alcohol (the wine is fairly strong, at 13 percent alcohol by volume.) It gets sweeter, and reveals some sour cherry notes, when it breathes, but this is still a fairly dry wine.

Cheap Wine Snobs

A little mint initially, but after breathing it is lost. Some really nice oak. It then rounds itself off and becomes wonderfully chewy.

Vinously

The Les Portes de Bordeaux starts out on, smell alone, pretty big. You can smell cherries and fruit and vanilla jumping out of the glass, and the initial tastes are pretty good although mostly one dimensional. I tried it again after about an hour and it got a little more interesting with strawberry coming through the aroma and some pepper, both of which showed up in the mouth. With decent tannins and a nice long finish I thought we might have a winner and I fully expected it to continue to evolve. . . . Sadly that was the extent of its changes. No more depth appeared, no complexity, nothing really special, and after 2 hours it started to lose any of the complexity it already had. For $4.99 it’s what I expected, but not what I hoped. It’s not a terrible drinking wine and probably heads and shoulders above a $2.99 bottle, but if you’re hoping for that real French wine experience, I’m not sure this qualifies.

Reviewed 12 April 12.

View from the patio.

Quite the lineup of food bloggers and Washington Duke Inn staff.

I’ve dined at the Fairview Dining Room once before and I loved it, but I hadn’t been outside. The grounds are incredible, especially on a warm spring day like this one was. And the food lived up to the setting in every way. Plus, they made my life easy and gave us printed menus.

Bonus points for not having to write down the ingredients.

You’ll notice in my descriptions how much I love Chef Jason Cunningham’s expertise mixing up tastes and textures—I adore having contrasting elements come together in a dish. You’ll note as well that I said four courses, but we actually had eight dishes. The kitchen prepared small versions of several menu items and served them together for most courses. The first one, however, was on its own and dubbed the Bloom course, an ahi tuna tartare.

It was delicious; raw fish is growing on me, especially when it is cured like tartare should be. The cure was a cumin and lime vinaigrette, and I loved it. I loved everything about the zing and vibrancy of lime that ran through the whole dish. The fish cubes were served over an airy avocado mousse and a sprinkling of fennel, chick peas, cucumbers, and tomato. I especially liked combining the buttery texture of the fish with the singular pita chip.

We moved onto the Sprout course next, for which a salad and soup were paired together.

Mixed baby lettuces, strawberries, very salty feta, Vidalia onion shavings, and roasted pecans were tossed in a honey and poppy seed dressing for the salad. The ingredients were all top notch, but I did find it too salty for my taste buds—it’s not hard to be too salty for them. The soup, however, was very well conceived. It came out with watermelon radish diced in the cup by itself, and then the waiters poured the thick soup over that. Oh my hungry readers, it’s a sweet pea soup made with mascarpone, and that cheese gives it a delectable richness and thick texture that makes every sip worth savoring. I wish I had more. Like right now.

After Sprout, it was time to Blossom with a duo of main entrees.

A perfectly cooked chunk of Chesapeake striped bass was coated in a basil pesto crust, combined with long-stem artichokes, served over goat cheese polenta and a roasted tomato caper sauce, and sprinkled with fried shallots. That sounds like savory heaven to me, and it was. For this one, the acidity of the marinated artichoke hearts and the tomato sauce combined beautiful with the richness of the polenta and the fish’s texture. Add a little crunch from the shallot, and you’ll find me eating every last bite.

I did not eat every bite of the lamb, however.

To be fair, that wasn’t Chef Cunningham’s fault. Lamb is not my favorite meat, nor is rare meat something I can handle quite yet—I know, I know, I handled the tartare just fine! That simply means all hope is not lost for me yet in the rare meat world. I did enjoy the few bites I took of the lamb, although I’m not so sure about combining the horseradish lamb jus with the fava bean puree. They were too similar in texture for me, but the taste of the jus was very reminiscent of the barbecue sauces I grew up with, and I thought it quite tasty. The horseradish was also proportioned well within the au jus sauce—it can often be too much for me. Regardless, the striped bass won by a mile.

The Flourish course, a trio of desserts, arrived last. I’ll work my way from least to most favorite.

The pistachio and white chocolate cheesecake bite was of the extra creamy variety. Surprisingly, I could taste very little pistachio in it, though it was obviously used to lend its beautiful green color. The cheesecake impressed me least only because the white chocolate was most prominent. As is often the case with white chocolate, it became too sweet too fast. The hunk of pistachio toffee had much more of that pistachio taste I adore, and the raspberry Chambord reduction sauce blended nicely.

It’s hard to decide which of the last two desserts was the runner up, but I’ve decided on the vanilla angel food cake with blackberry coulis and almond chantilly cream. Angel food cook doesn’t do much for me, though it was fun to try a homemade wedge of it after so much of the extra-spongy store-bought variety. The blackberry sauce was yummy, and I really enjoyed the whipped almond cream. First of all, almond extract always makes whipped cream better, but this one also strongly tasted of the powdered sugar used to whip it up, which I rather liked. Plus, there was a cute little candied basil leaf tucked into the whipped cream.

I’m not sure that the cookie was paired with the angel food cake, but that was super good.

Cookie on the right, lavender strawberry ice cream soon to be discussed on the left.

The dark, brittle chocolate discs were delicious, and the cream filling pleasantly reminded me of the wafers you can buy at the store—you know the ones. They come in vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry varieties and the texture of the wafer is nearly cardboard but it’s somehow really addictive anyway? This was like those but a million times more bright in flavor.

My favorite dessert was, surprisingly, the strawberry shortcake.

I say surprisingly because I can often find them run of the mill, but both the ice cream and the shortcake were wonderful. The sugar crystals baked on top of the biscuit made for sweet bursts and an egg wash gave it a crisp, delightful exterior. The strawberry ice cream, sprinkled with lavender that I swore I could taste in the biscuit as well, was a perfect compliment.

Of course, you can see from those desserts and the earlier photos that the Fairview Dining Room excels at presentation in addition to combining disparate tastes and textures. If you don’t want to make your way through the entire spring menu found here, make sure you give the sweet pea soup and striped bass a try. Those were the standout dishes for me and worthy of any palate.

Thank you to Chef Cunningham, Wendy Shannon, Danielle Kaspar, and the rest of the Fairview Dining Room and Washington Duke Inn staff for having us out! It was an absolute treat. Thanks also to Danielle and my two other fabulous dining companions, Matt of Green Eats Blog and the Triangle Localista whose name escapes me, for being great company. More Thursdays should be spent giving me free food with great conversation!

Dining took place on 28 Mar 12. You can find other takes on the menu at the Examiner and Durham Magazine, so far. More will post soon, I’m sure!

A bourbon in a wine bottle? Why not? It’s enough of a novelty to make me interested, at least. Plus, the label art is pretty—I find simple ink or pencil drawings best for selling me wine or liquor, with three to four colors at most. Yes, I just offered up a bunch of tips for the advertisers among you on how to market me alcohol. You’re welcome.

But back to the bourbon. The nose has a mellow heat. It smells of light molasses and orange blossom. It tastes thin, smooth, and a bit oily. Nutmeg and black pepper dominate the first sip. There is sweetness, but it’s closer to agave in flavor than molasses. The orange remains, but it’s less dominant than it was in the nose.

I find it very similar in principle to a light-bodied rum I reviewed a few months ago, the Bacardi Ron Solera 1873. Both are thin but full of layers that make them more interesting than their base spirits generally are with that sort of body. Enjoy experimenting!

Other Bloggers’ Thoughts:

Winofiles

This unique bottle caught my eye mostly because it’s really just a wine bottle repurposed for whiskey. Good marketing idea or lazy packaging? I don’t know, but the whiskey is a little better than okay. Superior to Maker’s Mark and Woodford, but not as good as even a nice W.L. Weller in my point of view.

Bourbon Sips

This spirit is packaged in an understated bottle that looks like one holding a Chardonnay or Rosé. The simple packaging belies the bouquet delivered in a glass. It is nothing but wow . . . pure delight. There is a lot of cherry fruit and creamy vanilla that carries right through to the end. There is no bite or spice on this one.

Sycamore Hills Whiskey

This is an extremely tasty 8-year-old bourbon and is economical price for what lies within. . . . The color is beautiful for an 8 year old. Has a golden amber hue with a slight buckwheat honey or molasses tint to it. The first nose right out of the bottle is of the barrel. Light oak, molasses and rye notes emerge. Sweet corn and wheat are the strongest notes here. . . . Hints of spiced apples and oak char round things out. . . . A nice oaky and nutty after palate presence appears at the end.

