Valentine’s Day once again is quickly approaching and if you’re looking to go out on the town now is the time to make those reservations. Like last year, I thought it would be helpful to make a list of Durham restaurant offerings for February 14. Menus when available are linked. This list is in no way complete and I will continue to add to it.

604 at West Village
$49.95 per person for four courses
Includes champagne toast and a red rose

Blu
$45 for three courses

Broad Street Café
Lots of stuff going on:
Periodic Tables: Durham’s Science Café at 7 PM, Subject: Speed Dating
Speaker: Karin Pfennig, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, UNC-Chapel Hill
Dinner will feature special food and beverages
Foothills Sexual Chocolate on tap
Champagne cocktails and champagne by the bottle

The Cookery
Valentine’s Day for Food Lovers workshop

Dos Perros
Special menu and drink specials

Durham Spirits Co.
Hosting several Valentine’s Day themed cooking classes:
Couple’s Aphrodisiacs 2/10
Sweets for your Sweet(tooth) 2/11
Cocktails are for Lovers 2/12

Foster’s Durham
Pick up Valentine’s Day dinner
$75 for three course dinner for two
All orders must be placed by Saturday, February 11th for pick-up on Tuesday, February 14 between 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm

Four Square
$65 per person
Special menu

Gregoria’s Kitchen
$29.95 three course menu

Guglhupf
Special Valentine’s night performance with Dawn Michelle Williams on piano

King’s Daughters Inn
2/11 Sparkling Wine Tasting
Taste champagne, sparkling wine and Kings Daughters’ signature sweets
$18/person or $30/couple

L’uva
$35 for three courses
Special champagnes and bubbles

Piedmont
$45 for three courses

Revolution
2/13 Cocktails and Chocolate (two Valentine’s cocktails paired with truffles)
$45 per couple
2/14 Three course menu for $65 with a la carte selections available at the bar

Sitar Palace
Complimentary champagne or wine and chocolates with dinner specials

Taste Carolina Tour
A walking tour with stops at five locations in Durham
Includes dinner, cocktails, dessert, chocolate boxes

Washington Duke
$65 for five courses with chocolate-dipped strawberries to take home
Live piano music

Watts Grocery
$50 for three courses.

More low key options:

A box of goodies from Daisy Cakes

A collection of Big Spoon Roasters peanut butter

A collection of spices or a box of chocolates from Cocoa Cinnamon

Cheese plate from Reliable Cheese

A box of Monuts

A CSA from This & That Jam

Pick up some fresh oysters, scallops or your favorite seafood from Dock to Door at Fullsteam on 2/14.

A pie from Scratch

Non-edible option? You can adopt a lemur at the Duke Lemur Center in someone’s name.

Valentine’s Jazz at the Hayti Heritage Center, 15 for singles and $25 for couples

But for me – a giant glass of horchata, a plate of tacos at Super Taqueria and maybe a pint at Surf Club is the way to my heart.

Keep in mind that everything is student-run here, so be forgiving! The wait staff is also comprised of chefs-in-training, and they rotate with the back of the house each month so they can all experience all aspects of restaurant operations during a meal rush. The menu is small, consisting of about 5 appetizers and salads, 5 sandwiches, 3 entrees, and 3 dessert options.

It will stay the same throughout the semester. Worth noting is that they serve Joe Van Gogh coffee, and it was great! So many restaurants serve bad coffee, so I always celebrate the exceptions to that.

We started with the crab cakes, which were served with a red pepper remoulade. They were probably the best dish we had and delicious.

They were jam-packed with crab, fried nicely, and had a great kick from the diced yellow and red peppers inside. The remoulade was also good, though the salad was overly dressed with a strongly lemon vinaigrette. Those patties, though, they were wonderful.

My husband’s tuna melt sandwich was a simple affair—grilled white bread, lettuce, tomato, and swiss cheese that wasn’t melted.

He was okay with it, but probably wouldn’t order it again. At $7, it’s not a bad deal, but a little more imagination would have been nice. Personally, I was sorely tempted by the Asian short rib entrée but decided that the shrimp tacos were more up my alley, being as I’ve only recently started enjoying ribs.

First, the negative: they don’t make their tortillas, so that sacrifices some of the quality of a taco dish, but they do fry the chips in house (and the potato chips, too). The shrimp were cooked just right, and I enjoyed the unexpected and somewhat southern take on tacos—they were served with tomato, lettuce, very thinly sliced and grilled green and red bell peppers, and a green chile salsa that tasted like chow chow. Definitely don’t order them expecting taqueria-style tacos, but I rather liked the interesting take on the dish. The guacamole was some of the best I’ve had in the area, heavy on the lime and cilantro.

