Media Continue to Rave About Durham

This week Durham has caught the attention of several major national publications like The New York Times, Garden & Gun, Bon Appetit, and The New Yorker with its spate of notable restaurants and features.


Garden & Gun readers lauded popular Durham burger restaurants Bull City Burger and Only Burger as having the "South's Best Burgers."

The New York Times visited Durham's Central Park District in "A Corner of Durham, N.C., Comes to Life." Places featured included The Pit, Geer St. Garden, Fullsteam Brewery, Cocoa Cinnamon and Motorco Music Hall.

Durham's Rose's Meat Market and Sweet Shop was recognized among Bon Appetit's "50 Nominees for America's Best New Restaurants 2014." The publication was particularly impressed with the spring onion sausage wrapped in puff pastry and the hot pastrami with fried potatoes. The top ten will be announced August 19.

The New Yorker profiled a Durham-based photography project, which documented the Durham Bulls' 2013 season in a book, "Bull City Summer." North Carolina writer Sam Stephenson led the project that focused on the world-famous Triple-A team.

See more Durham accolades or visit all of the places in these articles.

Praise for Durham's Bull City Burger and Brewery

Authentic. That word carries a lot of weight in Durham, and those that exemplify it get a lot of community support. Seth Gross, and his first restaurant, Bull City Burger and Brewery are featured in an article in the national magazine Quick Service Review that celebrates places like BCBB that focus on quality, and not quantity, and it is through quality that Gross and his team demonstrate authenticity.

Not only does Gross source nearly everything within a tight radius, but the restaurant makes just about everything in house from scratch. Gross, a trained chef and experienced brewer, also makes all the beer they sell in house, too.

The article highlights some of the nation's most revered independent eateries that fall into the quick service concept. These are not fine dining establishments, and BCBB does not offer table service - patrons order at a counter or at the bar - but it is fine eating and drinking.

Read the article here, and about all of Durham's restaurants that have earned high praise like this here.  As always, planning a trip to Durham is easy online.

Pompieri Pizza Contest Will Give Away Free Pizza for a Year

As the Tastiest Town in the South, Durham's ever-expanding food scene has welcomed newcomer Pompieri Pizza to town with open mouths and hungry stomachs. It joins the ranks of other artisan pizza restaurants in Durham, and in a style typical of owner Seth Gross, there's a great twist filled with intellect and heart...

...and creativity, too.  

Pompieri Pizza, the newest venture from Gross who is chef/sommelier/restaurateur/brewmaster of Bull City Burger and Brewery, one of Durham's Celebrated Cuisine restaurants, a distinction earned by restaurants that have been covered in major media.

In April, Pompieri will host a Pizza Box Contest that invites customers to decorate a pizza box to be judged by a panel who will award several lucky winners in two age brackets a pizza and a nonalcoholic drink every week for a year. Learn more about the Pizza Box Contest and how to participate. Ever the creative marketer, Gross runs a program at his brewery where annually he hides five golden bulls and posts clues on how to find them. Like the pizza box contest, those who find the bulls win a weekly food prize, as well.

Pompieri Pizza focuses on Neapolitan-style pizza fired in wood fired ovens in open view of the dining room. The restaurant is located inside Durham's historic fire station #1 originally built in the 1890s. The restaurant espouses a "back-to-scratch" and "farm-to-fork" philosophy focused on making everything in-house including hand stretching the mozzarella cheese.

Very family friendly with lots for your diners to see, the restaurant has several unique features such as the fire engine red fire fighter’s bar filled with memorabilia of Durham Fire Department’s history as well as an indoor aquaponic basil garden where fish tank water feeds plants and plants clean the water for the fish.


Durham's food scene is renowned for its chef-driven culture and its farm-to-fork offerings. Pompieri joins the ranks of many other Durham restaurants that have made the place an internationally celebrated dining destination.

A Different Kind of Biker Bar

Durham is The Tastiest Town in the South, and now visitors and residents alike and see it and experience it in a whole new (maybe slightly tipsy?) way.

