Openings report for city: DURHAM

Restaurant

BLEND CAFE (807 E MAIN ST SUITE 2-150)
CHOP STIX CHINESE RESTAURANT (2000 AVONDALE DR UNIT B)
HIBACHI GRILL & SUPREME BUFFET (4600 DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL BLVD.)
BUFFALO WILD WINGS (6709 D FAYETTEVILLE RD)

Food Stands

CHEF KEN’S CATERING LLC (THE COOKERY 1101 W CHAPEL HILL ST)

Mobile Food

DC # 68 SARGE’S CHEF ON WHEELS (2108 ANGIER AVE/ TOOTIES)
HERRERA MFU (AZTECA GRILL 1929 CHAPEL HILL ROAD)
DC # 69 EASY EATS (2108 ANGIER AVE TOOTIES)
DC #70 BLEU MOON EATERY (2100 ANGGIER AVE JOE’S DINER)

Restaurants:

BLEND CAFE (807 E MAIN ST SUITE 2-150, DURHAM, NC, 27701)

THE SWEET TEA CAFE (1058 W CLUB BLVD, DURHAM, NC, 27701)

THE HOUSE RESTAURANT & CATERING (4310 S MIAMI BLVD, DURHAM, NC, 27703)

TOP’S CHINA (5324 NEW HOPE COMMONS DR. STE 301, DURHAM, NC, 27707)

CHOP STIX CHINESE RESTAURANT (2000 AVONDALE DR UNIT B, DURHAM, NC, 27704)

PIZZA MIA ITALIAN GRILL (2812 ERWIN RD. SUITE 103, DURHAM, NC, 27705)

BULL CITY STORE AND GRILL (1301 N ALSTON ST, DURHAM, NC, 27707)

BIG DADDY’S GRILL (608 N MANGUM ST, DURHAM, NC, 27701)

THE MAD BURRITO (1058 W CLUB BLVD SPACE 540, DURHAM, NC, 27701)

SPICEY GREEN GOURMET (2945 S MIAMI BLVD #126, DURHAM, NC, 27703)

EL COYOTE BAR AND GRILL (3801 WAKE FOREST HWY SUITE 102, DURHAM, NC, 27703)

*Presence on this list indicates that a restaurant has been inspected, not that it is necessarily open for business today (although it often is).

January 21st is a big day for Motorco. During the day, it will play host to the second Luchadoras competition, Durham’s own women’s Mexican wrestling extravaganza. We’ve been told this time there will be even more wrestlers and a tag-team match. The beloved Captain Poncho’s Tacos truck will again be out front (order early) and bikeCOFFEE! will be there with a special Counter Culture Luchadores coffee and a La Luchadora Tabla (a slab of dark Mexican chocolate, cayenne, cacao nibs and Mexican coffee). It’s $5 at the door (free for children under 12) and all proceeds go toward the NC Dream Team. During the last match, kids were allowed to interact with the wrestlers, climb in the ring and learn a few basic moves. Doors open at 11 am and the action starts at noon.

Then later that evening, Motorco will also host Durham’s first food truck mash-up. KoKyu, Pie Pushers, Chirba Chirba and Farmhand Foods will team up to serve “mashups” of their normal offerings and Parlour ice cream will be featured in Motorco cocktails. The trucks will each be serving three different dishes and none of their regular menu items.

To avoid the craziness that sometimes arises with food truck rodeos, this will be a ticketed event. It’s $25 advance/$30 at the door for all you can eat. Doors open at 4 pm and food will be served at 6 pm. There will also be music in the Garage from London Dungeon, Gary B & The Notions, and JOLO.

We have been told that there will be 12 “mashed” items for consumption.

