The Gourmez

Maximillian’s Grill 8314 Chapel Hill Road Cary Website $19-$35 Maximillian’s Grill, not to be confused with Maximillian’s Pizza Kitchen next door though I’m going out on a limb and saying they’re related, appeared this year on Greg Cox’s annual list of top 20 Triangle restaurants. It always flies under my radar; I keep forgetting people [...]

East Coast Chinese Food Express 202 NC Hwy 54 Inside the Kroger, South Durham Website Open Mondays-Saturdays 11 am to 3 pm, 4 pm to 10 pm $7 — $12 I’ve heard many good things about East Coast Chinese Food Express. They’ve been located inside the Kroger by the Highway 54 and Fayetteville intersection for [...]

Last winter I tried Noodles & Company’s seasonal additions to their macaroni and cheese menu, a task that I took up with gusto. Their seasonal items are lighter fare for the summer: a trio of salads. I was again invited to try them for free and share with you, my lovely readership, my thoughts on [...]

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 [...]

The Meat House 1508 E. Franklin Street Chapel Hill Website Donna Coon, who owns the recently opened Meat House in Chapel Hill with her husband, Paul, took me on a tour of the facility a couple of weeks ago. I was excited to try out this chain butchery because they’ve opened three shops in the [...]