The Biker Bar NC is a fourteen seat human powered bicycle with riders facing one another around a center bar area while a bike captain steers, brakes and provides a guided tour along your route.  We like to say it’s about the journey, not the destination when you are on the green limousine. Durham’s first pub bike will launch late August with historic rides, foodie tours, brewery tours, pub crawls, bachelor/ette parties, team building rides, family reunions, non-profit fundraisers and much more.  The pub bike is quickly becoming a city mascot in other parts of the country and the BikerBarNC is providing the first of its kind to Durham, NC. The BikerBarNC is brought to you by Martha Philpott King and Seth Gross, both long time residents of Durham and excited to be a part of Downtown’s rebirth. The duo also happen to be the driving force behind popular Durham brewery/restaurant Bull City Burger and Brewery.  Check out the website.

The pub bike concept is originally from Holland and is now taking “pedal-hold” in the States.  The bike is custom built out of Bend, Oregon and has many unique features just for Durham.  Durham’s historic records indicate the very first automobile driven on Durham’s city roads may have been the Stanley Steamer circa 1901.  The BikerBarNC will have a nod to the original Stanley Steamer vehicle with a similar paint scheme, brass name plates, the Stanley logos, an antique horn and several other subtle touches reminiscent of the steam car era. The Stanley Steamer was nicknamed the “flying teapot” and is the source of expressions we use today such as, “full steam ahead!” or “I am running out of steam.”

The website features photos, information, and suggested tour routes. The bike travels at about three to five miles per hour and is for folks sixteen and older and all skill levels.  It’s very casual and built around being social, entertaining and enjoying the outdoors.  Alcohol is allowed on-board with some restrictions listed on the website.  Similar to booking a limousine with a driver, the pub bike has a driver and the riders are merely the “engine” for the bike. There is a bench seat on the back for freeloaders or folks wanting to take a break to let their friends take a turn. Tours last about two hours on average and can be custom created if needed.

The inaugural ride is Saturday, August 24th at 11:15 AM with celebrity guest riders Mayor Bill Bell and Frank Stasio.  The remaining twelve seats are being auctioned off with 100% of the proceeds going to the John Avery Boys and Girls Club of Durham.  Bidding begins now online  with 100% of the auction money going to charity.

Stay up to speed on all the fun with the Durham Event Calendar.

Get Your Hands Full Of Bull

Durham's Bull City Burger and Brewery is at it again. From the same folks with a penchant for all things Willie Wonka, a commitment to making in-house darned near everything they serve, a logo tattoo program that gets the tattooed customer 26% off for life, and a slightly sadistic streak as evidenced by their torturous clues in their Golden Bull scavenger hunts, comes a new and quirky way to be involved.

In this case, take involved in its literal meaning...people have to actually have their hand on Major, the large bronze bull sculpture on CCB Plaza on Corcoran Street in Downtown Durham to participate.

All the details are on the BCBB website, and they are very - very - specific.  Some of them border on TMI, but sometimes specificity is best.  Reading them is likely to produce a chuckle or two, and perhaps even a nervous laugh.

In short, the last of the 30 participants who agree to the terms laid out in the contest rules and keep one hand on Major the longest will win the last of the Golden Bulls.  That prize gets the winner a free burger, dirty fries and non-alcoholic beverage each week for a year.

This contest begins at 8 AM on Saturday, March 30.  Seth Gross, the owner of BCBB, is limiting the duration to 11 PM.  In the event that more than one person makes it, there will be a tie breaker event to be determined at a later date.

Participants should also dress up (family appropriate only - reading those aforementioned rules is a really good idea), because the most "outlandish, yet tasteful" costume as voted by the crowd will receive a bonus potty break (again, read the rules).  Participants are encouraged to get sponsors for charitable donations to support a cause, and have a crowd to cheer them on.  Donation dollars equal votes in the costume contest, so those with small bladders should rally a big crowd.

The folks at Monuts Donuts are providing breakfast to participants, BCBB is providing lunch, and participants can bring their own food if they like, but it all has to be consumable with one hand - no help is permitted.

There are always fun a quirky things happening in Durham.  Stay up to speed on all events here in town with the Durham Event Calendar.