Reviewed 25 Feb 12.

Look at this — another wine that won me over with its label artistry! I’m so predictable. This time, that art is an alluring blend of golden tones with black lines portraying some odd lords and ladies along with exclamations that they had to “cut the fluff!” apparently leaving nothing behind but flavor notes. It’s all rather confusing, but that generally only serves to heighten my curiosity.

The Comique Revolution Blanc smells like crème brulee, or rather, it smells like cream, butter, vanilla, and a bit of peach for kicks. It tastes like crème brulee as well but a dry version of it with no overwhelming sweetness. Oak is definitely present, and it’s nicely balanced with that rich buttery flavor. For fruit, green apple comes out swiftly, taking dominance, but peach rounds out the sip.

It’s a pretty tasty white wine. Don’t be afraid of nonsensical labeling; give it a try!

Other Bloggers’ Thoughts:

Jason’s Wine Blog

This one gets better as it warms. Apple blossom, musk melon, and honeysuckle greet you on the nose. The palate is rich with overripe peaches and white pear flavors before turning tart (grapefruit/lemon) with a mineral edge. The oily texture lasts throughout the short, spiced (and slightly hot) finish. Make sure to let this one get all the way to room temperature to let it show its wares. Even still, this comes up a bit short for me as it seems flabby (could use more acidity IMHO) and the alcohol is dialed a little high.

Cheap Wine Snobs

It says that their wine smells like peaches, apple blossoms, juniper berries, and honeydew. It also says that their wine tastes like white peaches, custard, and salted pain perdu. Ok, I get it about the peaches and the apple blossoms and the juniper berries and the honeydew, but I think the custard and the salted pain perdu are very well hidden in someone’s imagination. We all like to have a little fun describing wine, so I am hip to the humor. All that aside, this is a really nice and flavorful white wine. The wine even had a sense of humor. I chuckled all the time I was drinking it. I will certainly buy this again.

Reviewed 28 February 12.

Apologies, but I have no wine label to share with you. This is a bottle I picked up at Trader Joe’s — hopefully, that helps if you’re interested in it?

Espiral Vinho Rosé is a rosé version of vinho verde, and I was super excited to see it. I love vinho verde; it’s so much drier and more exciting than many other white varietals. The wine is a beautiful pink — what rosé isn’t? It swims with lively flavors like lime, lemongrass, and strawberry. Ultimately, however, it is pretty thin, which makes it pretty forgettable in my book.

My first vinho rosé leaves much to hope for from future bottles, but it’s pleasant regardless of its unmet potential.

Other Bloggers’ Thoughts:

The Wino That I Know

I love this wine. . . . I have not been a fan of blush wines for quite a while. Most are very bland and uninteresting. The light effervescence in this makes the flavor more interesting. In general, it is sweet and fruity, with just a touch of tanginess.

Reviewed 2 Mar 12.

I’m always looking for Indian food that blows me away in the Triangle, and Biryani House made a pretty good attempt at that. Only Saffron has done better, and because it’s on the pricier side, my quest for more affordable, awesome Indian food has continued. I think Biryani House is the best affordable Indian I’ve had in the area yet.

It’s situated in a Cary strip mall that is full of Indian stores and eateries — I’d never been there before, and I cannot wait to try the spot billing itself an Indian fast food restaurant across the parking lot or the Mithai House of Indian Desserts a few stores down. Asian foods, in my experience, don’t have a huge range of desserts, so I would love to be educated otherwise by trying Mithai, but back to Biryani House . . . it’s furnished with dark, tall booths, and a row of tables down the middle of the space. The multicolored spotlights give it a hint of whimsy.

The front of the restaurant is taken over with their buffet, which is offered for lunch and dinner. I am not a buffet fan, if only because I know I have no willpower and am quickly overwhelmed by wanting to try one of everything. So the husband, a friend, and I ordered off their regular menu. In addition to regular sodas, they offer two bottled imports from India, Thums Up (similar to Dr. Pepper) and Limca (somewhere between Sprite or Fresca).

Remember how I have to try everything? That’s right, I ordered a Limca. It was fine as sodas go, but honestly, I’m not a big soda person, so I probably should have passed. If you like citrus sodas, you’ll like it. They also have sweet, salty, and mango lassi and Indian hot tea.

We started out with an order of the paneer pakora.

They are cheese squares dipped in batter and fried. I thought they were rather delicious, though I don’t think they were spicy as advertised. The batter was quite unique and red-tinted — we mused over whether paprika and tomato might have been involved in the seasonings. Pretty tasty!

Entrees were next, and my husband chose the goat biryani.

Biryani, of course, is the house specialty. It’s a rice dish similar to fried rice but much less greasy. Usually, it has a delicate presence of cardamom, nutmeg, and other Indian spices as well as nuts and dried fruits. I enjoyed my few bites, thinking the spices quite nice. The goat was good, too, though there may have been more bone than goat! Regardless, my husband enjoyed the dish, but I thought my meal was the better choice. He disagreed, of course.

Our friend had the lamb korma with ground nuts, cream, and spices.

She was very happy with it — I don’t remember any complaints, but I’m sure she’ll correct me if I’m wrong! I wanted the chili chicken cooked with green pepper and onion in a hot and sweet sauce.

It was excellent. The sauce made a thick coating over the tender chicken, and its flavor was delicious. It seemed rather spicy at first, but my palate grew used to it fast, concentrating on the sweetness that followed the heat and kept me wanting more. The cilantro was essential, interacting as a bright flavor that mellowed the intensity of the others some.

We also ordered the spicy naan, topped with chopped Indian green peppers—I’m not sure if they were the same peppers as in my dish, but I think those were standard American-style bell peppers and these were not.

The bread was warm and fluffy, but I was disappointed at the lack of heat from the peppers. If you try Biryani House, perhaps you should give one of their nine other options a try — the Kheema Naan with spices and ground chicken sounds especially interesting.

As I told you at the start, I thought Biryani was great, and I’d go again happily! However, I think a certain dessert house may be calling my name first . . .

Reviewed 4 Mar 12.

Lumpy’s is a new restaurant in Wake Forest offering ice cream and easy eats like hamburgers and frankfurters. Their grand opening is tomorrow from 11 to 7, but that’s just for the storefront. Lumpy’s owner and ice cream creator, Buck Buchanan, has been serving up his scoops since 2001 by cart at farmers’ markets, Highland games, and anywhere ice cream is welcomed. He studied ice cream making techniques for three years before going into the business.

Buck and me. Yes, he’s that sort of guy. I suppose that makes me that sort of girl.

Over 200 flavors have come from his culinary mind, and the store offers 14 at any one time.

To spread the word about the storefront opening, Lumpy’s put on a blogger preview night, inviting us out to try their wares. Who am I to say no to ice cream? We started by learning about the company providing the beef for Lumpy’s hamburgers and frankfurters—and yes, a big deal was made about calling them frankfurters and not hot dogs! That company is Harris-Robinette farms, and they raise all of their 4,000 heads of cattle on grass and also process the beef in NC. We learned all this from Patrick Robinette, who was deservingly proud of his operations.

We also tried bites of the beef in forms of hamburgers and frankfurters. I definitely like the taste of grass-fed beef, and their burgers were no different than others I’ve had—they supply Duke’s cafeterias and SAS among other Triangle locations. The frankfurters, however, were the biggest stars of the meat offerings. They consist of 90% beef, 10% fat, and spices served up in natural casing, which is a much smaller amount of fat than hot dogs usually consist of. I could really taste the difference, and the frankfurter bites were delicious.

But we were really there for ice cream, and we were spoiled with it. Buck led us through 8 flavors, and you bet you’ll get my thoughts on all of them. They are made with Maple View Farm cream, like many of the fresh ice creams in the area. The scoops were all quick melters; Buck told us that he doesn’t freeze his ice cream as high as usual because the colder temperature can freeze taste buds, too, and you want to be able to taste everything the scoop can give you. I buy it.

First up was the Bloggers’ Baklava, a flavor he whipped up in honor of our evening.

It was one of my favorites, so I think the title fits. Another attendee asked if it were “made with real bloggers” and I’m not sure I want to know the answer—I know I’m attracted to my own kind already. Cinnamon, NC honey, and walnuts in a cream base made up the ice cream. The cinnamon was strong and gave it texture that I love in ice cream.

Next was mint chip. The mint extract is made fresh with herbs, no artificial flavorings, as are all Buck’s extracts that he can get locally. This one managed to have a lot of flavor, which some of the later ice creams didn’t do quite so well with. If you’re a mint chip fan and love fresh mint, then you should like it just fine.

