Sunday, April 29, 2007

Best French Fries in Durham

There are some great french fries in Durham. Here are my favorite french frie "vendors" up in the area.

1) Piedmont - garlicy!
2) Federal - garlicy!
3) Tyler's - most garlicy!
4) Elmo's (if you like the crinkle fries)

Piedmont

We've been to Piedmont about three or four times. Each time I am amazed by how crazily delicious the dishes are. It's like treating yourself to a fine dining experience. I always like to start with one of their salads and their pasta selection. I just love this place, but why? What makes Piedmont so unique?

1) They change their menu everyday! This makes it really interesting to go regularly because you get something new to try each time.
2) They use locally grown and organic produce. You can taste the difference.
3) The salads have the perfect blend of enough salad dressing and not too much.
4) The pricing is reasonable for such four star quality food (average entree is $8 - $15).
5) The location is super cool. Where else can you get a great meal before going to a show at the Carolina Theatre or the Manbites Dog Theatre?
6) Their french fries are to die for. This chef used to work at Federal (across from Brightleaf) where they still serve these delectable fries.

Favorite Lunch Places in Durham/RTP

1) Neomonde -- Lebanese cuisine served up fresh daily. I love this place because the food is always always fantastic. You can sit outside or inside and there is always someone there that I know. My favorite thing to order is the "Make Your Own Sampler" because you can choose whatever you like from their deli selections. I'd recommend the Mujadhra (lentils with onions and rice), the Eggplant stew (don't know official name), the stuffed grape leaves and trying either the Hummos or the BabaGanoush. The average price is $7- $10 for lunch.

2) BabyMoon Cafe -- Italian/Meditteran food served up in a lively and bustling cafe style restaurant with a lovely garden outdoor area. Like Neomonde, this place is consistently great. This is a full service restaurant unlike Neomonde, so sometimes it can take a little longer to get your food. The service is always friendly and great too. My favorite? The fried eggplant sandwich. (As you can tell from my other recommendations, I really like eggplant or aubergine). Average lunch is $ 8 - $12. Don't go at noon. Get there early or you'll wait.

3) Whole Foods (Raleigh - Wade Avenue)
Okay, to this place isn't really a lunch place, rather a grocery store and isn't really in Durham or RTP, but it's close enough. It's great when you don't know what you feel like eating since they have a huge selection. It's not good for business meetings, only casual ones as it's really noisy and crowded and self service.

4) Saffron -- excellent South Indian cuisine. I've only been there once, but it won me over.

5) Azitra (BrierCreek) -- excellent Indian cuisine ( I think it's a mix of regions in terms of cuisine). What's so great about Azitra is that the restaurant exudes an aura of elegance and the food is simply delicious. The service is wonderful, the location is convienant to Raleigh, Durham and RTP as well. Brier Creek offers so many options that even if your lunch date doesn't like your choice of restuarant, there are plenty others to choose from (like Champas which is a Thai restaurant).

6) Moe's -- yes, it's a chain, I know, but it's fun and has good food. This one is off Harrison Avenue in Cary.

7) NY Diner -- it's off Harrison Avenue in the shopping mall where there's a Sam's Club. They have daily specials and my favorite is their eggplant parmigan sandwich. (What a surprise).