Durham Celebrates NC Beer Month With CollaBEERation

UPDATE: Per Bull City Burger and Brewery's Facebook page, info about the CollaBEERation:

CollaBEERation "Trinity Ale" now on tap. Equal parts of Fullsteam, Triangle Brewery and Bull City Burger and Brewery in one beer. To celebrate NC Craft Beer Month, we joined hops, malts and forces to create a one-off beer for craft beer lovers. A pale amber color with hints of bronze and a rocky white head from the NC rye and wheat malts, this medium bodied beer packs a punch with over 6% ABV and tangy hop bitterness on the finish. This beer was filtered and then dry-hopped with Northern Brewer and Fuggles hops, plus a hint of Durham’s Rosemary bushes at the corner of Mangum and Parrish to make certain we have included Durham in every glass. We are donating $1 from every pint sold to a local Durham charity. This beer is sold only by the pint for $5 including tax. Sorry, no growlers or pitchers. VERY LIMITED at all three breweries. Hops: Northern Brewer, Nugget, Goldings.

In April, Durham has a little something special up its sleeve for North Carolina Beer Month.  Soon, Durham beer aficionados will have a new local draft beer to call their own.

On April 3, Durham beer drinkers will be able to celebrate North Carolina Beer Month with a CollaBEERation from Durham's three breweries; Bull City Burger and Brewery, Fullsteam Brewery, and Triangle Brewing Company. The unique styles from each of these three breweries have been blended together to create a uniquely Durham brew.

About the Beer

Brewers from each brewery assisted with mashing in the grain, and adding hops. Each contributed a third of pale malt from three different maltsters, one bag of specialty grains (Triangle contributed wheat, Fullsteam contributed NC Rye and  Bull City Burger and Brewery added Caramel 40), and hops from their signature beers (Triangle added hops from Nugget, Fullsteam added hops from Northern Brewer and Bull City Burger and Brewery added hops from Fuggles).

A taste of Durham is also included from the big rosemary bush at the corner of Mangum and Parrish streets in Downtown Durham. The beer will be lightly filtered with a copper colored ale around 6% ABV with a high level of hoppy bitterness and aroma to please NC craft beer lovers. The style is not defined and will henceforth be known as Durham's style. The beer will be available at each of the three breweries on draft. Each brewery will donate $1 from each pint sold to a local Durham charity selected by each brewery.

Name the Beer
The name of the beer will be decided by a contest.  All three breweries will ask their Facebook fans to nominate a beer’s name and the brewers will pick from the top 5 most liked beer names. Find them on Facebook: Bull City, Fullsteam, and Triangle.

About North Carolina Beer Month
North Carolina is truly the South’s beer stronghold with the most breweries of any state south of Pennsylvania and east of Texas. To celebrate the state’s craftsmanship and the destinations where it’s nurtured, breweries, hotels, restaurants and other businesses combine forces for the inaugural NC Beer Month. Throughout April, beer lovers will find special tours, tastings, dinners, classes and other events as well as lodging packages and deals on North Carolina beer. Travelers can chart a course from urban pub hubs and beer frontiers to lively towns with character to spare. Visit www.NCBeermonth.com for details on specials, and developments on other newly minted festivals, beer classes, and other activities.

Durham April Beer Month events include:

• Triangle Brewing Company holds Saturday brewery tours at 1:30 PM. Cost is $3 per person.
• Bull City Burger & Brewery offers an official brewery tour at 4:00 PM on Saturdays. Cost is $5 per person and includes a tour and tasting of the beers on tap together.  The $5 can be credit toward a growler deposit that day only.
• Beltline Brew Tours give tours of Fullsteam, Triangle Brewing Company and Bull City Burger and Brewery. Tickets are $40-$45. Tour is 11:30-4 PM on April 6.

For more information about Durham, read online.

Bull City Burger and Brewery Announces Golden Bull Scavenger Hunt and Exotic Meat Month

Free burgers for a year sounds too good to be true, right? Getting to choose between Caribou, Python, and Beaver burgers sounds too cool to be true, right? Not so in Durham, a place with an incredible commitment to food.

Bull City Burger and Brewery begins its third annual Golden Bull scavenger hunt on Friday March 1st. along with its second annual Exotic Meat Month.

