Spice and Street Food

Generally, I prefer a smaller menu at a restaurant. When I eat somewhere with too many delicious sounding choices, it makes it too hard to choose. I trust a good chef to narrow it down for me. The menu at Spice Street, in University Mall, is not narrow. The menu includes a few choices in many different cuisines, including sushi, Kung Pao, linguine and greek style kabobs. It's quite a menu to process. The benefit to this extensive selection, lies in group decisions. If you're going to dinner with a group of 8 or more (as I have at Spice Street), there's something for every palate. Thursday nights boast half price sushi and $5 martinis. Now, the $5 martinis were fabulous, they have a refreshing and intoxicating array of specialty vodka and gin drinks. However, I cannot judge the sushi because our waitress warned that we would have to wait over an hour to partake in the Thursday night special. This was really frustrating for me, because you should only hold such a special if your restaurant can handle it. That said, some really eclectic dinner choices kept everyone happy and satisfied. The restaurant is huge, and has a really nice patio, something that seems rare around Chapel Hill. It's definitely an enjoyable place to eat, and they have something for whatever mood you're in.

Spice Street

Indian Food: Dallas v. Chapel Hill

In Dallas, we have plenty of Indian restaurants to choose from. There's an entire suburb that has a neighborhood, Valley Ranch, with outstanding and authentic Indian cuisine offered in abundance. My favorite, actually at Knox and McKinney, is Roti Grill. The Kofta Masala is a vegetarian spicy food lover's dream. It's going to be tough to replace. Or so I thought. I recently tried Saffron, a more upscale Indian restaurant in the East 54 complex. The decor is outrageous, and I'm pretty sure it's not exactly authentic Indian food. It is, however, totally delicious. I shared the Nargisi Kofta, Gobi Musslam and Daal Bukhara with two other friends. Everything was very flavorful with sweet and spicy dishes. Dinner was a little pricey, but also much more food than we needed, so we certainly could have done well with less. Indian food is always a good choice for vegetarians and carnivores alike, and no one ends up sacrificing on flavor. So, which Indian restaurant reigns supreme? I'll take either one any time.

Saffron

Roti Grill in Dallas

American Tapas at Humble Pie

It's been a while since my last post, but this recent restaurant adventure has me excited and ready to continue blogging! This last Saturday, some friends and I decided to visit Raleigh, the "big city" about 30 minutes from Chapel Hill. We were going to try Poole's Downtown Diner, but after learning of a two and a half hour wait, we abandoned that plan really quickly. The hostess recommended Humble Pie, an American tapas restaurant nearby. Humble Pie is located in the warehouse district, and is in an old warehouse. The decor is industrial, but nothing to write home about. The food, however, was some of my favorite that I've tried in the Triangle. It's an innovative menu with various tapas plates that range from southern fare (fried green tomatoes) to Asian-fusion cuisine (sesame seared ahi tuna) and even pasta (butternut squashed stuffed conchiglioni). Everything was full of flavor, and Humble Pie definitely experiments with new flavor combinations. Tapas are usually best with a big group, and with three people we tried five different dishes. I want to go back for more! Humble Pie is definitely a restaurant where "the more, the merrier" applies.

Humble Pie

Poole's Downtown Diner (I am determined to review this one soon, maybe I'll have better luck if I go around 6PM)

Chic and Unique: Dinner at Lantern

It's rare that a restaurant lives up to great expectations. Believe me, Lantern actually exceeds them. It's an Asian-fusion-esque restaurant on Franklin street, and has received some of the best reviews in Chapel Hill. I absolutely loved my recent date night there. The atmosphere is hip but clean, with watermelons in the window and heirloom tomatoes in between booths. It's a very small interior and I noticed that everyone who arrived had a reservation. Despite the higher price point and chic menu, Lantern is still a casual place, with some customers in sandals and even cargo pants (oy vey). I had steamed halibut with baby bok choi, jasmine rice and lemongrass. It was light and totally lovely. The flavors at Lantern are definitely innovative, and it's almost like Asian-fusion with accents of Southern flavors. Oh, and did I mention, rumor has it that the owner is married to the head of Arcade Fire's record label? Lantern's cool factor is so high.

Lantern

Merge Records

Shop on a Grad Student's Budget

While I do love the Streets at Southpoint Mall in Durham, I really prefer shopping in small boutiques. Chapel Hill has plenty of cool smaller shops that I can easily spend some cash in. Thankfully, there's Fab'rik. A new friend of mine in law school in Chapel Hill recommended it, so I stopped by the store last weekend in East 54. Every dress, skirt and tank is under $100. The only pieces that rank a little higher on the price scale are the designer jeans, and those I expect to pay more for. I found out online that this is a small chain of stores that are primarily in Georgia, but there's also a location in Austin, Texas! The pieces are fun and flirty, and dresses seem to dominate the inventory. I could definitely find something fabulous for date night. If you're not sure how to pick that out, visit the Fab'rik Files blog, a good source for fashion inspiration.

Fab'rik

Streets at Southpoint

If Design*Sponge Recommends Toast...

The hype surrounding restaurants in Durham never ends. Prior to my move to Chapel Hill I read the Design*Sponge guide, New York Times and many other publications to find the best of the triangle. Often, Durham dining is the highest rated. My favorite spot so far is Toast. This is located downtown in an area called "five points." Parking isn't easy, but it's worth a walk to get to Toast. It's a casual spot with simple decor, you order at a counter and servers bring the food to you. Toast has a great beer selection, including local favorites, and an interesting wine offering. Everything revolves around toasted bread; paninis, crostinis and bruschetta are the staples in the menu. I had a three cheese white truffle panini and the chilled tomato puree soup. It was an amazing combination on a hot summer day. Everything that went out of the kitchen looked fabulous, and despite the simple decor, the plating is well-thought out. My friend and I had a wonderful time, just chatting over our bottle of wine and toasty delights. Toast is a fabulous place for a girls dinner, but could also be a gourmet quick bite.

Toast

New York Times

Design*Sponge

Note: The photo above is from Design*Sponge

Southern Sunday

Sunday brunch is my favorite time of the weekend. Whether you need of a mimosa, a hangover cure or just some fresh breakfast, brunch at Crook's Corner satisfies any brunch need. A friend and I both heard of Crook's Corner without much research, so we decided to try out the small house on the border between Franklin Street Chapel Hill and Main Street Carrboro. Apparently some other friends had heard the same, because they showed up a little later. The menu was small but not simple. We had delicious hush puppies to start (with cocktail sauce, which is new to me). My friend had the recommended Shrimp and Grits, a southern favorite, and I had the Summer Omelette. Both were fresh and just what the doctor ordered. I did see the French Toast go by to another table, and that will certainly bring me back. It wasn't as dive-y as I had thought it would be, but that wasn't an unwelcome surprise. When the weather is nice, I look forward to sitting on the large outside patio. Crook's Corner could definitely become a Sunday staple.

Crook's Corner