Downtown Durham Food Tour – Taste Carolina

(originally written June 2013, but these are some great pics you guys, I couldn’t waste them!)

My friend Matt has had gift certificates for two Taste Carolina Food Tours for over a year now. We finally got around to going this weekend, took Charlie with us, and some great food, drinks, and photos were had by all. Although they do several cities, we chose the downtown Durham tour and it was pretty swanky. I know all people really care about is seeing pictures of the food [or maybe that’s just all I care about], so I took about 100 photos of all the fantastic eats… and maybe a few great shots of us good-looking people too.

Told you. Just FYI, my dress is a skirt from the Salvation Army with a safety pin in it and a belt on top.

We met up at the Pinhook [not open, but it was our starting point] at 1:30 Saturday afternoon and of course we were late, but our tour guide called us and they waited. So nice. First we walked to Loaf, a local bakery. The owner gave us a [long-ish] informative speech about how he got started, the farmer’s market nearby, and how he built and operates this enormous brick oven. They make several loaves of bread (European style), including wheat and rye, and also French pastries based on the heat of the oven throughout the day. They don’t have any seating, but customers pick up bread, coffee, and other treats before and after work. They are open from 7am to 6pm. Hard work.

Bread Oven.

Croissants, Scones, Cookies. Looked like they had a lot of other good things too.

After finally being rewarded for our patience and listening skills, we received this chocolate-filled croissant. Dang, they were good. I think one of us [Charles] may have gotten seconds…

This was our food sample for this stop. Holy cow, the butter in this thing. Way better than anything you buy in the grocery store.As Charlie said, “Man those had been sitting there for so long before he finally gave ’em to us and they still tasted all warm and gooey in the middle.”

Next stop was Piedmont. The new chef there, Ben, goes to the farmer’s market to collect supplies and their menu changes DAILY. This was probably the single best dish we got to sample all day. A snapper on top of South Carolina rice with sweet potato puree. I knew this was going to be good when my friend Maggie [who went to Duke unfortunately, but knows about Durham] recommended this spot for my potential birthday dinner. They also handed us a drink menu and gave us half-off the NC brews. Mine was delicious and the name of the beer apt.

Good looking place. I would eat here again… I hear they are participating in Triangle Restaurant Week.$30 dinners. Starts Monday. Yeah, I’ll be back.

Something on the menu said this beer tasted like bananas… something, something… delicious and 5.8% alcohol, can’t go wrong.

I wish I could make you understand the greatness of this dish. I can’t believe they actually voluntarily decided to serve this to so many of us on a food tour. It was SO GOOD. I could’ve eaten eight of them. Maybe just give me a whole fish next time and a soup bowl of the sweet potato puree.

They think they’re bad ass.

Despondently leaving and hustling to chug our beers so we could go to the next spot, DaisyCakes next door did not disappoint. The owners told us a story about how the business was started in an airstream trailer they bought in Newport, NC. It was a cute spot with good lunch options and tonnnssss of desserts.

DaisyCakes. Local, local, local.

They gave us a savory dish first, a super delicious sandwich and pasta salad. It had bacon, avocado, and carmelized onions. There might have been some aioli too, I think I blacked out. And there was a taste of pasta salad.

But I know there was definitely bacon.

The guy that worked at Daisy Cakes probably did the best job of greeting, talking to, and serving the crowd. We got a brief history, a warm welcome, friendly attitude, and quick access to the food! He’s from Cali.

I’d be smiling too if I were holding all these desserts. Our tour guide is on the left.

We then got our hands on the actual desserts. A macaroon and a rich fudge brownie. At this point, Matt said, “It just keeps getting better in my mouth.”

Macaroon and Brownie

After. Just wanted to have a pic of the inside. So good.

“Hey Matt, pretend like you’re looking at the stuff!”

And then Charlie bought one of these. It was their last one. There are no pictures for a reason.