Clues to the Golden Bull scavenger hunt will be given on the website, Facebook and Twitter for the location of five hidden Golden Bulls.  When a bull is found it must be claimed for the prize - free burgers, fries and drinks, one a week, for a year. The contest is modeled after the movie Willy Wonka and the golden tickets.  The contest is open to anyone 18 or older.  Full details and rules are on the website and can be found by clicking on the golden bull on the BCBB home page.

The purpose of the contest is not only to promote the restaurant and brewery, but also to promote Downtown Durham and like-minded businesses, public places, landmarks and historic markers.  No business knows they are hiding a golden bull until it is found.  The bull hiders are very tricky people and the clues are challenging.  For those who stay in the hunt the rewards are delicious for a year.  Last year, the contest created a legion of followers even creating its own hash tag on Twitter.  This year, the hash tag is #bcbbgoldenbull.  Last year word spread that office workers became distracted, graduate work labs slowed down and people from all walks of life enjoyed the fun.  This year promises the same and more.

This year's Exotic Meat Month will feature exotic meat burgers all month long.  Going by the motto, “I never met a meat I wouldn't eat,” BCBB is specially sourcing exotic meats for limited burgers each week.  The meats range from Caribou, Python, Elk, Ostrich, Beaver,  Alligator and more.  Throughout the month different types of burger meat will be featured, rotating daily or weekly depending on the scarcity of that meat. Each time a new type of meat burger is available it will be posted on the website and on the Bull City Burger Facebook page.

Cece Lopez, head of all things culinary at BCBB, along with owner Seth Gross, have been working for two months to source exotic meats for this month long celebration.  Some of the meats are so difficult to get, there may be as few as twelve burgers available.  The idea is to show that a burger is not made from only beef, to learn about other cultures and foods consumed, plus have a little fun.  Several meats are for only the most adventurous and daring of eaters. T-shirts commemorating the event will be available for sale and if any customer eats any six exotic burgers in March, they earn a free t-shirt. The t-shirts have the motto, “I never met a meat I wouldn’t eat.”  It’s all in the spirit of fun and adventure.

Bull City Burger is a restaurant and brewery that embodies the farm-to-fork philosophy.  “If it’s on the menu at Bull City Burger and Brewery, we most likely have made it from scratch or bought it locally,” said Seth Gross, owner of Bull City Burger and Brewery.  “We grind NC pasture raised beef daily, make the buns, make the mustard, the mayo, make the bacon, pickle the pickles and stuff our all-beef hotdogs.  No corn syrup, no added hormones, no antibiotics, no hydrogenated fats and, we focus on making the best burgers and hotdogs we can produce.”  Bull City Burger and Brewery works with local farmers to source as much of the produce as possible for the restaurant.

For more information about great restaurants in Durham, click here.

The Cookery to Host A Culinary Spectacle for all Ages

Regardless of whether you are a fan of food in general, certain chefs, or the food truck movement that is directing a lot of attention toward Durham, there is something going on there to satisfy every taste.  In a few weeks, yet another bright spot will emerge on the landscape in the place where great things happen.

Triangle residents can eat sausages made by WUNC’s The State of Things host, Frank Stasio, sample vegan sausages prepared by Rue Cler’s award winning chef, Aaron Benjamin, or consume any variety of fare from The Cookery’s popular food truck members, all in the name of charity on Saturday, September 15th from noon to 3:00 pm. The celebration of culinary talent will take place in the Front Room, a new event space in The Cookery on West Chapel Hill Street, benefiting the Durham Crisis Response Center’s emergency shelter which provides a safe environment for women and children fleeing violent and dangerous situations.

“We are thrilled that the culinary community of the Triangle area has rallied to show their support for this fundraiser,” said Rochelle Johnson, who co-owns The Cookery with her husband, Nick Hawthorne-Johnson. “The funds raised through our food sales during the event will go directly toward the kitchen remodel at the shelter, which will improve the lives of countless families on a daily basis.”