The third ice cream was my favorite of the evening: pumpkin pie. Normally, it’s a seasonal offering, but Buck received James River pumpkins recently and made a batch. There were strands of the squash in the scoop, and the spicing and flavor was spot on for me. It’s the sort of ice cream that would be dangerous for my waistline if I kept some at home.

Sally’s Silly Strawberry was next. The strawberries are cut by hand right before adding them to the ice cream machine to preserve their shape and flavor. It has a very light pink coloring, which is normal when not using artificial coloring, and a good amount of small strawberry chunks.

Kenny’s Kickin’ Chocolate was billed their most popular flavor. It’s made with melted down cocoa nips. I can find milk chocolate too plain a lot of the time, but the texture of this one was fun, with a few little tendrils that almost tasted like brownie batter, and the flavor was great.

For his Highland games business, Buck created the Drunken Berry.

Raspberries are soaked in 12-year-old scotch before being blended into the cream. The scotch flavor was very noticeable, and I enjoyed it though I don’t like just drinking scotch. If the raspberry bits were larger, I think I’d have enjoyed it a lot more, however.

Bernie’s Butter Pecan is the only true butter pecan served in NC. Buck explained that he follows the official recipe for making it, which means using real butter and real pecans, melting brown sugar into the butter, and using no flavor base for the ice cream. I appreciate the dedication, but honestly, I wouldn’t mind the artificial flavoring for this one. Does that mean I need to turn in my food bloggers’ card? It was too mellow for me.

Luckily, the second-to-last flavor was much more intriguing.

Chris has Gone Coconuts is the name, and it was pretty good. I’m predisposed to love coconut, but even one among us who doesn’t enjoy coconut much liked this flavor. Again, I prefer more vibrancy, which might have been achieved by using fresh coconut rather than flaked coconut, but Buck discussed how that just isn’t a production possibility because the process would be too intensive. Perhaps adding a spice into the blend would make it pop more.

Finally, my second favorite flavor of the night, and our last one, was served: Coffee Cinnamon.

Again, I love cinnamon ice cream, and this had the ideal amount of it for me, right on the edge of too much. The coffee flavor comes from drip coffee brewed to a syrupy texture, and it was perfect—not too bitter, not too light. I think coffee ice cream fans will be happy with this one.

While serving that last flavor, Buck mentioned that Lumpy’s will offer coffee for free for their customers, but you have to buy a scoop to use for your sugar and cream. Stroke of genius, I say.

If any of those flavors intrigue you and you’re in the mood for a lovely drive to Wake Forest, stop by their grand opening tomorrow! Like I said, it’s from 11 to 7, and they will have a special bourbon bacon flavor on hand as well as prizes and souvenirs. The NC Railhawks, Commissioner Troxler, and the Got to Be NC big cart will all be there.

Thanks to Buck and Kevin and their families for having us out! This blogger was well fed with ice cream, and she can’t wait until the pumpkin pie flavor comes around next fall.

Strawberry and nectarine simmered with nutmeg are the most prominent smells from this leathery red wine. It smells sharp, full-bodied, and young.  Strawberry remains when drinking it, but the spice is more akin to allspice. It tastes a lot lighter than it smells, and eucalyptus and brown sugar add extra complexity.

It was a nice wine, if a little mysterious in flavor combinations. Yes, I call wines mysterious. You aren’t used to this by now?

Other Bloggers’ Thoughts:

Mclarenblog

The flavor seemed on par with what I expect paint remover to taste.  It was very harsh, totally lacking any subtly and any detectable positive flavor.  There was absolutely no enjoyment from sipping this backward, off “wine.”  Two Buck Chuck is a step up from this rasp drippings.

JP Vine Rants

A nice, juicy zin with plenty of red and blackberry fruit and a hint of Chinese white pepper. Not a bit alcoholic fruit soup, but plenty ripe for non-zin freaks.

Jason’s Wine Blog on the 2007 vintage

Nice, dark, chalky fruit and quite dry.  Easy drinking, but I wasn’t making me taste it if you know what I mean.

Reviewed 4 Feb 12.

Now if you’re like me, that many choices can be overwhelming, so Pauly Dogs has a list of at least thirty different flavor combinations right next to the register, including a bunch of vegetarian ones. Just pick one of those at random, and you’ll probably be okay as long as you’re adventurous. My choices were the macaroni and cheese dog and the teriyaki dog.


First, the mac and cheese dog. I had this combination with the standard all-beef hotdog. The toppings were creamy macaroni and cheese, bbq sauce, bacon bits, and a blend of cheddar and jack cheeses. Both buns were of the chewy variety and not warmed up, which is a minus for me, but the mac and cheese went well with the sauce. Having a warm bun and warm mac and cheese would have made it phenomenal, though.

The second dog was a chicken sausage with teriyaki sauce, sriracha, chopped onion, bacon bits, and that cheese blend again. Now this dog was tasty! The chicken sausage was really good, with flavorful bits of herbs evident in the dog. It had a somewhat airy texture that I dug. I’m a spice fiend, so sriracha will always make me happy, and surprisingly, it wasn’t too much in combination with the teriyaki. The bacon bits and cheese blend were unneeded additions, but hey, who doesn’t like a little bacon?

Pauly Dogs are all done by water cooking-—if they were grilled and those buns toasted, I’d be unable to contain my excitement. Regardless, I still had fun eating my way through a few of Pauly’s combinations, and the man himself was super nice and proud of his combinations. I’ll be back for something with alfredo sauce—-maybe it’ll remind me of my high school lunch breaks when there was nothing better than a 7-11 dog smothered in nacho cheese and topped with diced tomatoes and jalapenos.

Reviewed 19 Mar 11.

Southern Rail is a nightlife and dining complex in downtown Carrboro. The Station, their main bar, is housed in a refurbished train station, and the dining takes place in vintage railroad cars. They also have a large beer garden space and two more bars housed inside the facilities. On a warm night with a DJ or band playing outside, Southern Rail and the Station are happening.

I hadn’t tried the food since they first opened five years ago, so I decided to remedy that and investigate whether Southern Rail offered good options for a bite between drinks.

You can read the rest of the post and check out the pictures at Out and About.

The nose of this wine made from a relative of the zinfandel grape is full of rich milk chocolate truffle with a hint of raspberry. The smell makes me rather excited to drink it, I must say, as truffles with raspberry are my favorite ratings, after all.

The taste does not disappoint after the nose’s build up. Dried lavender and sneaky spice are layered in between the raspberry notes. It’s medium-bodied and medium dry. There is hardly any chocolate in the taste of it, but I think what’s there does contribute smoothness.

This wine is easily drinkable, smooth, pleasant, and lovely.

Other Bloggers’ Thoughts:

Back to Bacchus

The Primitivo is very drinkable but not as layered or complex as the Aglianico. The Primitivo is more fruit forward, with more residual sugar . . . I like the long finish.  It is certainly a bargain at $4.99, but I find it a bit one-dimensional. I would not call it rustic but it is rather simple, easy, and fruity.

Nectarivore

It was a pretty big dark rustic red wine and a bit sweet. It seemed over the top at first, but after sitting for a few days on my desk, it actually seemed to really mellow out and tasted pretty darn good. I would recommend it along with a decanter and hearty meal.

Just JoeP

While the Primitivo started off with plum and subtle black berry notes that did not overwhelm on Tuesday, by Thursday it had transformed into a smooth, buttery (not caramely, but a buttery feeling on the tongue) delicious 2 glasses. I highly recommend it.

Reviewed 19 Feb 12.

Hibachi Sushi is a fairly recent addition to Meadowmont Village, taking up residence right near [ONE]. It’s a low frills, order-at-the-counter restaurant focused on sushi, Thai entrees, and Japanese standards including udon and soba noodle dishes. There are no BOGO or 50% off sushi specials here, but the sushi is very reasonably priced, so those sorts of deals are unnecessary.

By low frills, I mean Hibachi Sushi boasts fluorescent lighting, a soda machine in the back, and maybe ten simple plastic tables in all. Hibachi excels more at offering affordable, fast food than it does at atmosphere, which frankly, is kind of a needed niche in our wide range of sushi restaurants.

It’s been a while since I ate there for this review, so I’m not sure I have the correct sushi roll names, but I believe I ordered the spicy dragon roll and the Boston roll.

As you can see, Hibachi Sushi isn’t that concerned with a perfect presentation. That doesn’t mean the sushi lacked in any way—it was great, as far as my unrefined sushi palate could tell. My husband is more of a sushi connoisseur, and he had no complaints about his sushi deluxe order of 6 pieces of nigiri sushi and 6 pieces of tuna roll.