 What we’ve heard:

From Pie Pushers: a Farmhand Foods garlic knot (local Farmhand Foods Italian sausage, Farmhand Foods pimento cheese and Farmhand Foods fennel chowchow) and a mini calzone pocket filled with Chirba Chirba edamame, noodles and mushroom soy veggies

From KoKyu: 5 spice rubbed Farmhand Foods brisket TaKo, citrus BBQ sauce & herby/crunchy slaw

From Chirba Chirba: A Pie Pushers pizza dumpling with pepperoni, spinach, fresh mozz served over marinara

From Farmhand Foods: A grilled cheese sandwich filled with the toppings from Pie Pushers’ winter veggie pie

Drinks (must be purchased):

The Cold & Stormy: Gosling’s rum, Motorco’s homemade ginger beer and Parlour’s lime sorbet

Orange Mocha Frappuccino – milkshake w/ Vietnamese coffee ice cream, orange syrup, and Godiva liqueur

Drop by Motorco to buy advance tickets for the food truck mash-up (avoiding the service charge) or purchase them through Motorco’s site. Both of these events are sure to be fun. January 21st – another good day to be a Durhamite.

For more information, head over to Motorco’s site. To keep up with any new menu announcements search for hashtag #FTMU on twitter.

Restaurants:

EINSTEIN BROTHERS BAGEL (2301 ERWIN RD PARKING GARAGE 2, SUITE 0040, DURHAM, NC

BULL CITY STORE AND GRILL (1301 N ALSTON ST, DURHAM, NC, 27707)

DAISY CAKES (401 FOSTER ST SUITE A, DURHAM, NC, 27701)

JAKE’S WAY BACK BURGERS (1058 W CLUB BLVD UNIT 536, DURHAM, NC, 27701)

BIG DADDY’S GRILL (608 N MANGUM ST, DURHAM, NC, 27701)

JIMMYS FAMOUS HOT DOGS (2728 GUESS RD, DURHAM, NC, 27705)

THE MAD BURRITO (105 W CLUB BLVD SPACE 540, DURHAM, NC, 27701)

BULL STREET GOURMET AND MARKET (3710 SHANNON RD, DURHAM, NC, 27703)

FLAMERS BURGERS & CHICKEN (1058 W. CLUB BLVD. #536, DURHAM, NC, 27701)

SPICEY GREEN GOURMET (2945 S MIAMI BLVD #126, DURHAM, NC, 27703)

EL COYOTE BAR AND GRILL (3801 WAKE FOREST HWY SUITE 102, DURHAM, NC, 27703)

BELLA ITALIA CAFE (2945 S. MIAMI BLVD. #127, DURHAM, NC, 27703)

Mobile:

DC #60 TAQUERIA EL BUEN GUSTO RED BUS (EL BUEN SABOR DE MARLEY 3411 UNIVERSITY DR, DURHAM, NC, 27705)

TACOS Y BURRITOS JIMENEZ

DC# 59 FOOD STATION (THE COOKERY 1101 CHAPEL HILL ST, DURHAM, NC, 27701)

TOOTIE’S MOBILE KITCHEN (GOODNESS GRACIOUS 1301 N ALSTON AVE, DURHAM, NC, 27701)

*Presence on this list indicates that a restaurant has been inspected, not that it is necessarily open for business today (although it often is).

My Sister’s Kitchen is located just past the intersection of highways 54 and 55. It’s in a bright red building now adorned with a mural of a tasty breakfast plate. Breakfast is a big draw for this spot, because it’s served all day, and it’s pretty affordable. There’s also free wireless. Inside, I was pleasantly surprised by the bright, cheery yellow of the dining room setup.

Service is either take out and order at the register or sit down and be waited on. Don’t bother looking up at the overhead menu—it’s not complete. The real menus are at the tables so grab one of those to see what My Sister’s Kitchen offers.