Food truck favorites at the benefit will include Chirba Chirba Dumpling, Monuts Donuts, The Parlour, Pie Pushers, Sympathy for the Deli, and Triangle Raw Foods.  Each of them are members of The Cookery, where they take advantage of the innovative concept of sharing a state-of-the-art kitchen for chefs to prepare and share their creations with the public. In addition, many celebrated chefs in the foodie-centric Triangle have committed to participating in the event, as well as special musical guest Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes. To add to the afternoon, a free wine tasting will be hosted by The Clever Vine, and beer tastings will be led by local brewers Bull City Burger and Brewery, Fullsteam, Lonerider Brewing Company, and Triangle Brewing Company.

“We are so excited to expand upon this building’s food-focused history,” said Johnson.  What once was the Durham Food Co-op building has transformed into an elegant event space featuring exposed brick walls, distinctive metalwork salvaged from historic Durham landmarks, and a ceiling stretching 20 feet high. 

The fundraiser will serve as the unveiling of The Cookery’s Front Room, which will serve as a space for The Cookery to host a series of pop-up restaurants, specialty food events, Culinary Workshops, and wine and beer dinners, as well as private dinners and receptions.  The space accommodates up to 200 people, and includes a mezzanine and outdoor patio, a full bar with local NC beers on tap and audio/visual equipment.  In addition, the Front Room’s access to The Cookery’s kitchen facility will equip chefs and caterers with a commercial kitchen and bakery facility to expand upon their culinary repertoire to design unprecedented events.

Learn more about all of Durham's great food options online.

UPDATED: A Heaping Portion of Media Coverage

Durham is a place for food lovers - this is widely known. Despite the loss of culinary icon, The Magnolia Grill, last month, there are plenty of places in Durham that are generating buzz (and drinks and food) that will surely make folks look forward to great meals in the place where great things happen.

Below are two three links to articles that show off some of Durham's great food places. Recently, journalists from Southern Living and the NY Post have spent time here, and their articles indicate they had a mighty good time.  The latest addition is a piece in the Oxford American.

Read the NY Post piece by Jennifer Ceaser. Ceaser hit some high spots in Durham on her visit, including some of Durham's most notable fine dining establishments, and one of it's high end watering holes. This is an example of a journalist making the most of a visit to Durham.

Read the Southern Living Piece by Graham Averil. This article is about the Best Burgers in North Carolina. Two of them can be found in Durham.  Read on and see which ones made the cut.

Read the Oxford American piece by Erin Sroka.
Sroka is from Durham, and this piece is about Dame's Chicken and Waffles. Forewarned is forearmed, it's like to make you very hungry.

Burger Ink?

Lovers of food, art and creativity find a ready home in Durham.  It is a community packed with people seeking, and finding, a life rich with intent and authenticity.  Those values are expressed in a host of ways, the latest being a real testament to what it means to be a fan of something.

Bull City Burger and Brewery came on the Durham scene last year with a bang.  Quickly amassing a large following of loyal customers and social media users, the restaurant's owner and culinary director, Seth Gross, has been tireless in his pursuit of interesting and creative ways to get people involved with his restaurant.  Now he thinks, to play on a familiar phrase, the truly loyal should put his money where their bodies are.

Bull City Burger and Brewery has teamed up with Durham’s Dogstar Tattoo Company and Kathryn Moore to provide three options of approved original tattoo art work. Moore created three tattoos just for BCBB and the restaurant's most loyal customers. Gross thinks that a permanent work of art deserves a real deal. "This may be the first tattoo that pays for itself," he said.

The deal is rather simple.  Those who get an approved permanent tattoo anywhere on their body (subject to verification) will get a twenty-six percent discount on food for life - the law precludes the inclusion of alcohol in the discount. Those interested in getting a tattoo other than the ones created by Moore are welcome to submit art ideas using BCBB's logo and name. "If we approve your tattoo idea, after you get inked you can come in to show off your new “tat” and you earn 26% off for life," Gross said.  Complete information about this program can be found on the website created for the program.

Bull City Burger is a restaurant and brewery that embodies the farm-to-fork philosophy. “If it’son the menu at Bull City Burger and Brewery, we most likely have made it from scratch or bought it locally,” said Gross. “We grind the beef daily, make the buns, make the mustard, the mayo, make the bacon, pickle the pickles and " he added. Gross works with local farmers to source as much of the produce as possible for the restaurant.