He also enjoyed the last few bites I just couldn’t finish of my own rolls.

Our friend is a regular at Hibachi Sushi, and I believe she had an Alaska roll (salmon, cucumber, avocado) and a spicy salmon roll on this trip.

She definitely values Hibachi Sushi’s prices and the speed at which they can put together a sushi order. When it comes down to it, those are the reasons to come to Hibachi Sushi—fast sushi at reasonable prices. It does that quite well.

Reviewed 2.15.12.

Squid’s is a seafood restaurant in Chapel Hill that I’ve passed a million times on the road, always wondering at the packed parking lot but never actually hearing much about the place. I think the lack of buzz is because Squid’s is an old standby—it’s been around for nearly 20 years. It also serves cuisine worthy of that longevity.

Inside, the restaurant embraces its nautical theme but in an understated way—the fish sculptures on the wall don’t boast cartoon eyes but are made of brushed metal instead. Never fear, there is at least one aquarium in the main dining room.

The menu runs the gamut of seafood offerings, from lower priced fried standards to more finely crafted entrees like horseradish-crusted tilapia with roasted potatoes and mushrooms in an onion-cream sauce.

Mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables were the standard pairing for most wood-grilled fish and lobster and steak options. Oysters, crab legs, clams—there are plenty of options in whatever preparation you’d like, whether steamed, baked, or raw.

Fluffy, tubular hush puppies are served with every meal.

They were fried perfectly, though I prefer mine to have some kick to them.

I was with a large group for a birthday party, and I’m pretty sure everyone enjoyed their entrees, though we didn’t discuss them much—birthday party and all. Here are a few of the dishes we ordered:

Fra Diavolo, a dish made with a spicy parmesan cream sauce over linguini with shrimp and calamari.

The crab cake entrée with lemon butter, mashed potatoes, and veggies.

I thought my choice of the grilled shrimp was fantastic.

It was a plentiful portion of shrimp served with absolutely wonderful lemon risotto cakes. The lemon was lively, and the crust of the cakes was crunchy and delicious. They used something thick to form it, similar to finely ground cornflakes, and it provided a great texture. The artichoke hearts, grilled onions, and spinach that were served in a sundried tomato sauce went well with the rest of the dish, providing bright flavors that shrimp thrives in.

We didn’t try Squid’s desserts, having brought in our own cakes for the party, but I think I can state confidently that Squid’s is worthy of its status as a trusted Chapel Hill establishment. In fact, I would love to see it get more buzz—I was surprised by how thoughtfully my dish was prepared and hadn’t expected anything more than simple fish standbys. Of course, those can be quite impressive as well, and I think I’ll have to try something wood grilled in the future.

Reviewed 16 February 12.

Scratch is a cute shop tucked into Orange Street in downtown Durham, a walkway that often doubles as a skateboard thoroughfare and an art gallery in the form of metallic sculptures in planters.  A few outdoor tables are very appealing on warm days. Inside, pastel egg-shell colors dominate.

They sell coffee, baked goods, desserts, and sandwiches, and there is no shortage of originality in their wares.  On my first trip, I had only planned to get a coffee and get some work done, but I found myself unable to resist the Mexican chocolate cream pie ($3.75). Spice and chocolate is a weakness of mine, and this pie absolutely exploited it.

I saw that chili powder sprinkled on the whipped cream, and I could not say no. I’m so glad I didn’t. Each bite was an exquisite balance of heat and sweet. It tasted and looked homemade, unlike some of the fancier bakeries that aim for presentation over flavor. The moist crust of chocolate cookie crumbs was almost chewy, like they had resolidified into a cookie as the crust baked. This pie was amazing.

Of course, I also had to get that coffee. Through Twitter, I heard about the intriguing coffee infusions Scratch does. This day, the special was Love Like a Ginger ($4.25), a latte made with fresh ginger syrup and lemon zest.

Now, I’m not a huge ginger fan—it’s often too strong for me to enjoy it—but it worked wonderfully in this latte. The ginger element was recognizable, but it wasn’t so strong as to dominate the drink. The specialty coffee drinks are served in bowls, as you can see, but I was assured it was only 12 ounces of drink.

On my second trip, I was excited to see that the coffee special had changed to the Purple Rain ($4), the drink that had convinced me I needed to get my booty to Scratch to try it.

It’s a lavender-infused latte and quite the experience. Drinking it bore little resemblance to drinking coffee and plenty to lying on a fluffy bed of grass surrounded by lavender plants. Honestly, I’m not sure how else to explain it. The mouthfeel was airy and pleasant, but the lavender was overwhelming for this coffee fan—I could not taste the coffee at all. For me, Love Like A Ginger was the more successful latte invention.

My second visit was mainly intended for sampling Scratch’s savory pies rather than sweet. I was sorely tempted by the marinated beets sandwich with charred spring onion mayo and bacon jam on rye bread ($8) that was listed with about six other options on the lunch menu board. However, I held firm and chose the broccoli crostada ($5) with caesar salad bread crumbs.

The crust was excellent: a little chewy with plenty of buttery flavor. The caesar salad seasoning that had been tossed with the bread crumbs was essential for livening up the crostada, making for a tasty filling that would have been too plain otherwise. I’d have liked something else mixed in with the broccoli, maybe chunks of parmesan or thick bacon bits, but the filling was good regardless. The crust was definitely the star, though.

Although the Purple Rain didn’t work for me and the crostada could have used a little somethin’ somethin’, I found Scratch to be fantastic. With the cute location and the everchanging baked goods and sandwich list featuring inventive and fresh, local ingredients, it’s a win for foodies. Now I need to test their regular espresso drinks to see how they measure up to the specials!

Reviewed 26 Jan 12 and 15 Feb 12.

The Boxcarr Farms food truck can be found at Fullsteam most Thursday nights, which is where we found it a few weeks ago. They offer food made from Boxcarr Farms wares and those from other local farms, and let me tell you, it all sounded pretty darn delicious. I’m super excited to see that they offer breakfast, brunch, and lunch menus, too. For dinner, small plates are on the menu, and they are each priced at $6 along with a dessert option. The menu changes often, depending on what ingredients they have available.

I love leeks, so I went for the leek and goat cheese tart served with mixed greens.

The salad was dressed with a light vinaigrette that tasted great though a heavier vinegar presence would have been nice. The tart was amazing. It was a long, thin slice with plenty of buttery richness. Most importantly, the leeks could be tasted with every bite, and they’d been roasted nicely to enhance their flavor. Loved the tart.

My dessert, the grapefruit upside-down cake, was more of an adventure in dining.

I love pineapple upside-down cake, and this fit that bill well, but ultimately, the grapefruit’s bitterness didn’t work for me. Of course, I knew it would be bitter, but I had to try it anyway! The cake itself was super moist, and that yellow sauce was sweet, creamy, and essential for cutting through the bitterness of the grapefruit. Did I eat it all? Absolutely! But I probably wouldn’t order it again.

Despite my aversion to the dessert, there’s no question that the Boxcarr Farms food truck offers quality food with exceptionally fresh ingredients. And I always think experimentation is worth rewarding, even it if doesn’t always work out.

Reviewed 19 Jan 12.

Loki is the Norse god of trickery and mischief. He’s a shape-shifter, and I’m pretty sure our tomcat is one of his chosen forms. We picked out the name Loki before we went to the shelter, and yet it fit him perfectly.

I wanted an orange tabby because I’d always heard they were the friendliest cats. At the shelter, I was drawn to the loudest meower, a runt of a kitten with a deafening purr even from behind cage bars. He was the only orange tabby there. It was fated that we’d take him home, and he worked his charms to ensure it.

He proved to be a mischief maker just like his namesake. He claimed all of Woodcroft as his domain. Loki was well fed and well loved, but he still fooled many unwitting humans into thinking his easy purr and plaintive meows were signs of hunger. The neighborhood became his personal 24-hour buffet.

 

The rest of “the Trickster” can be found in online Independent Weekly as part of their annual Dog Days of Summer issue. “The Trickster” appears about halfway down this page. Interestingly, my initial blog post here when Loki first went missing has always been one of my most popular entries. Plenty of people have swung by it when they’ve also lost a cat, and I’d like to think they found some hope they’d find their pets again from it. Not quite as popular, but much more hopeful, was my post on finding Loki again, and the injuries he suffered and recovered from, getting back to the same crazy animal he always has been with a lessened sense of wanderlust, luckily.

Of course, all this is really an excuse to post a more recent picture of Loki—the cat, the monster, the trickster. This is him with his sisters on either side during a rainy January day.