Pancakes, omelets, and various egg and meat combinations are on the menu for breakfast. For lunch and dinner, a short list of entrees includes some Caribbean jerk, chicken marsala, stuffed pork tenderloin, pasta and then straightforward sandwiches, hamburgers, and hot dogs. In other words, it’s a mix of cuisines. We dined in, and the only problem I found with My Sister’s Kitchen became noticeable right away—the same people work the take-out register as work the dine-in service, so service is slow if there’s anyone up at the counter, and there usually was. It wasn’t so slow to have annoyed me, though, but I’d be lax if I didn’t mention that two tables walked out while we were there, and the wait may have had to do with one of those. The other table seemed displeased with what looked like a delicious chili dog from my vantage point and left without even trying it, so I think that was unrelated.

Other than slow service, though, I saw no reason to complain. I was tempted by their pasta entrees, but ultimately, the pull of breakfast for lunch won out. I went with the breakfast burrito ($3.99).

Eggs, tomato, sausage and jalapenos filled in the tortilla, and a small cup of sour cream came on top. I loved the ingredient combination, but be forewarned if you don’t like spicy food—the menu lists green peppers, but they were definitely jalapenos.

My friend had the breakfast plate ($5.99).

They have small-dice home fries, which is a fun change from the larger chunks usually offered around here. No complaints other than wanting a little more butter, and it was satisfying food served simply.
Let us know if you try out their lunch and dinner options!

My Sister’s Kitchen
4716 NC Highway 55
Edge of Research Triangle Park, Durham
Website
Breakfast: $1.99–$6.99
Lunch/Dinner: $4.99–$10.99

Reviewed 9.23.11.

Spartacus has been operating in Durham since 1993, which is a very impressive run for a restaurant. Greek food is their specialty, but they offer pasta, burgers, grilled steaks, and seafood as well. It’s definitely the sort of restaurant you can bring your whole family to, knowing they will all find something to make them happy. Atmosphere is relaxed but more upscale than a chain restaurant. Lots of creams and blonde wood.

There’s a huge patio in the front of the restaurant, which would be a great spot for a nice evening, although South Square doesn’t provide much in the way of views.

I started out with a drink from their cocktail list, the Gingerbread Cookie.

It’s a sweet cocktail made with butterscotch schnapps, cinnamon schnapps, Bailey’s Irish cream, and Sambuca. The butterscotch schnapps overwhelmed the other ingredients; I’d dial that down a few notches and bring the others up to compensate for a more well-rounded drink.

Pita slices and baguette rounds were served with a white bean dip that was chocked full of garlic, so much so that I thought the dip was spicy at first due to the garlic’s bite. I really liked it. My group of four then split the house antipasto.

It included a combination of taramosalata, hummus, skordalia, feta cheese, melizonasalata (basically baba ganoush), grape leaves, and tzatziki served with pita bread. The grape leaves were well received. The hummus was great, but I’d give the taramosalata the edge for best dip. Per Wikipedia, it’s traditionally made with fish roe, but our waiter said this one was made with salmon and I don’t think he meant eggs. However, it was pretty salty, so it could have been a caviar equivalent. Whatever its base, I loved the fluffy texture, the salt, and the light salmon flavor. The skordalia was intriguing for the chunks of what I’m pretty sure were pine nuts. However, the cucumber, olive, pepperoncini, and tomato offerings were on the paltry side with no more than two to four of each.

Most of our entrees came with a choice of soup or salad, and I opted to try my first cup of avgolemono soup.

It’s a traditional Greek soup made with an egg and lemon broth. This one featured moist, delicious roasted chicken morsels in an otherwise lackluster broth with nearly dissolved rice. If the lemon quotient of the soup were more prominent, it’d have been a lot more interesting.

Our entrees were very good; my friends didn’t think they were as good as Nikos Tavernos’s offerings used to be, but they were acceptable substitutes. One friend had the stuffed flounder.

If came stuffed with crab meat in a lemon dill cream sauce over rice and vegetables.

This is a mixed grill special that included rack of lamb, chicken, and shrimp was served with rice and vegetables.

The lamb received strong accolades and the rest of the dish was fine.