Bull City Connector Launches Art Walk "Scan"venger Hunt

Residents and visitors interested in earning a few BUCK$ while experiencing the creative energy of local artists, arts organizations, and downtown businesses should mark their calendars for the first-ever Bull City Connector Art Walk “Scan”venger Hunt from Friday, April 27 to Sunday, April 29, 2012.

The Bull City Connector is partnering with Bull City BUCK$ and the Durham Arts Council for a new and fun way residents and visitors to experience local art and all that downtown Durham has to offer. Participants will earn Bull City BUCK$ during the Bull City Connector Art Walk “Scan”venger Hunt that are redeemable for goods and services at partnering downtown businesses.

Here's how “Scan”venger Hunt works:

• Sign up for Bull City BUCK$ online or download the smart phone application.

• Download the "Scan"venger Hunt Art Walk Guide on the Bull City Connector's website or pick up the guide beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 28 at the Durham Arts Council, 120 Morris St., Durham.

• Use the Bull City BUCK$ application to scan the QR Code at each Art Walk site or bonus “Scan”venger Hunt locations on the Bull City Connector and along the route.

According to Jesica Averhart, market and events manager for the Bull City BUCK$ program, “Scan”venger Hunt participants who use the Bull City Connector frequently can earn over $250 BUCK$ during this weekend-long event. “We are excited about our partnership with the Bull City Connector and the Durham Arts Council. There are several bonus locations along the Bull City Connector route that give participants additional opportunities to earn BUCK$, such as Duke’s East Campus, the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau, and a few businesses on Ninth Street.”

The “Scan”venger Hunt will kick-off with a free event sponsored by the Bull City Connector Advisory Council at Beyú Caffé, 335 W. Main St., on Friday, April 27 at 5 p.m. Participants are encouraged to take the Bull City Connector to the kick-off party to sign up for Bull City BUCK$ and start earning while enjoying live music by The Black Experience.

Free “Scan”venger Hunt After Parties will also be hosted by the Bull City Connector Advisory Council at the following locations:

• The Pinhook, 117 W. Main St., on Saturday, April 28 at 5 p.m. featuring live music by The Wigg Report, Beloved Binge, and All Electronic.

• Bull City Burger and Brewery, 107 E. Parrish St., Sunday, April 29 at 5 p.m. featuring Tubby Ridge with award-winning swing-grass music and joined by celebrated guitarist Justin Johnston.

For more information on the Bull City Connector Art Walk “Scan”venger Hunt or service information, visit the Bull City Connector website, “like” the Bull City Connector on Facebook, or “follow” the Bull City Connector on Twitter. Click the link for more information about the Durham Art Walk.

Game On at Bull City Burger and Brewery

Talk with Seth Gross, proprietor of Bull City Burger and Brewery (BCBB) and you'll realize he is, to quote Yogi, "smarter than your average bear."  He's college educated with a bachelors degree in biological science, a classically-trained chef, a certified Sommelier and voracious consumer of knowledge who loves to share what he knows.

He's also game...who can talk a good line of bull.  Read on - it makes sense.

A common modern definition of the word game is: one who is willing to try something new.  Enter the aforementioned Mr. Gross.  In this gaming month of March (ya know, with its Madness and whatnot) he brings his customers on a culinary journey to strange and exotic places.  Lucky for them, the trip is far less than the price of a plane ticket to South America or Australia.

In celebration of their first anniversary, the spirit of adventure, curiosity, and for the most daring of eaters, BCBB is having some fun creating burgers from exotic meats commonly enjoyed in other cultures.  In each case they will be showcasing the meat and pairing it with complementary spices and flavors.  Nearly all of these meats have been sourced from the US (nope, not the Kangaroo) from reputable and humane suppliers.  So, if alligator, ostrich, iguana, buffalo, venison, antelope, wild boar, and kangaroo tickle your fancy, the hit up BCBB's Facebook and Twitter accounts to see which they are serving.

So, game meats for burgers.  Check.  But where's the bull - any one of the five that will be hidden?