I failed to take a picture of this tawny port before I recycled the bottle. Somehow, I think you’ll make do. What you won’t do with is not recognizing what tawny means, which I just discovered while researching this post. Tawny ports are ports aged for long enough in wood that their coloring changes from red-purple to more of an orange-yellow shade that is called tawny. I had no idea! I thought tawny meant they used a method similar to white wine, leaving out the skins, to achieve the different color, and I didn’t like the first few I tried so I swore them all off until now. Luckily, this wine taught me that tawny is a port style I can embrace, even though I’m still confused that it was closer to purple in color than that tawny shade.

Its nose was typical for a port, full of fig, spice, and alcohol bite. The taste was also typically port with lots of that ripe, juicy, seedy fig. It was thin-bodied with some coffee notes and fleeting dark chocolate. There was perhaps a little tamarind in the mix as well. One might call that an odd combination of flavors, but it worked quite well.

Other than the potential tamarind note, it was . . . typical. Because I enjoy port a great deal, typical means rather good in this case. In fact, I’ve had a bad string of cheap ports lately, so I was impressed by this bottle that the husband brought home from our wine shop for Christmas. I look forward to sipping it again!

Other Bloggers’ Thoughts:

Wine Peeps:

Deep garnet color. Nice nose with black plum, caramel, and toffee aromas. Black plum, toffee, caramel, honey, and raisin come through on the palate. Medium sweet and medium to full-bodied. Well-balanced with good complexity and a long, smooth finish.

Hired Belly:

The less expensive Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Old Tawny also has lots of personality, with some fig notes and nutty tones.

Crazy Palate:

Prunes and play-doh. If it weren’t for the cigar I just finished, there would surely be more to say.

Reviewed 23 Jan 12.

Vit Goal Tofu is a Korean restaurant hidden away from street view off Highway 55. I enjoyed the dark woods of their interior, placing it perhaps a notch up from many other Asian joints for ambience.

Don’t expect much for service–I don’t think we had one word spoken to us for the entire meal, but I don’t really mind that, although I mention it because I know some of you do! The menu covers a range of Korean fare with an emphasis on soups. To expose my cards, this was the first time I’ve eaten out at a Korean restaurant, so I may not be the best judge of the food. My dining companion is a big fan of Chosun OK, and she noted that the menu was very similar but Vit Goal definitely had a stronger soup selection.

Instead of water, you’re served a cool tea by Vit Goal’s staff when you sit down.

It had toasted rice notes, which I love in tea. We were there at lunch, and we were served a full range of Korean pickles to accompany our meal.

It included lightly pickled cucumbers, bean sprouts, and kimchi. I thought the cucumbers were great, but the bean sprouts and kimchi were both too limp for my taste, and the kimchi could have been a lot spicier.

Kimchi close-up.

My friend decided on the seafood soup, which looked very, very appealing.

She enjoyed it enough to want to come back and try other soups there, but she didn’t like having to take off the shrimp shells and a head. That’s a personal preference of course, but one I agree with for soup. It also came with clams and oysters.

Wanting to try both appetizer and entrée, I decided on a lunch bento box option.

Rice, salad, a few small pot stickers, and sliced beef in a sweet, delicate sauce completed the box. The lettuce swam in a thick, creamy, and plain dressing. The rice was standard. The pot stickers were my favorite item on the menu—stuffed with a good level of filling and not at all greasy.

My friend preferred Chosun Ok to Vit Goal Tofu, but again, she did think it worthwhile to come back to try more soups. I was less impressed, although I do like that they served tea, the cucumber pickle was good, and the pot stickers were worthwhile. Ultimately, too much of the meal was mediocre for me to want to pay the prices to return. Perhaps I need to give that Chosun OK a shot so I can finally have Korean BBQ from a restaurant. One of my best college friends swears that the BBQ she makes pales in comparison to the real stuff, but I’m not so sure.

Reviewed 20 January 12.

Frankie’s had soft, yellow lighting, brick walls and a very personable house staff. Like all the other restaurants we went to this weekend, they offered a variety of dishes of varying portion sizes: meat plates, cheese plates, small vegetable sides, single crostini orders, small plates of soups and salads, sandwiches, and large entrees.  I started with a Manhattan that Mike, one of our friends, highly recommended it at Frankie’s.

For a first course, I ordered a ricotta and prosciutto crostini.

Their ricotta is dreamy. Definitely order a crostini if you don’t choose an entrée with ricotta in it, because you don’t want to miss out on trying it. For my entrée, I decided on meatballs made with pine nuts and raisins that were served with the house marinara.

The sweetness of the raisins made the dish for me, enlivening the meatballs. The marinara was standard.

We waved off dessert at Frankie’s, because why have all our fun in one spot? Instead, we ended up at the Chocolate Room, a darkly lit dessert joint that specializes in chocolate, of course. They have about 4 signature desserts and offer a range of cakes, ice cream, and floats. Ben and I decided to split the black bottom butterscotch custard, one of the signature options.

Dark chocolate hides beneath that delicious custard, which was amazing. What sold us, though, was the coconut whipped cream on top. Ben and I rarely say no to coconut, and it went wonderfully with the rest of the dessert.  At that point, it was time to catch a taxi and head off to the show!

Whew, what a show! The musical was at the Al Hirschfield theater, and we had a great time.  But we were thirsty afterward so back to Brooklyn we went, this time getting let off at the Clover Club. It’s the sort of club that takes their classic cocktails seriously, filling the long drink list with explanations of different cocktail categories like punches and flips.  They do offer food—their potato chip bowl with an herbed crème fraiche dip was delicious, and the salty and sweet spiced almonds were eaten in record time. However, the drinks were our priority, and I dove right in with the Auto Bahn Bahn.

Rye whiskey, maraschino, absinthe, and bitters are the ingredients, and it made an elegant, stiff drink. My second drink was not as delicious, but it was certainly interesting enough to keep me happy.

I don’t know what it was called, but it was a drink made with aged rum and maple syrup, and it was too thick overall. The flavors were rich and deep, but it’s not something I’d order again—and I certainly can’t since I can’t remember its name!

Our Brooklyn food tour concluded with bagels at a shop just around the corner from Mike and Pam’s place on Sunday morning. La Bagel Delight serves up a range of fast eats, and they stare you down if you aren’t ready to order fast, too!  The bagels come with heaping mounds of cream cheese—seriously, like a pint’s worth each. Take it home and put two-thirds of the cream cheese in Tupperware to last you through the week!

Thus endeth our Brooklyn food tour. Delicious food was had, and I was struck by how similarly the restaurants designed their menus and by how much New Southern cooking (for lack of a better tem) had infiltrated those menus. Another interesting fact was that most the places we went had WC written over the bathrooms rather than restroom or a simple ladies or men. Perhaps they feel a stronger connection to the old country in Brooklyn? Who knows?! It was a fun little quirk of the area, and Brooklyn is a great place to dine and drink.

“I’m delayed,” Tom said over the phone. Celia could barely hear him with the thunder on her end of the line and the airport loudspeaker playing an endless stream of announcements in Spanish, a language she didn’t understand, on his. The announcer’s voice sounded ethereal and discordant at the same time, like a slightly off-tune harp being plucked.

“I’ll be home tomorrow,” he continued. “Don’t get bent out of shape, okay?”

What was a strange thing to say. She never complained when Tom was delayed.

You can read the rest at Flashes in the Dark here. Perhaps these photos will help you with the atmosphere for enjoying She Could Be Me.

The walk toward Chez Mer:

Celia’s drink at Chez Mer:

I can’t pick anything up from the nose of this merlot, but I’m not complaining. It’s a delicious wine. It’s thin-bodied, very smooth, and just to the right of dry. The prominent berry flavors are present in equal parts of cherry, raspberry, and strawberry like a fruit punch blend. A mellow cocoa accents the berry bounty, helping it all glide down more easily. Small traces of leather and spice round out the glass.

This is definitely a merlot worth trying. I may just keep a few around.

Other Bloggers Thoughts:

Cheap Wine Finder on the 2007 vintage

The color is a see-thru, shiny cherry red. The nose is interesting, some cigar box, a bit of leather, blackberry, plum and smoky bacon fat; I was not expecting that from a $4.99 wine. This a nice, chewy Merlot, not fruit forward like the majority of wine in this price range. There is blackberry and raspberry, vanilla, along with a harder edge of tobacco and Christmas spice. There is a decent is berry and vanilla finish.

Well, I wasn’t expecting a 5 buck Napa Merlot is be a real Napa Merlot. I am sure there are better Napa Merlot’s out there, but the Napa River at 1/10 the price is a solid effort.

