Category: Uncategorized

Little Things

For a little over two years one of my Tuesday rituals has been meeting my friends Joan and Arlan East at Weaver Street for breakfast and coffee. My post breakfast part of that Tuesday rite was a quick visit to Neal’s Deli to fetch a bag of of their biscuits.

I’d take them home and refrigerate them (no freezing) eating them one at a time and within the following two weeks.

Pictured above is my last biscuit from Neal’s with my morning cup and some nice marmalade.

Needless to say I will welcome continuing my Tuesday ritual.

Special Edition

https://www.provenceofcarrboro.com/new-page

http://www.downtownchapelhill.com/downtown-blog/2020/3/13/recommendations-for-supporting-local-business

I’ve highlighted Provence because the chef and owner has, for now, elected himself to make deliveries and because I haven’t been out in better than a week and felt like splurging.

I’ve also passed on the town website that keeps an updated list of the other places in town for pickup or delivery

Everyone stay safe

Mitch

2020 : A Diner’s Calendar

A Bowl of Soup @ Thai Palace

Thai Palace has been serving excellent Thai food for years and in the same location in the Glenwood shopping center on South Road/Raleigh Road. The place has the same lovely, graceful look it’s always had (I’ve included pictures) and the same friendly service.

On a wet, cool Monday I dropped in for something fast and warming for a dreary February afternoon. What I got was satisfying and wonderfully simple — a cool refreshing small salad with the house’s amazing ginger dressing and an enormous bowl of soup with perfectly cooked noodles in a rich, savory broth with steak and meatball and crunchy vegetables.

“A soup like this is not the work of one man. It is result of a constantly refined tradition. There are nearly a thousand years of history in this soup.” Willa Cather

The Peking Duck at Brewery Bhavana — Friday, Thursday February 13, 2020

Whole barbecued duck for lunch @ Brewery Bhavana is served with perfect steamed Bao buns, cucumbers, scallions and hoisin sauce.

The flavors at Zweli’s Kitchen — Friday, February 21, 2020

https://www.zwelis.com/

Lunch @ Zweli’s Kitchen, Friday, February 21, 2020

Magwinyas, fried dough available as savory or sweet, a lovely variation on beignets.

Thin, crispy and spicy plantain chips

Flame grilled piri piri wings with Jollof rice and chakalaka (a flavorful vegetable and bean relish/stew) as sides

Flame grilled piri piri (a hot pepper produced in Mozambique) chicken leg and thigh with exquisitely flame grilled skewered vegetables.

A Saturday night out with the Haysletts at Hawthorne and Wood

Top right — three piece chicken confit in Texas Pete gastrique with celery and buttermilk sauce

Below right — pan seared divers scallops, butternut squash sticky cakes, sour cherry jus, daikon radish, sesame, sugar snap peas.

Dessert to the left is house made Oreo ice cream sandwich.



Lunch @ the Mebane Table, Friday, January 31, 2020.

Nola roast beef Po Boy with Roast Beef Debris,Au jus gravy, lettuce, and a pickle on house made French bread

Dirty rice

Nana’s, Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Upper left butternut soup with fried oysters

Upper right risotto with slow cooked veal, roasted peppers, sweet peas finished with roasted garlic butter and Grana Padana

Entree — Cast iron roasted natural chicken over Nana’s puréed potatoes, broccoli rabe and root vegetables

A Triangle Restaurants Sampler

Culinary Variety — a pictorial sampler of dishes from each of the above restaurants

Convivio — this is from a second visit made especially to try their crispy porchetta served with verdure (local sourced greens with garlic, chilly, anchovy) and patate alforno (roasted potatoes with rosemary).

Hawthorne and Wood

Pictured above — top right and left North Carolina white shrimp remoulade with mirliton squash, avocado, horseradish and fines here’s.

Bottom left the middle top row, rosti potatoes with deviled eggs, celery in a house steak sauce.

The bar makes great cocktails, even of the ‘mock’ variety on request. I asked for something refreshing and not too tart or sweet with cucumber.

The Littler

Springer Mountain Chicken with butter beans, squash and corn.

Bibb lettuce, lemon cucumber, fennel, radish, mint and chèvre vin.

The Mebane Table

    Pictured on the left NC pan fried catfish on a savory croque monsieur with white wine shrimp sauce.

    Right top is the Table soup of the day — NC beef and field peas in a beef broth — this is a side bowl but a full bowl would have been a more than welcome choice.

James Pharmacy

Sea scallops with Cajun corn maque Choux with rice and a house Caesar.

Bleu Olive

Pictured above —

    Caesar salad with baby romaine, housemade polenta croutons, and creamy garlic dressing.

    Grass fed lamb tenderloin with roasted root vegetables and broccolini in a Rosemary bordelaise.

    The wine is a Malbec.

Dinner at Elements

To the left — house baked breads including cranberry walnut, fried Chinese buns, ; top right Asian lemongrass beef tacos and crispy spring rolls.