We passed on dessert, but what they had is worth mentioning. You can order bananas foster with vanilla ice cream, and they will prepare it tableside for you. Another patron had it while we were there—talk about a fun spectacle while dining! They also offer flourless chocolate cake and a changing ice cream flavor. This day it was cobbler themed with peach bites mixed into spiced vanilla ice cream and topped with crumble. I almost talked myself into it, but I was really full.

The District is a fun restaurant if you need a change from the Tobacco District’ above-ground options and you don’t mind being a training ground for cooking students. They could do with some better quality ingredients in terms of bread and tortillas, but I definitely recommend those crab cakes and the dessert sounded great. Give them a go and help these students gain the experience they need.

The District
410 Blackwell Street
The American Tobacco District
$6–$11
Reviewed 26 Jan 12.

Serving Cuban food in an upscale yet unstuffy atmosphere, Gregoria’s Kitchen is located in an old house on Chapel Hill Road just up the street from La Vaquita. Lured in by the $20 three course meal, we checked it out this past week during Triangle Restaurant Week.

On a Friday night, we were warmly welcomed by two hosts and seated near a harp player. Despite low lighting, candles on the tables and the harp, Gregoria’s manages to feel casual and relaxed. The friendly waitress talked us into trying their mojitos, which were nice but a little too sweet for my taste. We were immediately brought a plate of fresh bread and a roasted pepper butter spread that was excellent. For our appetizers we choose the Relleno de Platano Maduro (beef-stuffed plantains) and the Croquetas con Jamon (described as dumplings with Spanish ham). The plantains were great – the sweet plantain balancing nicely with the spicy ground beef mixture. The croquetas were almost like a crabcake – a fried and crusty bread mixture topped with slivers of ham.

For our entree’s we chose the skirt steak and the Lechon Asado (roasted pork with grilled veggies). The pork was really similar to NC style pulled pork, hunks of roasted pork tossed in vinegar. The roasted veggies consisted of a large red pepper slice, zucchini and squash. The vegetables were really good, but I’m not sure I’d order the pork again. It was just too similar to an average NC BBQ joint. The steak however was excellent – perfectly rare with a peppery crust and topped with chimichurri sauce and fried cassava. For dessert we had the coconut/pineapple flan and a guava pastry topped with vanilla ice cream – both were great.

Everything that was on the Triangle Restaurant Week menu is on Gregoria’s regular menu as well. Appetizers are $4.50-$9 and entrees are all right around $15 with one $19.95 steak and a $37 seafood paella for two. We really enjoyed dinner and the friendly waitstaff and we look forward trying more of Gregoria’s menu. Gregoria’s is a unique, welcome Durham dinner option that won’t break the bank.

Gregoria’s Kitchen
2818 Chapel Hill Rd
Durham, NC 27707
Tue-Thu 5:30 pm – 10 pm
Fri-Sat 5:30 pm – 10:30 pm

We used to regularly watch basketball games at the Tavern when it was located on 15-501. It was one of the few places in town that was large enough and off-the-beaten path enough that you didn’t have to fight for a spot to watch a game. When the Tavern moved to its current location on Markham just off 9th street, we had high hopes. We stopped in the first week it was open only to be greeted by oversized bouncers outfitted in mesh shirts and walkie talkies. We didn’t go back.

However this past weekend, after spending too many consecutive nights at Geer St. and Surf Club, we ventured to 9th Street. Two guys playing guitars steered us away from Mitch’s, no empty seats meant Dain’s wasn’t an option and Charlie’s was overtaken by a loud DJ and strobe lights. We ended up at the Tavern.

Because they serve food, the Tavern is no longer a private club which means no membership fee and no bouncers. We were shocked to discover that the Tavern is actually pretty awesome. Lots of decent beers on tap, friendly bartenders and a diverse crowd. It’s a large open space filled with pool tables, dart boards, shuffle board and lots of arcade games. Darts and shuffle board are free, pool is $1 a game. There’s a small room with a stage off to one side. On a Saturday night, the side room was filled with dancers and a DJ. It looks like the Tavern also uses that room for bands and comedy acts.

When we stopped back in this week to give their food a try, the staff was again really friendly and welcoming. The Tavern has a large pub grub menu filled with burgers, chicken sandwiches, wings and the like. All of their sandwiches come with housemade chips and most cost around $6.99. We had the buffalo chicken pita and the veggie burger. The buffalo chicken pita was excellent – a large, fresh pita filled with grilled chicken, lettuce and tomato. The housemade chips were fresh, plentiful, tossed with salt and pepper and served with a side of ranch. The veggie burger was two veggie patties topped with American cheese slices, sautéed mushrooms, onions and peppers and served on buttered/toasted Texas toast.

Are they reinventing the wheel? No, but the Tavern is serving affordable, satisfying and solid pub grub in a relaxed atmosphere. It also may be our new favorite spot watch a game, grab a beer and play a round of darts.