 Reviewed 10 Jan 12.

But this blog isn’t about entertainment—it’s about food and drink! And we partook of plenty of that in our two days in Brooklyn. We start in DC, though, because that’s where we picked up our friends Adam and Rebecca, who joined us for the trip. These pictures are horrible (bad cellphone, bad!), but you really ought to check out Buzz in Arlington, a coffee shop and bakery that offers some awesome wares.

They are mostly known for those fabulous baked goods that looked so much more amazing than those photos show. But we were there for breakfast, and folks, you need to be there for breakfast, too. They make fresh waffles, and they mix bacon and toffee into the batter.

It’s the best idea ever! You absolutely do not need syrup to go with Buzz’s waffles because the sweetness is already baked in from the toffee bits. Combined with the salty bacon taste and perfectly crisped batter, it’s delicious.

We did not stay in DC, however, but continued up the Eastern Seaboard to New York City, staying in Brooklyn at the lovely home of two of Adam and Rebecca’s friends. They were wonderful hosts and took us on many walking excursions in the neighborhood to fabulous food and drink spots.

Walking the streets of Brooklyn

I didn’t take any pictures our first night at Buttermilk Channel, but I can assure you that the squash tart and cauliflower soup were delicious. I also had the Velvet Jack, a cocktail made with Laird’s applejack, Velvet falernum, Luxardo, and lemon juice. It was tasty, but I preferred their sazerac overall.

Buttermilk Channel’s menu caught my attention because the types of dishes offered were in the same vein as what’s popular here in the Triangle—Southern-inspired meals that focus on healthier preparations using local meats and produce.  Chicken and waffles is a signature item on their menu. Also interesting to me was that they offered a small menu overall of small snacks, small plates, large plates, and charcuterie and cheese plates. Every single restaurant we went to this trip had that same breakdown of menu items regardless of the cuisine they offered.

See those menu categories? They were the same everywhere!

The next morning, Colonie was our choice for brunch. This is when I learned a fabulous fact about the Brooklyn brunch scene: it doesn’t start early! We arrived shortly after Colonie opened at 11 am, and there was no line and plenty of empty tables. I was shocked! In my experience, brunches get slammed in the midmorning hours, and if you don’t want a long wait, you need to arrive before 9 am, which means I rarely actually make brunches because I’m a night owl. Colonie was only close to filling up after we left an hour later. Brooklynites, I approve of your sleeping-in tendencies. Bravo.

The atmosphere was lovely at Colonie, and the wall of herbs that you pass on the way to the open kitchen and back of the restaurant adds a pleasant burst of green to the joint.  We started with a baked goods basket and a serving of sweet monkey bread for the group.

Dark chocolate brioche, lemon muffin, and a donut muffin.

Their monkey bread, which was basically a giant cinnamon roll.

Both baked good selections were gobbled up, but the monkey bread definitely earned the highest accolades. For the main entrees, my husband enjoyed his duck hash, and the (surprise! Southern influence!) shrimp and grits are a favorite of our hosts, Pam and Mike.  I opted for the leek and gruyere scramble.

It was good, but the leek and gruyere did not impart much flavor, which disappointed me. The french press coffee did not, however! Restaurants with good coffee are always worth noting.

After that meal, it was time for a stroll toward the water to see the view of Manhattan.

Making our way toward the waterfront. It was freezing!

Lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge

Panorama of the view

This was a wonderful view. Click on the photo for the full-size view. The Statue of Liberty is on the left and the right side takes you across the Brooklyn Bridge.

That’s enough for this blog post! The next one will include dinner at Frankie’s, dessert at the Chocolate Room, and aftershow drinks at the Clover Club.

I lost six years of my life. Okay, I’m being a tad dramatic. I lost six years’ worth of word processor documents. They’re gone. They left for the great recycling bin icon in the sky and some jerk emptied it. I’m the jerk.

A few years ago, I decided the old college laptop had to go. It had been wacky since my roommate borrowed it for a night of feverish essay typing and spilled a mug of coffee on it. The keys sank down like molasses when you pressed them and came up 1. . . 2 . . .3 seconds later with a loud click. The down arrow key would possess the cursor, sending it on a race down the monitor, which no control-alt-delete combination could halt.

If your interest is peaked, read the rest at the Muffin Blog! And for your visual pleasure, I give you kitten Verdandi expressing the same rage at dirty laundry as I felt when I realized the files were gone forever.

The District
410 Blackwell Street
The American Tobacco District
$6–$11

Head inside the glass doors by the waterfall at the bottom floor of the Fowler Building in the Tobacco District, and you’ll find the District, a restaurant only open on Thursdays and Fridays from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm for lunch and from 7:30 am to 10:o0 am for breakfast (edited 2/3 to update hours and add breakfast!).


The Fowler Building is also the home of the Art Institute of Raleigh-Durham, and their culinary program is why the District exists in the first place. It’s a training ground for future chefs and a means for them to put what they’ve learned into practice for a few months at a time. The District is only open for part of each semester, and the husband and I decided to try it last Thursday on its opening day with this group of students.

Keep in mind that everything is student-run here, so be forgiving! The wait staff is also comprised of chefs-in-training, and they rotate with the back of the house each month so they can all experience all aspects of restaurant operations during a meal rush. The menu is small, consisting of about 5 appetizers and salads, 5 sandwiches, 3 entrees, and 3 dessert options.

It will stay the same throughout the semester. Worth noting is that they serve Joe Van Gogh coffee, and it was great! So many restaurants serve bad coffee, so I always celebrate the exceptions to that.

We started with the crab cakes, which were served with a red pepper remoulade. They were probably the best dish we had and delicious.

They were jam-packed with crab, fried nicely, and had a great kick from the diced yellow and red peppers inside. The remoulade was also good, though the salad was overly dressed with a strongly lemon vinaigrette. Those patties, though, they were wonderful.

My husband’s tuna melt sandwich was a simple affair—grilled white bread, lettuce, tomato, and swiss cheese that wasn’t melted.

He was okay with it, but probably wouldn’t order it again. At $7, it’s not a bad deal, but a little more imagination would have been nice. Personally, I was sorely tempted by the Asian short rib entrée but decided that the shrimp tacos were more up my alley, being as I’ve only recently started enjoying ribs.

First, the negative: they don’t make their tortillas, so that sacrifices some of the quality of a taco dish, but they do fry the chips in house (and the potato chips, too). The shrimp were cooked just right, and I enjoyed the unexpected and somewhat southern take on tacos—they were served with tomato, lettuce, very thinly sliced and grilled green and red bell peppers, and a green chile salsa that tasted like chow chow. Definitely don’t order them expecting taqueria-style tacos, but I rather liked the interesting take on the dish. The guacamole was some of the best I’ve had in the area, heavy on the lime and cilantro.

We passed on dessert, but what they had is worth mentioning. You can order bananas foster with vanilla ice cream, and they will prepare it tableside for you. Another patron had it while we were there—talk about a fun spectacle while dining! They also offer flourless chocolate cake and a changing ice cream flavor. This day it was cobbler themed with peach bites mixed into spiced vanilla ice cream and topped with crumble. I almost talked myself into it, but I was really full.

The District is a fun restaurant if you need a change from the Tobacco District’ above-ground options and you don’t mind being a training ground for cooking students. They could do with some better quality ingredients in terms of bread and tortillas, but I definitely recommend those crab cakes and the dessert sounded great. Give them a go and help these students gain the experience they need.

Reviewed 26 Jan 12.

L’Uva opened in the American Tobacco District last year, replacing a sushi restaurant that didn’t seem able to adapt to the crowds from the Durham Performing Arts Center. In its place is an upscale spot that focuses on using local ingredients to bring together Italian dishes that stray from your standard meatballs and marinara.

I’m sure the large patio area is a draw when the weather is warmer, but I was surprised by the late lunch crowd during the day. We arrived about 12:45, and the space was mostly empty, but many tables were full by the time we left close to 2. The picture doesn’t capture it well, but I’d describe the interior as full of light with modest touches of minimalist décor and attractive, red-cedar-colored wood.

L’Uva makes all their pasta in-house, but both the husband and I were in the mood for something in the sandwich vein. Luckily, they offer a few panini in addition to their pastas, entrees, salads, and hefty list of side dishes. My husband had the roast pork, chicken, and smoked bacon panini on focaccia. It came with an adequately sized portion of potato chips.

He thought it was good. Never being one to say no to variety, I opted for their light lunch, which is a half sandwich paired with either the soup of the day (an Umbrian potato soup), penne with marinara sauce, an arugula salad, or a scoop of gelato. I chose the arugula salad.

