Durham, NC advice (mostly food)

[amraeder]

So I'm going to be in Durham for the first time in my life next week. I won't be there too long (Monday night - Thursday morning) and I won't have much free time (I'll be working 12 hour days), so I feel most of my exploring will be done with a fork and knife.
Where should I be eating?
Mostly I want awesome Carolina BBQ, but other genres are also welcome.

Thanks!

 

[Jake_Taylor]

So I'm going to be in Durham for the first time in my life next week. I won't be there too long (Monday night - Thursday morning) and I won't have much free time (I'll be working 12 hour days), so I feel most of my exploring will be done with a fork and knife.
Where should I be eating?
Mostly I want awesome Carolina BBQ, but other genres are also welcome.

Thanks!

Oxymoron. But there is some good food in Durham and I hear downtown has a lot more than when I lived there a few years back. Pops in Brightleaf Square is a fantastic Italian place.

 

[NDJournalist]

One word: Cookout. Eat all your meals there.

 

[Jake_Taylor]

Cookout is excellent, though eating every meal there means you miss out on some other good places. Still,that's the smartest thing he's ever said.

Blue Corn Cafe on 9th Street has great Latin American food.

 

[Bob Cook]

Chubby's Tacos on Ninth Street -- most excellent.

Here is a guide to the restaurants in the American Tobacco District area, mostly to highlight Tyler's, which has a good beer selection, and Tobacco Road Sports Cafe, which is decent and seats you in left field of the Bulls ballpark.

http://www.americantobaccohistoricdistrict.com/restaurants/page/10784063/

 

[Jake_Taylor]

My office was above Tyler's, great joint if you are looking for a sports bar-type place. They used to have great specials on Canadian beer during Canes games.

 

[amraeder]

When I google cookout Durham NC, I get three results, Hillsborough, Roxboro and Miami st. Which one should I be going to?

 

[NDJournalist]

When I google cookout Durham NC, I get three results, Hillsborough, Roxboro and Miami st. Which one should I be going to?

They're probably all the same and excellent. Most are open until 2 or 3 a.m. Get the burger all the way or the cheese dog with a Cheerwine and you'll be set.

 

[Jake_Taylor]

Hillsborough and Roxboro are little towns nearby, but you likely have no reason to go there. Miami Street is a Durham location, south part of town if I remember right. The other one must be the one closest to Duke.

 

[amraeder]

Ok, cool. Thanks!

 

[Mystery Meat II]

Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen in Chapel Hill. Utterly glorious chicken biscuits made even better when you add an egg and cheese. Greasy, disgusting, murderous and completely unforgettable. You'll hate yourself and pledge to do it again as soon as you can.

 

[Bob Cook]

Just in case you're looking for "Bull Durham" locations:

http://www.fast-rewind.com/locations_bulldurham.htm

And Annie Savoy's house, which isn't in here, is 911 N. Mangum St. There's no sign, and somebody actually lives there.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Hillsborough and Roxboro are little towns nearby, but you likely have no reason to go there. Miami Street is a Durham location, south part of town if I remember right. The other one must be the one closest to Duke.

All three are streets in Durham. Roxboro is a main east-west artery in Durham ... IIRC, linked to Duke St. (which does not take you to the Duke University campus).

 

[amraeder]

Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen in Chapel Hill. Utterly glorious chicken biscuits made even better when you add an egg and cheese. Greasy, disgusting, murderous and completely unforgettable. You'll hate yourself and pledge to do it again as soon as you can.

Oh, man, I loves me some biscuits!

 

[Jake_Taylor]

Hillsborough and Roxboro are little towns nearby, but you likely have no reason to go there. Miami Street is a Durham location, south part of town if I remember right. The other one must be the one closest to Duke.

All three are streets in Durham. Roxboro is a main east-west artery in Durham ... IIRC, linked to Duke St. (which does not take you to the Duke University campus).

You are right. I just assumed they'd opened Cookouts in those towns after I left. Chapel Hill opens up a whole other list of good possibilities. If you head over there check out Carrburritos, which is actually in Carrboro, but near UNC.

 

[Vombatus]

Ten years ago, I stayed as cheaply as possible at the Scottish Inn which was more of a motel. Only positive thing about it was that it had a free porn channel.

But that channel had a show of two people sucking, eating and ****ing and the odd thing was that they were both completely covered in deep blue body paint. The only body parts that were not deep blue were their eyes, tongues and a fantastic pink labia that stood out in deep contrast to all the blue around it, as if it were waving "hi" to the camera.

It to was like watching Blue Man Group **** themselves. Disturbing, but I figured it was a Welcome to Duke chamber of commerce video.

 

[amraeder]

So, at least I've got that to look forward to, which is nice.

 

[tarheelgamecock]

I live in Raleigh and spend half my week working in Durham so I can chip in some on what’s there now. There is a lot of really good food downtown, and if you don’t mind driving, there are some excellent places in downtown Raleigh and in Chapel Hill.

I’m not wild about Cookout. Plus, it’s all over the place now in NC, SC and VA. If you don’t get to it while you’re in Durham, it’s not like you’re missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They serve a cheap, decent burger.

Durham has an interesting food truck scene. Here’s a tweet aggregator: http://finddurhamfoodtrucks.com/. Usually you can find out via Twitter where they are or where they’re going to be.

Some places I like downtown…

Bull City Burger and Brewery—a lot of variety, burger- and beer-wise; best burger I’ve had in the last year
Toast—sandwich shop downtown; they put a lot of thought into the food, and it shows; the portabello Panini is awesome
Geer Street Garden—a nice, comfortable place; a block from the old Durham Bulls stadium, where Bull Durham was filmed

A couple of places that come highly recommended that I haven’t made it to…
Fullsteam Brewery—not sure about food, but they do beer, of course
Watt’s Grocery—I got a gift certificate for my brother in law for Christmas and this is where my Durham foodie friends recommended; it’s expensive

Definitely hit the Durham Bulls, if they’re in town. You’ll love what they’ve done with the warehouses across the street from the stadium. There are restaurants and bars, for pre- or post-game.

A warning, though… map out where you’re going before you go. Durham is on the rise, but it has some rough spots, and it’s easy to make a wrong turn downtown and end up on some really sketchy streets.

 

[Uncle.Ruckus]

Break into Krzyzewski's office and **** in his coffee pot.

 

[NCScrub]

For food options, I suggest:
Breakfast: Second the motion for Rise, which is real close to the mall off I-40, but depending on the hour, the place gets crowded quickly and is a bit of a zoo
Dames Chicken and Waffles in downtown

BBQ: The two places I like are the Original Q Shack on University Drive, not too far from the Bulls' park, and Bullock's is an institution with tons of famous folks who've stopped in

I also like Chubby's Tacos, and Nana Taco right next to Q Shack is good.

Fullsteam Brewery is a good place for a beer, and there's some cool spots in the Tobacco campus (Tyler's, Cuban Revolution) that's right next to the ballpark and performing arts center