Well, that's a remarkably good question with a not-so-simple answer.  BCBB begins their second annual Golden Bull scavenger hunt on Monday, March 5th. Clues are given on the website, Facebook and Twitter (the hashtag is #bcbbgoldenbull for all you savvy tweeters out there) for the location of five hidden Golden Bulls. When a bull is found it must be claimed for the prize - free burgers, fries and drinks, one a week, for a year.

The contest is modeled after the one in the movie Willy Wonka where children search for golden tickets. This contest is open to anyone 18 or older. Full details and rules are on the website and can be found by clicking on the golden bull on the BCBB's home page. According to Gross, "The purpose of the contest is not only to promote the restaurant and brewery, but also to promote downtown Durham and like-minded businesses, public places, landmarks and historic markers. No business knows they are hiding a golden bull until it is found. The bull hiders are very tricky people and the clues are challenging."  

Bull City Burger is a restaurant and brewery that embodies the farm-to-fork philosophy. It is one of many in Durham that do.  Click here for more information about dining in Durham, and have fun while game hunting for bull.

Oh, this is just too easy...

Durham Farmers' Market Is All About Eggs and Cheese

The American Cheese Society has declared October American Cheese Month, and Durham Farmers' Market will present cheese related is all set to help raise awareness and celebrate the diversity of cheeses made in the US. Durham Farmers' Market boasts a handful of dedicated, talented and creative cheesemakers.  All three  cheesemakers raise their own animals (cows and goats), do the daily milking and make the cheeses in cheesemaking facilities on their farms. Durham and the Durham Farmers' Market are fortunate to have a great community of chefs who work hard to support the efforts of these farmers and make use of great local cheeses in their dishes. 

In celebration of National Cheese Month, Durham Farmers' Market will host a couple of cheese related demonstrations this month. This Saturday, Chef Dave Alworth from Guglhupf will be doing a cooking demonstration of Cheese Spatzle that highlights Chapel Hill Creamery's Calvander.  Calvander is cheese that is similar to asiago. There will be samples to taste and recipes available.   

The Durham Farmers' Market is a proud sponsor of the Bull City Coop Tour  which is being put together by Bull City Chickens. In early 2009, the Durham City Council voted to allow backyard chickens with in the city limits. The Coop Tour is a little bit like the farm tours in the spring and the fall, but this tour gives you an inside look at the lives of Durham's urban hens. The Coop Tour is a self guided tour and will take place next Saturday, Oct. 22 from 9:30-3:30pm.  You can pick up maps and get information tomorrow and next Saturday at the Market.  

Bull City Chickens is also hosting two other events in conjunction with the Coop Tour: Eggalicious and the Chickenstock Festival. During October, a number of local restaurants will feature "Eggalicious" items on their menus that feature locally raised eggs.  Chickenstock Festival, a free "edu-party" that features information about sustainable living and great music will follow the Bull City Coop Tour at Bull City Burgers & Brewery on Oct. 22nd.


Fresh this Week
Fruit: Asian Persimmons, Asian Pears, Scuppernong Grapes 
Vegetables:    Broccoli, Kohlrabi, Asian Greens, Arugula, Beans, Longbeans, Beets, Butterbeans, Cherry Tomatoes, Collards,  Cucumbers,  Dandelion Greens, Eggplant, Garlic, Ginger, Gourds, Herbs,  Mustard Greens, Kale, Lambs Quarter,  Lettuce,  Okra, Onions, Peanuts, Pea Shoots, Peppers, Potatoes, Popcorn, Purple Hull Peas, Pumpkins, Salad Mix, Shiitake Mushrooms, Sweet Potatoes, Swiss Chard,  Summer Squash,   Tomatoes, Turnips,  Winter Squash, Zucchini
Flowers:   Asiatic Lillies, Celosia, Dahlia, Gomphrena, Gladiolus, Lisianthus, Sunflowers, Tuber Rose, Zinnia
Meats: Beef, Bison, Chicken, Duck, Goat/Chevon, Lamb, Rabbit, Pork
And: Fall Vegetable Seedlings, Honey, Chicken and Duck Eggs, Flour, Yellow & White Cornmeal, Grits, Pecans, Wines, Fresh and Aged Goats and Cows Milk Cheeses, Baked Goods, Chocolates, Pasta, Beer, Wine, Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Preserves, Wool, Landscaping Plants
Crafts: Hand-dyed Clothes, Jewelery, Baskets, Pottery, Stained Glass Art, Woodwork, Photographs, Soaps and much more!

