Durham FOOD TOUR!

Matt has had gift certificates for two Taste Carolina Food Tours for over a year now. We finally got around to going this weekend, took Charlie with us, and some great food, drinks, and photos were had by all. Although they do several cities, we did the downtown Durham tour and it was pretty fantastic. I know all people really care about is seeing pictures of the food we ate [or maybe that's all I care about], so I took about 100 photos... and maybe a few great shots of us good-looking people too.

Told you. Just FYI, my dress is a skirt from the Salvation Army with a safety pin in it and a belt on top.

We met up at the Pinhook [not open, but it was our starting point] at 1:30 Saturday afternoon and of course we were late, but our tour guide called us and they waited. So nice. First we walked to Loaf, a local bakery. The owner gave us some [long-ish] info about how he got started, the farmer's market, and how they built and operated this enormous brick oven there. They do several loaves of bread (European style), wheat and rye, and also french pastries based on the heat of the oven throughout the day. They don't have any seating, but people pick up bread, coffee, and other treats before and after work. They are open from 7am to 6pm. Hard work.

Bread Oven.

Looked like they had a lot of other good things too.

After finally being rewarded for our patience and listening skills, we received this chocolate-filled croissant. Dang, they were good. I think one of us [Charles] may have gotten seconds...

This was our food sample for this stop. Holy cow, butter. Way better than anything you buy in the grocery store.
As Charlie said, "Man those had been sitting there for so long before he finally gave 'em to us and they still tasted all warm and gooey in the middle."

Next stop was Piedmont. The new chef there, Ben, goes to the farmer's market to collect supplies and their menu changes DAILY. This was probably the single best dish we got to sample all day. A snapper on top of South Carolina rice with sweet potato puree. I knew this was going to be good when my friend Maggie [who went to Duke unfortunately, but knows about Durham] recommended this spot for my birthday dinner. They also handed us a drink menu and gave us half-off the NC brews. Mine was delicious and the name of the beer apt.

Good looking place. I would eat here again... I hear they are participating in Triangle Restaurant Week.
$30 dinners. Starts Monday. Yeah, I'll be back.

Something on the menu said it tasted like bananas, something, something, delicious and 5.8% alcohol, can't go wrong.

I wish I could make you understand the greatness of this dish. I can't believe they actually voluntarily decided to serve this to so many of us on a food tour. It was SO GOOD. I could've eaten eight of them. Maybe just give me a whole fish next time and a soup bowl of the sweet potato puree.

They think they're bad ass.

Despondently leaving and chugging our beers so we could go to the next spot, DaisyCakes next door did not disappoint. They told us a story about how the business was started in an airstream trailor they bought in Newport, NC. It was a cute spot with good lunch options and tonnnssss of desserts.

DaisyCakes

They gave us a savory dish first, a super delicious sandwich and pasta salad. It had bacon, avocado, and carmelized onions. There might have been some aioli too, I think I blacked out. And there was a taste of pasta salad.

But I know there was definitely bacon.

The guy that worked at Daisy Cakes probably did the best job of greeting, talking to, and serving the crowd. We got a brief history, a warm welcome, friendly attitude, and quick access to the food! He's from Cali.

I'd be smiling too if I were holding all these desserts. Our tour guide is on the left.

We then got our hands on the actual desserts. A macaroon and a rich fudge brownie. At this point, Matt said, "It just keeps getting better in my mouth."

Macaroon and Brownie

Just wanted to have a pic of the inside. So good.

"Hey Matt, pretend like you're looking at the stuff!"

And then Charlie bought one of these. It was their last one. There are no pictures for a reason.

Next, we walked some more and got a little tour guide info on the history of Durham and its tobacco beginnings. It was hot. We next arrived at Bull City Burger where we got a lecture on the necessity of eating grass-fed pasture-raised beef. Sorry, he called it a sermon. Which it was. Whatever, the burger was crazy good and it came with pickle chips. They make EVERYTHING in house- the bread, mayo, mustard, everything. Except the ketchup, which he explained they go through so much of that it's not practical. Instead they use Simply Heinz which uses only basic ingredients and is made without corn syrup. The owner then taught us how to taste beer and gave us about 2 shot glasses worth from the brewery across the street. I don't like to swish my beer around in my mouth, but I was grateful for the lesson and the beer.

Bull City Burger. Dining Room.

Photogenic

Served on beat up pie tins. I mean, so good.
Even our tour guide who had lived in Austin said, "Now that's a good burger."

They had us fill out our names, email addresses and birthdays because they give you a free burger during your birthday month. Unfortunately, my birthday is in May. In March, they do exotic burger month were they do crazy meat burgers, like iguana and scorpion. I'd be down for that.

I love that it wasn't well done. DELICIOUS.

