Southern Comfort Foods
My bf has been going to law school in Durham, NC for a couple years now (link to a map for those if you who are unsure where Durham is -- I didn't know either until he moved there! <--- ignorant Californian =X). I get to come visit once in a while, but not that often since he likes visiting NY. He says there's not much variety in food down there, but of course when I come along, we discover some new great finds! He also introduced me to some of his Durham favorites =)
This is one of our favorite brunch places -- the food is super fresh and sourced locally, which is something North Carolina is known for recently (NYT article). Everything is also made with a Southern twist so it's not the regular brunch I'd usually get in New York.
The atmosphere is super casual with comfy booths against the walls and very nice servers. I have read there is sometimes a crazy wait around lunch, but we always come later in the afternoon and have never waited more than 10 minutes.
This was one of our greatest finds on the trip. This place has authentic Peruvian rotisserie chicken with perfectly seasoned crispy chicken skin and juicy meat. I usually don't like eating chicken skin (unless it's fried), but I couldn't get enough of this! They had the standard delicious semi-spicy green sauce and yucca fries too!
Mami Nora's Rotisserie
302 Davidson Ave
Durham, NC 27704
Chick Fil-A
Locations throughout the East Coast! (whoo they have one at NYU!)
This is what Jing eats for dinner almost every night. Now I know why -- it's delicious AND cheap (too bad it's not healthy too haha)! I may be biased because I always have a place in my stomach for fried chicken, but many others agree. My friend Soyoon who went to Duke undergrad said she takes 20 packets of their Polynesian sauce to New York with her too just because she loves it so much! My roommate's bf also just chimed in saying how much he loves it, and that it apparently started in Jersey.. I guess it doesn't count as Southern food anymore, but I still loved it!
Watts Grocery
1116 Broad St. Durham, NC 27705
Locations throughout the East Coast! (whoo they have one at NYU!)
This is what Jing eats for dinner almost every night. Now I know why -- it's delicious AND cheap (too bad it's not healthy too haha)! I may be biased because I always have a place in my stomach for fried chicken, but many others agree. My friend Soyoon who went to Duke undergrad said she takes 20 packets of their Polynesian sauce to New York with her too just because she loves it so much! My roommate's bf also just chimed in saying how much he loves it, and that it apparently started in Jersey.. I guess it doesn't count as Southern food anymore, but I still loved it!
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| Waffle potato fries |
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| Fried chicken sandwich with provolone cheese |
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| Everyone (and me) LOVE the Polynesian sauce and these nuggets! |
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| Close up for you you guys =) |
1116 Broad St. Durham, NC 27705
The atmosphere is super casual with comfy booths against the walls and very nice servers. I have read there is sometimes a crazy wait around lunch, but we always come later in the afternoon and have never waited more than 10 minutes.
Awesome chai lattes too! (although they don't have soy milk...)
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| Andouille sausage and stewed chilies benedict with crawfish tail hollandaise served on a toasted biscuit with hash brown potatoes |
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| Huevos Rancheros on local corn tortillas topped with red beans, avocado, fried eggs, queso fresco and salsa fresca |
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| Mmmmm CHURROS! =) |
This was one of our greatest finds on the trip. This place has authentic Peruvian rotisserie chicken with perfectly seasoned crispy chicken skin and juicy meat. I usually don't like eating chicken skin (unless it's fried), but I couldn't get enough of this! They had the standard delicious semi-spicy green sauce and yucca fries too!Mami Nora's Rotisserie
302 Davidson Ave
Durham, NC 27704
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| The cook making the lomo saltado (next photo) |
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| Lomo Saltado -- strips of beef mixed with tomatoes and french fries |
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| Mmmm the skin was so PERFECT |
100 Jerusalem Ave.
Morrisville, NC
This was the real gem we found in the Durham area. This area doesn't have much Asian food and most of the ones we find are those places that barely pass for authentic Asian food. We randomly drove by this one when my flight got delayed and we were looking for some snacking. Turns out, they have FRESH dim sum that they make themselves!
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| Fresh shrimp dumplings and beef tripe |
Anyway, that's all for my food adventures. Have you guys been to the Durham / Raleigh / Research Triangle area before? What are your favorite eats there??
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Oh also, I cooked something! Made nachos and pigs in a blanket to eat during the Giants game (WHOO GO GIANTS! =) I am especially proud of these because 1) I don't usually cook anything but Shin ramen and 2) I think they actually turned out well!!!
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| The preparation |
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| Nachos with lean ground beef, chunky salsa and spicy spicy guac! |
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| I used spicy Italian sausage =) |