My husband had the gyro platter that came with a mix of lamb and beef, rice, vegetables, and tzatziki.

Being an eggplant fan, my choice was the mousaka. It contained layers of ground beef and eggplant topped with feta and a thick layer of béchamel sauce.

The beef and eggplant complemented each other well. The tomato sauce could have used some livening up, and the nutmeg of the béchamel dominated too much by the time I was halfway through the dish, but honestly, it was great. The fluffy texture of the béchamel was especially nice in contrast with the beef and eggplant layers.

Spartacus has a delicious, inventive selection of desserts, not just sticking with tiramisu and baklava. Our friends chose a baklava cheesecake that looked amazing.

They were quite happy with it. Our choice was the lemon marscarpone cake.

Lemony desserts are always rather pleasing, so I’d recommend it. The white chocolate curls on top were a nice choice, too, and I only like white chocolate on rare occasions. It worked well with the lemon. Don’t get coffee in the evening, though—mine had definitely been on the warmer too long.

Spartacus is a good choice if you’re looking for Greek options, especially if you’re with others who want more options on the menu than just Greek. It was about half-full on a Wednesday night. Plus, there’s belly dancing on Fridays!

Spartacus
4139 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.
South Square, Durham
Entrees: $12–$18
Sandwiches: $9
Website

Reviewed 9.22.11.

The Republic is a bar and lounge that always intrigued me when I walked by, but for some reason, I never stepped inside until recently. I think it might be because the space looks really, really dark from the outside, which doesn’t come across as welcoming. But my glimpses of fancy, black armchairs lined up against the walls finally convinced me to try the place out. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the drinks and the friendliness of the employees.

Inside, the club’s walls are either brick or black with lushly patterned wallpaper that could do with more light to show it off.

The bar is lined with red lights. In addition to the row of seating areas on the main floor, there are more toward the back of the club and a much brighter alcove upstairs, behind where a DJ normally plays on the weekends. There are also tables on the street if you’d prefer your drink with easy conversation and no music.

The Republic has a full bar and a cocktail list. I looked askance at the several cocktails made with Red Bull, but if energy drinks are your style, you might enjoy them! I definitely liked the other options on the list. I started out with a Berry Diddy martini.

The drink was an incredibly pretty yellow. It’s made with Ciroc Red Berry vodka, lemon Juice, and simple syrup. It tasted very similar to a lemon drop, but the berry flavor from the vodka cut through the lemon, making for a refreshing combination. It was definitely sweet, so I’d recommend it for a dessert drink.

One of my friends tried the Republic’s Tea made with Firefly sweet tea vodka, Absolut Peach, a splash of sweet and sour, a splash of pineapple, and lemon lime soda.

This one was like a drinking a peach sweet tea, and it was great.

My second libation however, definitely took the cake, or cocktail shaker as the case may be.

The Ooooh La La Martini—made with Crown Royal Black, raspberry liqueur, and pineapple juice—was pretty close to perfect for me because I like my drinks strong with something smooth to help them down. The raspberry seemed too prominent at first sip, but the whiskey mellowed it out nicely. It felt thick in my mouth, like it gained creaminess from the pineapple and the froth from the shaking. I loved it.

All in all, I was very impressed with the cocktails I tried, but the Republic needs to do something to make the ambience more inviting, and I say that as someone who loves black and red. I just can’t put my finger on what it’s missing–maybe a better lighting scheme? Regardless, the bartenders’ friendliness and quality of drink should be enough to keep you there for a round or two.

The Republic
353 W. Main Street
Five Points
Website

Reviewed 2 Aug 11 and 26 Aug 11.

Restaurants:

INTER KOREA HOUSE (4731 NCHWY 55, DURHAM, NC, 27713)

NANA TACO (2512 UNIVERSITY DR, DURHAM, NC, 27707)

Mobile:

EL PEQUENO ATORON

TACOS Y BURRITOS JIMENEZ

*Presence on this list indicates that a restaurant has been inspected, not that it is necessarily open for business today (although it often is).