Then we walked a little farther to Old Havana, a great sandwich shot with an owner who talked to us about how he just wanted to show people Cuban culture. They display artwork from Cuban artists and also do Salsa dancing lessons once at week at the restaurant. Pretty cool. And here I made my first critical error- I ate almost all of my sandwich before I took a picture of it. I had to snatch Charlie's from his hand and take multiple pictures of it before giving it back. He was not pleased rather irritated. It had ham, pulled pork, pickles, cheese, and mustard on it. Grilled almost like a panini. So good. It was served with a fried plantain which unfortunately did not make the picture. Their hot sauce was a watery yellow spicy liquid in an unlabeled glass bottle. And yes, it was very hot, but also really good. I even liked the sketchy looks of it. I'd go back here too [duh].

Check out the other sandwiches



The remnants. I hate myself. This is what was left of the Havana when I remembered to photograph.

Nice Cuban owner, great accent.
Our tour guide-in-training is in the background. He is also a comedian who we may need to go watch soon. He seemed pretty funny. I got his twitter handle.

These are all over the ground downtown. Just to remind you where you are.

Our final stop was Alley Twenty-Six. It's a pretty new liquor bar and it is very swanky. The head bartender there told us that the culture of drinking spirits is just now getting back to where it was in the 1920's so, needless to say, we felt like the Gatsbys while hanging out here drinking out of our shallow glasses with the lovely tiled floors and vintage ambiance. They gave us snacks and two drinks here.

The first cocktail listed is one that we sampled, the Southern Gin Cocktail.
It's what the bartender referred to as a "spirit forward" drink.

The place just makes you feel cool.

Crusty buttery bread with pimento cheese (not mayonnaise-y) and pepper jelly.
They also offer a cheese plate.

Another action shot

Sometimes I impress myself with my iPhone photography skills. Don't worry, he said that the bad stuff is only in the yolk. Also, everybody was doing it. The egg provides a silky texture, he said. I've always wanted to try a drink like this.

Clover Club
Strawberry syrup, NC gin, and eggwhites. They change the flavor based on what's in season. Sometimes it's beets.

Southern Gin Cocktail- Gin, bitters, orange liqueur, lemon.
Charlie: "I'm a spirit-forward kind of guy." Matt: "I'm a stomach-forward kind of guy."

Seriously, we just time travelled.

The tour was great. Our guides were great. The food and drinks were great. We were all full and sleepy and wanted naps afterward. It was a lovely day and I would highly recommend Taste Carolina tours. They even do one in Carrboro in Chapel Hill that involves tapas and drinks. Great way to spend a Saturday exploring somewhere you already live close to. Some of the people in our group even lived in Durham. Literally did not taste anything that wasn't delicious. Fun times.

Cocktails, Apps, and Asian Food

Editing pictures is exhausting. Especially when you're doing it on your phone. So anyway, I'm only about 20 multiple choice questions behind in my bar studies... but hey that's what the weekends are for right? Well last night, I went to the liquor store in an attempt to make some fancy cocktails I discovered in my browsing Bon Appetit magazine and watching The Chew on ABC [really, I have quite a life]. Charlie and I had a couple of drinks and watched some stand up comedy before departing for our asian dinner date. We might've had a few appetizers here beforehand...

The first cocktail I made is called a Calypso. Chef Michael Lomonaco introduced it on The Chew. Click the link for exact instructions and directions, but it includes champagne, orange liqueur [Grand Marnier was way too expensive], and apricot preserves [which Charlie, a big jam/preserves buff already had]. Normally I do not like champagne or anything bubbly. I think it gives me flashbacks of football tailgating, mimosas made with Andre, and drinking really early in the morning [not that there's anything wrong with that]. I figured with the additional sweetness of all the ingredients that I might like this one though.



Celebrating? Because we're done with the first week!?! Trader Joe's said it was good for any celebration?

Ingredients- I know I know, but Patron was really the cheapest orange liqueur they had, possibly because the bottle was so small. I promise it isn't tequila, apparently Patron is branching out.

Finished it should look like a bright yellow bubbly drink. I need to repaint my nails. Also, they aren't super dirty, it's from ink pens- you know, from all that studying.

The next drink is called a New York Sour, and I found it in the April issue of Bon Appetit magazine. Their recipes are pretty reliable. I made a simple syrup. I only had brown sugar here so that's what I used [after some light research that told me it was okay]. I figured it would go well with whiskey. I also don't normally like bourbon, but thought with some sugar maybe I might. Success- I liked this drink even better. It takes 2 oz of bourbon, 1 oz fresh lemon juice, 1 oz simple syrup, then float some wine on top [I used a 3 dollar shiraz]. Like the recipe said, floating looks super fancy and difficult, but you just just pour it over the back of a spoon held very close to the top of the drink. It's served on the rocks.