The sandwich is called a Toscano, and it’s made with salami, provolone, arugula, sundried tomato, and Italian bread. It was delicious, though I think I could taste a bit of metal from the sandwich press—not the best aftertaste ever. The salami was wonderful, but the vibrant sundried tomatoes were definitely the stars of the sandwich. The salad was also tasty, especially the garden-fresh arugula. It was dressed in a fig and balsamic vinaigrette and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, sliced almonds, and ricotta salata. I found the crunch of the almond and pomegranate seeds together to be a bit redundant, but the flavors combined well.

We decided dessert was on the agenda and chose a scoop of the pistachio gelato ($6).

I was torn between loving the flavor of the pistachio—it is so good in dessert form—and finding the gelato rather too icy and almost a little pasty in texture.

I hope to be back to try their pastas, and I’m sure I’ll manage it sometime before a DPAC show or meeting the husband for lunch again. It was also nice to see familiar faces from Revolution’s wait staff. They are sister restaurants, after all, and there were definite similarities in cooking style and atmosphere, even though they have entirely different focuses. I don’t think L’Uva is up to Revolution’s standards quite yet, but I’m confident it can get there.

Reviewed 19 Jan 12.

This week, I’m directing you to an essay I wrote for our local independent newspaper, sensibly named the Independent Weekly, or the Indy if you’re a local. The Front Porch column is open to readers to send in 500-word essays on any topic, and it’s often a great place to get a sense of what others in the community are thinking about or just taste a little slice of someone’s life. This week, it’s my life you can dig into, or at least my opinions on the running craze and the constant fundraisers around us. Here is your teaser:

On Facebook, I complete the circle of life every day by reading the status updates of friends and acquaintances. Births, weddings, deaths, more births: They’re all there on display. Lately, it seems, there’s a new element of living that I’d previously neglected. I’m talking about races, the running kind—anything that ends in “-athlon,” “-K” or red-faced racers clutching their stomachs as they breathlessly pass a finish line.

Ostensibly, it’s both the method of choice to raise money for every known charity and the trendiest way to announce a transition from out-of-shape blob to exercise hound. Watching from the sidelines, it’s a little bewildering . . .

For the rest of the Front Porch, either pick up a free copy of the Indy at pretty much any coffee shop and many local businesses or head over to the web version. Thanks for reading!

It’s been over a month since I tried the Southern Hot Toddy at Alivia’s Durham Bistro, so don’t be surprised if it was just a passing winter’s fancy on their drink list. It was made with Jim Beam Bourbon, orange wedges, sugar, and hot herbal tea.

Well, it was supposed to be made with those ingredients but the one I had definitely was not herbal tea—I think it was a Lipton black tea bag, if I remember correctly. That’s fine—I like black tea just fine—but it did make a difference in terms of expectations and quality. The flavors were nicely proportioned, however. The orange wedges were key to blending the bourbon taste in with the tea. Make sure you don’t let the tea steep too long, or those proportions will be thrown out of whack.

The Southern Hot Toddy wasn’t revelatory, but it was an interesting change and hit the spot that evening. If a better tea were used, I’d think of it much more highly.

Reviewed 17 Dec 11.

Nanotaco has been reviewed by multitudes of other bloggers—I’m always behind the curve in trying out new places. However, this sometimes gives me the chance to weigh in on differences of opinions on a newer spot, and the quality of Nanotaco’s margaritas is one of those local debates, especially in Carpe Durham’s comments. Some people think they are from a mix, some think they are too sour, some think they aren’t sour enough, and some think they are the perfect ratio of sour to sweet. So forming my own thoughts on the Nanotaco house margarita was high on my priority list for my first trip. Also high on that list was trying their torta, because I’ve been on a search for the perfect once ever since I arrived in Durham. That’s one quest that may now be over.

I love the iguana beckoning you into Nanotaco, and the red exterior is inviting to me. Inside, it’s mainly yellow with the chalkboard menu dominating the wall. Some people have mentioned difficulties with the menu set up, but I liked it and didn’t have any problems figuring out what to order.

Ingredients are locally sourced as much as possible, and the biggest draw is probably the types of meats they offer for fillings. It’s not just chicken or beef like Mex-Am fare, but it doesn’t stick with only more traditional meats like barbacoa, al pastor, and lengua, either. For an extra $2, you can opt for fillings that play more with Southern themes like crispy pork belly or braised hog jowls, and they are called the dirty meats on the menu. They also have a salsa bar with red, green, and pico de gallo options as well as pickled jalapenos and onions, limes, radishes, and a coleslaw option. Of the salsas, the red option was pretty tasty and packed with dried, roasted pepper flavor. I’d have like more peppers in the pico de gallo. You get a handful of chips with any order, and they were good, but not outstanding in comparison to other options we have in Durham—La Salamandra is still winning in that department.

Of course, I started with that margarita, determined to weigh in on the debate.

And . . . I don’t have much to offer. It was an average margarita. I think it’s a freshly prepared sour mix rather than a bottled one. I’d drink another, and I suspect it’s the type where the tequila sneaks up on you, but it’s not a margarita I’ll be craving anytime soon. I’d call it a typical house margarita.

As for food, my husband had a burrito that comes with meat, rice, and beans.

He enjoyed it and the smoked duck he chose for his meat. Our friends both tried the three taco option instead, choosing a different meat for each one.

They thought the flavor of the smoked duck was too overpowering, but the hog jowl was highly praised as reason enough to come back on its own. They also mentioned that there was too much lettuce on the taco, because it didn’t add anything to the dish. The rest of the meats were fine.

I, of course, tried the torta. Let me tell you a little bit about my torta quest. Before I moved to NC, I had never heard of tortas including beans or ketchup, both ingredients that I can barely tolerate on any meal by accident, much less on purpose. Nanotaco does not foul their torta with such ingredients, keeping it to the lettuce, tomato, meat, onion, jalapeno, mayonnaise, and guacamole I approve of.

Okay, they didn’t actually put any jalapenos on mine (why do restaurants leave off listed ingredients—why!?), but I added in pickled jalapenos from the salsa bar, and it was perfect. I went with chorizo for my meat, and I can’t think of a better choice, because together, it was the right level of sloppy and spicy that I demand in a torta. Possible critiques? It might be a tad too dry with other meats than chorizo—extra mayo would fix that. The bread was a little greasier and thinner than I prefer. But it’s the best torta I’ve had in the area, hands down.

Overall, I was content with my Nanotaco experience. Prices were great for the regular plates, but upgrades like the dirty meats and the guacamole ($2 for chips and salsa, but it’s an extra $2.50 to make that salsa guacamole) seemed too much.  My friends will be back for the hog jowl, and I’ll be back for the torta, so I think Nanotaco may be a case of finding just the right menu item that appeals to you, and I have a feeling they have one for everyone. Though I think I’ll opt for one of their shakes over the margarita next time.

Reviewed 11 Jan 12.  

PieBird is a cute little restaurant situated in the northern end of downtown Raleigh, almost at the Mordecai neighborhood. As one might guess from the name, its primary focus is on pies, both sweet and savory. For lunch, salads and hand pies are available until they are gone, and dinner has a focus on pot pies and shepherd’s pies, though there are daily specials as well. Dessert pies, however, are where they are making the most waves in the Triangle food scene, and I think that’s an earned acclaim.

The setup is one long brick wall of seating with bar seating across the way.

I especially liked the pastel blue napkins and the bird salt and pepper shakers that my friends insisted on posing for me.

We went at dinner time, and most of the entrees come with a choice of changing sides. I decided on the panzanella salad for my side.

I was very pleased with it. The last time I ordered a panzanella, mysteriously, there was very little bread. Not so at PieBird! It had plenty of croutons about halfway between crunchy and soggy, the right texture I think of when I picture panzanella.

Most of my friends tried out the various pot pies. The curry pie was praised well above the chicken and shepherd pies. Mostly, the responses to the chicken and shepherd pies were that they were good and filling, but not quite good enough to get that homey feeling you expect from those dishes. I didn’t try them, so I can’t weigh in. Instead, I was seduced by the daily special, a tomato pie served over aged balsamic.

It was very good, though the tomatoes were not as flavorful as expected. But the crust and the filling wrapped them up nicely, and the balsamic lent liveliness to each bite.

Dessert, however, was the most anticipated course. I had tried PieBird’s chocolate cream pie on Thanksgiving, and it was excellent, somewhere between pudding and mousse on the fluffiness scale and served in a chocolate cookie crust. Everyone really enjoyed their various takes on chess pies this evening. The Blue Bird of Happiness was a favorite, served on an oatmeal cookie crust and sprinkled with sea salt.