We posted the announcement of Durham Spirits Company’s Open House back in June, and since I went, I thought I’d share with you all more about the company and the space it’s operating in.
It’s a new venture by Katie Coleman, a chef and culinary instructor at The Art Institute of Raleigh-Durham with years of international training. She opened Durham Spirits Company to offer cooking and mixology classes, and I had the pleasure of attending the opening of the business. Right away I was struck by the amazing home that Katie’s renting to provide space for the classes. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and it’s a historic house in Old North Durham smack dab at the end of Elizabeth Street. Let’s take a little tour:
Front sitting room

The cute bar made of gorgeous wooden antiques where mixology classes are held. Katie, who was lovely and rightfully proud of her venture, said she was mainly focused on spirits that we can buy at the ABC stores, because what’s the fun of learning to shake up a cocktail only to have the liquor unavailable for us to purchase and experiment with? I’m signed up to take a classic gin cocktail course in August, which is a hole in my repertoire. There were a few small bar tables in the room as well.

The professional kitchen with lots of light and a breakfast nook off in the corner, where Katie’s mother was assisting with cookie decorations this afternoon.

The dining room, filled with deviled eggs, shredded pork tacos, green bean salad, and watermelon salad for the open house.



All the food messily thrown onto my plate—it was delicious. The grapefuit mojo sauce on the pork was especially tasty.

The best part of the house, by far, is the huge porch in the back, affording a beautiful view of kudzu wilderness and lots of space for lounging when the weather allows, which it luckily did this afternoon.


All in all, I had a great afternoon just talking with Katie and her crew of volunteers, most of whom were recruited by their love of Katie’s cooking. Courses coming up in July include tapas, making lunch from Farmer’s Market bounty (meeting at the Market to talk produce first), a rum tasting, Greek food, cooking with tomatoes, and summer brunch. Sign up here to take a class, and if you do, share with us the experience!

Durham Spirits Company
311 E. Trinity Avenue
Website
Single Classes run $49 to $59

There are cookies. And then there are COOKIES. And then there are COOKIES with a conscience. Kukia’s Cookies, owned by Durhamite Kifu Faruq, are a different kind of cookie—different in all the right ways. Infused with lavender essence, Kukia’s Chocolate Chip Lavender Cookies (with or without pecans) have a concentrated, wholesome flavor and almost seem to melt stress away with each bite. A testament to the culinary lavender that laces each batch, once you go Kukia’s, you’ll never eat another chocolate chip cookie again.

More than a cookie company, Kukia’s Cookies is a mission to synthesize one woman’s passion for making organic and delicious food accessible to the masses and her dedication to a sustainable lifestyle. The way I see it, Kukia’s Cookies is best represented by two old adages. The cookies are made with 100% organic ingredients, hormone-free dairy, and local, farm fresh eggs because, after all, “You are what you eat.” Kukia’s Cookies also donates to local non-profits, such as Green Space Initiatives, an organization that opens access to naturally grown food in communities of color—after all, “I am, because we are.”

Charged by convictions for food justice and satisfied taste buds, Kukia’s Cookies is an admirable company that is undoubtedly going to blow up in our lovely foodie town in no time. Most importantly though, the cookies are chewy-fragrant-chocolatey-lip-smackin’ good—just like grandma used to make. (Just in case you were wondering, Kukia is a blend of two words, Kuia and Kuku which mean grandmother in Maori and the Mapunzugun languages). At present, Kukia’s Cookies can be ordered online at kifu@kukiascookies.com. They are $15 a dozen (which comes out to be $1.25 per cookie, less expensive than any non-organic cookie you can buy in any bakery or coffee shop in the area). Orders can be picked up each Saturday in the old Durham Bull’s Stadium Parking Lot.

Kukia’s Cookies

kifu@kukiascookies.com

www.kukiascookies.com