Durham's Ranks High Again

Consideration of Durham as a food destination is a pretty well-worn path.  With a national reputation that continues to grow, dining options in Durham are as diverse as the community itself.  From one of the most exciting food truck scenes in the US to some of the country's most celebrated and highly-ranked dining spots, when it comes to food Durham really does have it all.

According to the folks at WRAL who just ranked the top five burgers in the Research Triangle Region, two of the best are in Durham.

Bull City Burger and Brewery in Downtown Durham at 107 East Parrish St. is home to many variations on the burger theme.  That they are hyper focused on making things themselves (there are only a handful of things they don't make there) to sourcing their products locally (including some of the tables - go and see...it's really quite cool) only adds to the quality of the product.  They have only been open a few months and are already garnering national attention and interest in their product and concept.  Oh, and they brew their own beers, too which upon sampling usually rocket to the top of drinker's favorite brews.  It's no surprise this place was the first on WRAL's list.

Also on the list is Dain's Place at 754 Ninth Street.  The funky Ninth St. district is home to a variety of shops and restaurants, and Dain's fits right in with an eclectic feel that earned it the #10 spot on Complex's Top 50 College Bars in America.  The food here is in the college-bar vain.  In addition to be tasty and popular, they are filling.  The Defibrillator burger was featured on the TV show Man vs Food...'nuff said.

There are lots of other well-known burgers in Durham.  Any such discussion omitting Wimpy's and OnlyBurger would be incomplete...and there are certainly more too numerous to list here.  With that though, congratulations go to Bull City Burger and Brewery and Dain's Place for the attention they received.

Now go get a burger...somewhere...in Durham.

Bull City Burger and Brewery Opening Delayed...by Willy Wonka?

Durham is soon to welcome it's third brewery, and another farm to table restaurant - just not yet. 

Originally scheduled to open on Monday, March 21st, Bull City Burger and Brewery has had to delay the opening due to "Wangdoodles, Hornswogglers, Snozzwangers and rotten Vermicious Knids," according to a statement on the restaurant's social media. The new date is set for Friday, March 25th.  Owner Seth Gross has weaved language from the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory through out the businesses materials, obviously again going to that well for this release again.  Gross is something of a kid at heart.

Really, the delay is a permitting matter regarding some lighting issues according to owner Gross.  "On the positive side, this gives a little more time for preparation when we do open," he said in an interview on Thursday.

The brewery will begin brewing beer upon its opening and therefore will not have its own product available on tap when the doors open.  "We'll open with NC beers to support our brothers and sisters while we brew our own," Gross added.

To generate buzz about the restaurant, Gross launched a contest to get the word out about the opening by hiding five brass bulls around Durham and then releasing clues as to their locations on the company's social media.  "That seemed to be very successful - we started that process with about 100 fans on Facebook and now we have lots more," Gross added.  A check of their Facebook page at this writing showed 905 fans.  The contest also generated its own hashtag on twitter, #goldenbull, which will likely get continued use as the contest will be revisited in the future with additional opportunities to win.  Gross was cagey about providing more details on that.  However, given the clever way information about this venture has been distributed so far, the contest will likely get plenty of attention when it is restarted.

Upon BCBB's opening, Durham will have three breweries.  Fullsteam opened last August and Triangle Brewing Company has been brewing in Durham since July 4, 2007.

Something more is brewing in the Bull City

Word is spreading fast that Durham, the Foodiest Small Town in America according to Bon Appetit, is the place for fresh, local, and tasty food and beer. From conversations on the street to feature articles in The New York Times, there is no denying the explosion of food and drink options in the Bull City.

The latest announcement, from Seth Gross, co-founder of Wine Authorities, is for the Bull City Burger and Brewery scheduled to open in Downtown Durham in February 2011. The restaurant will feature house made hamburgers and hotdogs from North Carolina grass fed beef, and freshly brewed beer from an on premises full-scale brewery.

Click here to read the full release and for more details on the project and be sure to support all of the more than 550 restaurants in Durham.