Getting to Know You: Durham

Hey folks,

So Bryan and I have lived in Raleigh the past 2 and a half years and we explored the city a bit.  But Bryan grew up there and knew a lot of interesting things to do and we didn't even get to all of them before moving.  Now here we are in Durham and I can't wait to find new places to eat, shop and hang out around town!

One of my goals is to try a new restaurant every month, and since we go for a date night once a week it's perfect for trying them.  I thought I'd share some of our discoveries with you all since some of you might be locals or visiting Durham sometime!

Our June discovery was The Blue Corn Cafe.  They're a fantastic little family run restaurant on 9th St near Duke University.  They specialize in Latin American foods of all kinds.  I think Bryan and I were both a little nervous since we're not as familiar with most of the foods on the menu, but everything we had was delicious!  We tried their chips and queso with refried beans as well as their homemade salsa, which all had just the right balance of savory and spicy flavors.  Bryan had the Ropa Vieja, it's a steamed beef dish with red sauce over saffron rice.  He also had a side of Cuban bread with it, which proved to be a favorite.  The Ropa Vieja is definitely a comfort food type of dish, it's hearty with a good bit of spice, but not too much for a wimp like me.  And then I had the fish special of the day, which featured locally caught fish over rice with salsa (spicier than I thought it might be, but so good!), as well as fried plantains, and a side of refried beans.  While I really enjoyed it I'm looking forward to going back for the Chicken and Mole, and Bryan has already asked to return for some Ropa Vieja.  The staff at Blue Corn was fantastic and we felt so welcome during our visit.  We hope you'll stop by and check them out too!

Now that July is here we decided to head back the the 9th St neighborhood and try out Heavenly Buffaloes.  I had seen them on Google maps, which can sometimes go really well, but can also have interesting results.  In this case it was both!  I got all dressed up thinking we'd be going inside and sitting down, but when we got to the restaurant it was actually just a cute little place with an order window.  We weren't perturbed though, and since Bryan and I had been thinking about wings all day we decided it would be a good night to watch a movie together at home.  So we tried out the Honey BBQ, (good, but not a stand out) Carolina Honey Mustard (sooooo good, I don't know how I'll manage to try many more sauces because I know I'll always want to get this one now), and the Zesty Garlic Parmesan (just the perfect amount of spice with plenty of complexity to the flavor, Bryan loved it), with a side of waffle fries that were also seasoned with Garlic Parmesan (great flavor too, but eat them before they get cold or they're not nearly as good).  I loved it and Bryan enjoyed it too, though I think we was slightly more disappointed it wasn't a place we could go inside to eat.  However, they do have late night hours Wednesday-Saturday, so I think we've found our late night food stop.

Hope you find some good eats too.  Feel free to tell me about your local favorites in the comments!  Until next time.

Love,

Lydia