The inspiration. I didn't exactly have the right kind of glass.

The spill is not for artistic value, it's just really hard to pour a sauce pan's contents into a peanut jar.

Tip- Just because you don't have everything the recipe says you need does not mean you can't make the cocktail [unlike with baking]. Like I have a jigger, barspoon, or shaker. Nope. I used a liquid measuring cup, a teaspoon [for measuring, soup spoon for floating], and a jar that used to house olives.

What a beaut. I was really proud of this. Looks awesome, tasted awesome.

And not to be outdone, Charlie cut up a baguette and mixed us up some dipping oil. He puts in olive oil, garlic oil, and balsamic vinegar, then throws in some grated parmesan cheese and the ready-made seasonings.

Action Shot

Like a piece of art.

We are so fancy.

We also had some pork and chicken liver mousse with mushrooms [$4 at Trader Joe's] with this bread, but it kind of just looked like cement in a plastic container so the photo wouldn't have been too beautiful. At one point [after Charlie ate all the bread], I actually said the words, "But what are we going to dip in the liver now?" Talk about #firstworldpains. Hey, it's the weekend, I go all out. We then headed out to Sake Bomb [terrible name, great drink specials] in Durham for sushi and pho. Yeah, I already decided what to order before I went. Looking at menus is kind of a hobby of mine. I let Charlie pick out the sushi. As long as it has a lot of raw fish, I'm happy.

$5 large hot sake special

The many accoutrements for my pho. Lime, jalapenos, thai basil, bean sprouts, oyster sauce, and sriracha.

Wonderful. Oxtail broth with tender and good quality flank steak, some sliced meatballs, and rice noodles.

Then you add all the stuff you want. I really like salty things.

Very very good. I impress myself with the greatness of these photos.

By the time I took sushi pictures, there were way too many pieces missing from the serving plate. This is part of the "ocean fire roll." It had blue crab,avocado, and spicy mayo inside, topped with tuna, salmon yellow tail, and red snapper.

Then we went to Southpoint to see the Great Gatsby. I may have made us a little late, so we had to sit in the very front. Sorry I don't like previews and don't really even like watching movies in the theatre- expensive and uncomfortable. The movie was pretty good and true to the book, but leaving the movie theatre at midnight is a little late. And then I left my cell phone in the arm rest and had to run back in and get it. Luckily it was still there.

Annnnd today we're going on a food tour of downtown Durham- the South's tastiest town according to Southern Living. Oh, there will be pictures. The weather is great out.

As promised... Results of Ground Beef Gyros

After a day of studying and looking forward to dinner, I made the ground beef gryos I found on Pinterest via the blog passionate homemaking. And yes, her pictures are a lot more beautiful than mine, but these were great. The boyfriend liked them too. Not difficult, and I even took a study break to make the greek yogurt tzatziki with my little Cuisinart mini food processor [invest in one, it will change your life]. I watched a couple episodes of the League on Netflix while I did this and made the beef patties.

I followed the blog's recipes exactly, and I used lean ground beef to make the patties and only spray olive oil to cook them. Imagine how dank they would be had I used 80-20 beef instead. Also, after slicing the patties, I seared them a little more in the pan to brown them, as I didn't think the pink in the middle of a hamburger that I usually would be a good fit for gyros. The oregano, onion powder, and garlic powder really gave the meat good flavor. Also, the tza was fantastic and healthy since it was yogurt. I bet a spoonful of mayo would've been a real nice addition too. I used Trader Joe's fat free feta to top them.



I keep forgetting to style my food I get so hungry- Should've done a dramatic sprinkling of feta.

They turned out fantastic and took me back to my days of waiting tables at the delicious and not-so-fancy No Name Pizza of Beaufort [seriously that place is magnificent]. I kind of wish I was still living at the beach and making those tips now...


Unfortunately Aldi did not have pitas, so I used some "Fit & Active" flatbreads



 So maybe I went overboard with the pictures. It could be a lot worse and I could've just ended up with a picture of three bites of pita and smeared tzatziki all over the plate.

 

Another angle, just in case you can't get enough. I wanted to make sure I got a good one.



Showing you how to eat one... Don't you love my beachy orange nail polish?

And then I was still a little bit hungry/didn't want the meal to be over yet but I wanted to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow [I know, decisions, decisions] so I made a plate of...



Seconds... a little Mediterranean nachos?

The good news is I'm going out to eat on Friday. Maybe a little dinner and a movie? Maybe a little sushi and sake? I'm excited. Too bad I heard the new Hangover was awful and not funny. Dammit.
In other news, I JUST started watching the Walking Dead tonight after dinner. Great timing for studying. How many seasons are there? Pretty sure I'm hooked.