The Tavern
1900 W Markham Ave
Durham, NC 27705
(919) 286-7665

Golden Belt finally has a permanent spot to grab a light bite to eat. Blend, a coffee/frozen yogurt shop, opened this weekend during Third Friday. From Blend’s facebook page, they will offer “Counter Culture Coffee, light breakfast and lunch fare sourced locally or prepared in house from local ingredients and frozen yogurt.”

We stopped in Friday night during their opening to sample a coffee and try a yogurt. The space is open and airy, filled with furniture made from salvaged wood from around Durham. All of their disposable cups, utensils and napkins are environmentally friendly. On opening night, Blend was offering pastries from both Daisy Cakes and Loaf in addition to housemade pound cakes and quick breads. No complaints on the caramel latte we sampled made with housemade caramel and Counter Culture coffee.

We also tried the frozen yogurt as well. A new concept in Durham, Yogun Fruz takes blocks of frozen yogurt (low fat vanilla, non fat vanilla or chocolate) and instantly blends it with whatever fruits you select to create a customized flavor. It’s $3.25 for a small blend. We tried a non-fat vanilla blended with strawberries and blueberries. It tasted healthy and dense, we were able to taste the fruit more than the tang of the yogurt. Find out more about the Yogen Fruz concept on their site. Blend’s facebook says they will also serve local ice cream from Homeland Creamery.

Blend will be a nice spot to grab a caffeine hit or a frozen yogurt during art walk events, a maybe less-crowded place to set up the laptop and get some work done or somewhere to pop in for a quick lunch, breakfast or dessert. It’s a nice addition to the Golden Belt complex.

Monday-Friday 7am-7pm and Saturday 9am-3pm
807 East Main Street, Durham, NC 27701

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).

This weekend is one of those magical ones where many of us won’t have to set the alarm when we crawl into bed Sunday night. There is no mail on Monday, schools and banks are closed – but what does this mean for you fine Carpe Durham readers? It means you can stay out late on Sunday night celebrating Dr. King in our very own special Durham way with a chocolate-themed dance party.

This Sunday, the Pinhook and King Kenney will once again come together to throw an awesome themed event. Dancing the night away is fun and all, but what we here at Carpe Durham are most excited about are the FREE self-serve sundaes provided by the lovely folks at Parlour Durham. Get that? FREE self-serve sundae bar from Parlour.

The Details:
Sunday, January 15th
The Pinhook, 117 W. Main St.
Doors at 9pm.
21+, $5 suggested donation.

DJs:
Chocolate Thunder
Nerve
B.A. Barawkus (of BANG!)
Sean the Revelator
La Sirenita de Tijuana
and surprise guests

Ice cream flavors:
vanilla
vanilla malt chip
milk chocolate stout
Vietnamese coffee
vegan eggnog
& secret chocolate test flavor

Toppings:
hot fudge
caramel sauce
vanilla whipped cream
cookie crumbles (tripple chocolate, lemon chocolate coconut)
flaked coconut

For more traditional Martin Luther King celebrations and events check out the Durham Visitor Center’s post.

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.

With both a static entrée list  and seasonal offerings, Pop’s is actually relatively affordable. Only the steak tops $20 and one could make a lovely dinner out of any of Pop’s wood-oven pizzas, all of which are $10. Highlights of the menu for me are the mussels, the meat plate, the seasonal risotto and the salty egg and prosciutto pizza (note to vegetarians – this pizza can be ordered, and is still excellent, without the prosciutto).

Sometimes one wants more than a plate of tacos from Super Taqueria, a slice from Pie Pushers or a burger at the Fed. On those nights when we’re looking for something a little nicer but not too stuffy, we head to the bar at Pops. The bar staff, like the kitchen and wait staff, are all attentive and efficient. From the fluffy towers of focaccia that are placed in front of you when you sit down to the generous pours of wine, Pop’s bar offers a relaxing dining environment with an attention to detail and a dedication to the food.

A variety of eats sampled this past year:

Pop’s
605 West Main Street, Durham, NC 27701

Everyone who enters the Pledge-olution by 1/8/2012 will be entered to win the grand prize. The Durham-based prizes include two free tickets to the Fiction Kitchen’s monthly vegan brunches at the Pinhook, and one year’s worth of dues paid to the Triangle Veg Society and Triangle Veg Meetup groups, so you can participate in any of their local events.

Already pledged for Meatless Mondays? Refer someone else, and you’ll be entered to win the Karma prize. Durham-based goodies are a free cover charge and cocktail at the PInhook and a free massage session at Nataraja Healing Arts. You can find the rest of the prizes over at the Pledge Page, including cookbooks and a vegan dinner out in Raleigh.