Next, we walked some more and got a little information on the history of Durham and its tobacco beginnings from our guide. It was hot. We next arrived at Bull City Burger where we got a lecture on the necessity of eating grass-fed pasture-raised beef. Sorry, he called it a sermon. Which it was. Whatever, the burger was crazy good and it came with pickle chips. They make EVERYTHING in house- the bread, mayo, mustard, everything. Except the ketchup, which he explained they go through so much of that it’s not practical. Instead they use Simply Heinz which uses only basic ingredients and is made without corn syrup.

The owner then taught us how to taste beer and gave us about 2 shot glasses worth from the brewery across the street. I don’t like to swish my beer around in my mouth, but I was grateful for the lesson and the beer.

Bull City Burger. Dining Room.

Photogenic place. Love the signs.

Served on beat-up pie tins. I mean, so good.Even our tour guide who had lived in Austin said, “Now that’s a good burger.”

They had us fill out forms with our names, email addresses, and birthdays because they give you a free burger during your birthday month. Unfortunately, my birthday is in May so I just missed it. In March, they have “exotic burger month” where they do crazy meat burgers, like iguana and scorpion. I’d be down for that.

I love that it wasn’t well done. DELICIOUS.

Then we walked a little farther to Old Havana, a great sandwich shop with an owner who talked to us about how he just wanted to show people the Cuban culture. They display artwork from Cuban artists and do Salsa dancing lessons once at week at the restaurant. Pretty cool. And here I made my first critical error– I ate almost all of my sandwich before I took a picture of it. I had to snatch Charlie’s from his hand and take multiple pictures of it before giving it back. He was not pleased rather irritated. It had ham, pulled pork, pickles, cheese, and mustard on it. Grilled almost like a panini. So delicious. It was served with a fried plantain which unfortunately did not make the picture. Their hot sauce was a watery yellow spicy liquid in an unlabeled glass bottle. And yes, it was very spicy, but also really good. I even liked the sketchy looks of it and not really knowing what you’re eating. I’d go back here too [duh].

Check out the other sandwiches

The remnants. I hate myself. This is what was left of the Havana by the time I remembered to photograph it.

Nice Cuban owner, great accent.Our tour guide-in-training is in the background. He is also a comedian who we may need to go watch soon. He seemed pretty funny. I got his twitter handle. I believe it’s @corndogjesus

These are all over the ground downtown. Just to remind you where you are.

Our final stop was Alley Twenty-Six. It’s a pretty new liquor bar and it is very swanky. The head bartender there told us that the culture of drinking spirits is just now getting back to where it was in the 1920’s so, needless to say, we felt like the Gatsbys while hanging out here drinking out of our shallow glasses with the lovely tiled floors and vintage ambiance. They gave us snacks and two drinks here.

The first cocktail listed is one that we sampled, the Southern Gin Cocktail.It’s what the bartender referred to as a “spirit forward” drink.

The place just makes you feel cool.

Crusty buttery bread with pimento cheese (not the mayonnaise-y kind) and pepper jelly. Welcome to the South. They also offer a cheese plate.

Another action shot

Sometimes I impress myself with my iPhone photography skills. Don’t worry, he said that the bad stuff from the egg is only in the yolk. Also, everybody was doing it. The egg provides a silky texture, he said. I’ve always wanted to try a drink like this.

Clover ClubStrawberry syrup, NC gin, and egg whites. They change the flavor based on what’s in season. Sometimes it’s beets.

Southern Gin Cocktail: Gin, bitters, orange liqueur, lemon.Charlie: “I’m a spirit-forward kind of guy.” Matt: “I’m a stomach-forward kind of guy.”

Seriously, we just time travelled.

The tour was great. Our guides were great. The food and drinks were great. We were all full and sleepy and wanted naps afterward. It was a lovely day and I would highly recommend Taste Carolina tours. They even do one in Carrboro and Chapel Hill that involves tapas and drinks. It’s a great way to spend a Saturday exploring somewhere you already live close to. Some of the people in our group even lived in Durham. Literally, I did not taste anything that wasn’t delicious. Fun times.