Let me take a moment to talk about PieBird’s chess pies. They have a very thin layer of filling, but that layer is so dense that you don’t need more—they’ve somehow found the perfect ratio of concentrated filling to pie crust. I decided, however, to have the pumpkin cheesecake rather than a chess or fruit pie. Frankly, my memory is failing me on what the ice cream was—possible something sweet potato?

Again, the filling was great, and that fairly thin amount of cream cheese you see was tasty and made the already creamy pumpkin even creamier and delicious. However, the whipped cream was just too much with all the other rich dairy, so I scooped most of it off. The ice cream, however, was a disappointment as it was pretty icy and not packing as strong of flavors as I like.

If you are looking for different takes on chess pies or cream pies, definitely stop in at PieBird. Dinner was pretty good, especially the panzanella salad, but be forewarned that it’s hard to save room for dessert when you’re already eating pie for dinner! If you do try and brave it, opt for the curry pot pie or a daily special.

A who would be an if ratings were based on pies alone.

Reviewed 13 Dec 11.

Blueberry flavors come first with this wine, but they melt away into something that reminds me of the fig butter I just picked up from Trader Joe’s. But this wine is bitterer than the fig butter and pretty dry. There’s a heat to it, and I’d call it medium bodied.

None of that combines especially well. It’s not horrible, but it’s not far off, either.

Other Bloggers’ Thoughts:

Chez Moi

Color: dark purple
Aroma: closed but fresh fruits are present, hint of vanilla, pepper
Taste: chewy, spicy, med tannins, medium finish, slight acidic

. . . It’s mostly dry, but has an almost indiscernible sweetness at the very end . . .J’s Review: I like it the same as the Shiraz, and better than the Cabernet. Tastes a little bit bitter, but a good kind of bitter. Would buy again.

The Value Vine on the 2009 vintage

As fruity as the Yellow Tail Merlot reviewed above, this Shiraz-Cabernet blend is a little bolder, with more sweet spice, riper fruit, and even some minerality. This one also lacks the hot, alcohol-driven nose of the Merlot.

Reviewed 30 Dec 11.

You see, two friends, Steve and Chris, have this habit of facing off over cocktails. They each have their specialty drinks, usually ones that’ll please the ladies. For Chris, that’s the Girl Scout Cookie, and for Steve, that’s the Caramel Apple. Those have both made appearances in their past competitions, along with a variety of other crowd-pleasing drinks—I remember a 4th of July competition that ended up in red, white, and blue concoctions all over the place. Both men have been evenly ranked in those competitions, but you see, I throw a bit of a wrench in their standard operating procedure. I’m most assuredly a lady—okay, I honestly prefer chick—but I’m much more inclined to stronger, more classic cocktails than the sweeter ones typically associated with the female taste. And I have a thing for absinthe. I won’t even pretend it isn’t related to imaging myself as an American ex-pat writer in 1920s Paris.

Needless to say, I’ve talked up the need for Chris and Steve to compete in an absinthe mixology challenge for months, and this New Year’s Eve just happened to provide the perfect opportunity. With only a day’s notice, both Steve and Chris accepted, and the competition was on.

The competitors, back to back in my kitchen.

NV Absinthe Verte was the absinthe chosen for the competition, because, well, I had it on hand. It’s not my favorite absinthe, but we don’t have many choices here in NC, and the Pernod Absinthe, which I do prefer, is around twice as expensive. Steve and Chris mostly used ingredients in our alcohol cabinet, which is really more of an alcohol stand—yes, I’m proud of my collection and display it. Some shaking and stirring later and the first two competing drinks were ready.

Round 1

Steve inspecting his handiwork.

Steve’s handiwork, the Absinthe Minded.

This was my absolute favorite drink of the evening, which is especially noteworthy because I’m not a big gin drinker, and gin was the base liquor. Yes, I’m a sucker for presentation, and the lemon peel just looked lovely in that glass. But the taste was perfect for me: strong, but without an overpowering absinthe presence. My other two judges disagreed, finding it pretty unappealing. For the record, they were both men, and they both preferred the sweeter drinks this evening. That means I’m badass, right?

Chris’s 1st entrant, a Scottish Licorice, emphasis on the Scotch.

The coloring of this drink was beautiful, of course, and it was fairly simple cocktail. I thought it was lovely, but Steve won this round for me.

My husband, Judge 2, in between rounds.

Round 2 began right away, and I’d call it the fruity round of the competition.

Round 2

Chris perfecting his second cocktail.

That second cocktail, the Wharf Rat.

For me, this had too much fruit but Judges 2 and 3 LOVED it. They really, really loved it. I was reminded of Hawaiian Punch; they were reminded of heaven. Steve’s cocktail, once again, pleased my palate better.

The Hemingway, a champagne cocktail.

The Hemingway was a simple recipe, and for me, it tasted smooth and classy. Judges 2 and 3 were somewhat bored by it, I believe. Such uncultured blokes.

Judge 3 saying hello to the most exciting visitor of the evening—Millie, a toy poodle and Pekingese puppy.

Two rounds was the intended competition length, but adding up all three of our scores resulted in a dead heat. We pulled those two cocktail makers away from their avid Ryan Seacrest viewing to come back and mix up a third drink, completely unprepared.

Round 3–updated because, well, three rounds of absinthe makes my memory fuzzy.

The Absinthe Frappe, also dubbed the Kenna Konqueror. Perhaps you can guess Steve’s last name?

This drink was good, but it was middle of the pack for the evening and didn’t stand out enough to impress.  (ETA, Here is where my memory gets extraordinarily fuzzy.) The Absinthe Frappe was Chris’s final entrant, and at least two of us liked it a lot–I honestly can’t remember why anymore! I remember making up a batch of club soda to aid Chris in his mixing, though.

The Absinthe Morning, created by Steve on the spot, with fresh blood orange juice.

For the first time, Chris’s drink defeated Steve’s for me. The Absinthe Morning, a brand new creation by Steve, is what I remember most in the final round. It was fruity, but not in the strong way his previous drink had been. Instead, the absinthe cut through the fruit, creating a nice balance between them.

Judge 2 and Judge 3 were divided between the two drinks, I believe Steve won my vote yet again, but Judges 2 and 3 opted for Chris’s Absinthe Frappe instead, and thus, we were able to crown a winner . . .  Chris, by one point!

What did I learn? An absinthe challenge is a super fun way to celebrate the new year, in case anyone’s planning for next year already. (ETA, and also, I should run my facts by the challengers before putting up a blog post.) Personally, I’m trying to think what the main ingredient for the next match up of Chris and Steve’s skills should be. Any suggestions?

The espresso martini is hiding on Watt’s dessert menu. Combine a shot of Joe Van Gogh’s espresso, Stoli Vanil vodka, Chambord liqueur, and a splash of Bailey’s Irish crème liqueur, and you have a unique coffee cocktail that still manages to hit all the elements I expect from one. First of all, the aroma of this drink was wonderful, and the frothy presentation with three little beans was quite appealing. The taste of the espresso comes though nicely without bitterness and imparts a welcome nutty note. The raspberry flavor is light and rather soothing in combination with the Irish crème. None of these ingredients overwhelm each other. They simply work well together to make a delicious drink.

Reviewed 3 Dec 11.  

WOW: That’s so true. Creating a hook that keeps readers invested is the goal. Your creation of the main character is brilliant. She’s self-centered, lonely, demanding, and vulnerable. That’s a powerful combination. What does her attitude say about the state of humanity?

Rebecca: Since she spent her life not taking other people’s feelings into consideration, she essentially removed herself from humanity and they no longer wish to consider her feelings, either. Through rejecting the simple human connection that comes from things as basic as treating the people around you with respect, she has essentially lost the right to that same treatment herself. Not that I want people to read about a murder and cheer on her death, per se, but I do like that it’s a bit of a comeuppance for her and the way she’s lived her life.

I have a compulsion when dining out in the Triangle – I must try a new place every time! We are spoiled with amazing options, and I’m lucky enough to have friends just as excited to try them all as I am.

My dining companions on this particular evening all work in the American Tobacco District in downtown Durham, so we wanted somewhere nearby. The usual suspects like Revolution, Rue Cler and Dos Perros were quickly eliminated – we’d all been to them before!

Where we hadn’t been is an Italian restaurant just half a mile away in the redeveloped West Village warehouses. Unless you happened to glance into the courtyard between the Flowers Warehouse and Cooper Shop buildings as you walked down Fernway or Morgan streets, you wouldn’t know 604 West Morgan was tucked away inside.

For the rest of the review, and pictures, head to the post!