mmm... food...

One thing Conor and I are really good at is eating. I've made some great meals while I've been out here: chicken parmesan and spaghetti and meatballs are two new recipes. But, I haven't strayed from the usual contenders: chicken teriyaki, tortellini, pork chops and rice, taco soup, etc, etc, etc. Not to mention desserts. I love to bake, and I also love to eat said baking. But, that's not what this post is about. Conor lived in Durham for an entire year without a wife to cook for him, so he found some great local places to eat. It's hard to leave your favorite restaurants behind (Mazatlan, Cafe Veloce, NoodleLand, King's Teriyaki, Brown Bag Cafe, to name a few) because it's such a comfort to know that if you're not in the mood to cook, or you have a special outing, you can go to any of these places and order your favorite meal. Good news - I've found a few in Durham too! And it's in alphabetical order as to not show favorites:

Backyard BBQ Pit: Conor found The Pit through work because it is a Baseball America staple - they love it! It was actually featured on an episode of Man v. Food because of the unique cooking style - they still use an old pit with hickory and oak wood. Apparently that's the old style. All I know is that it's pretty durn good.

Carrburritos: Conor tried to take me to a really crappy Mexican restaurant one of my first full week's here, and that just didn't cut it - I've gotta have my picadillo burrito, and this place didn't have shredded beef, or pork, or anything good for that matter. Carrburritos is the exact opposite of that restaurant - it's awesome! The atmosphere is a lot of fun, and more importantly, the food is great.



Daisy Cakes: Daisy Cakes is pretty unique - it's only open from 9am - 1pm on Saturdays, and they sell tasty cupcakes out of an Air Stream trailer - the experience is fun, and mostly tasty! Conor had Carrot Cake and I had s'mores. The menu changes periodically, and I'm excited to go back and try two new ones!






Locopops: I don't need to say much about Locopops. If you've read Conor's blog, or if you know us at all, you know about Locopops. It's a locally owned popsicle shop and it's really good!

Mama Dip's : Mama Dip's is one of the first restaurants Conor took me to when I first visited him during the internship - it is comfort food that is ridiculously good. It has great southern style vegetables, if you're into that sort of thing. I try to stay away from soggy greens if I can help it. But that's not what makes this restaurant so good. The cake. The delicious cake. The delicious, moist cake. The delicious moist yellow cake. The delicious moist yellow cake with frosting. The delicious moist yellow cake with tasty frosting. So good.




Only Burger: Only Burger is like a scavenger hunt, which makes it way more fun to eat. They are also in a trailer of some sort, but their location changes daily - the only way to know is to either follow them on twitter, or check their website daily. I'm here to tell you that it's totally worth it. My only suggestion is to bring your own chair because they don't have any seating.

The Q-Shack: I favor this BBQ joint a little more over the Pit, but they're both delicious. Conor says The Pit is NC-style BBQ, while this place is Texas-style. I haven't lived here long to tell you the difference between them all - just about every region in the south has their own version of BBQ, and I promise to get to the bottom of it for you - no matter how many pulled pork sandwiches I have to eat to get there! Q-Shack has great hush puppies and heart-stopping mac & cheese. Yum.

Rita's: Oh man. I found the mainland version of a Matsumoto's Shave Ice and I couldn't be happier about it. A gelati is heaven - frozen ice (kind of like a slushy) with a layer of frozen custard on the bottom, and a bit on the top. The combination of the two is delicious. The only problem is that each time we go in, the same people are working there. It makes it hard to eat copious amounts of dessert suspiciously when you walk in and the guy working there says "Welcome back!" Embarrassing!



Sarah's Empanadas: I'm only mentioning this place because Conor loves it. I'm willing to give it another shot, but it's just not my flavor palate. However, I think people coming to visit us would probably like it. It's basically a Bolivian pot pie - Conor swears by the corn and cheese empanada. It's only open for lunch hours, and Conor tries to make it out there with his work buddies as often as he can!

Twisted Noodles: Thai food was the hardest to find out here in Durham, but we've found a great place that comes pretty close to home. It was too dark in there, so my pictures wouldn't have turned out, but it was delish.

Alright - all those that are planning on visiting us, start planning your menu now - these are Cheryl-tested and belly-approved restaurants we would love to take you to!