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.

Bullish on St. Paddy's Day Celebrations

There are no rivers to dye green but Durham knows how to put on a party so there are several options for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow, Thursday, March 17. Named after Saint Patrick, the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland, this religious holiday has gradually become more of a secular celebration of Irish culture. So choose your celebration, wear green, and enjoy the luck of the Irish.

Durham's Irish pubs, James Joyce and Bull McCabe's, are great places to start but there are other options as well.

Dain’s Place: Live music starting at 2 pm, going till midnight.

Casbah: Local bands covering Irish rock bands all night

The Federal: Ain’t Paddy’s Day celebration with southern food and music

Nasher Café: Irish-themed dinner with St. Patrick’s Day party favors

West 94th Pub: St. Patty’s Day Party – all day

Even Locopops is getting in on the celebratory action with a special popsicle for the occassion...made with stout beer and chocolate.

Food blog Carpe Durham contributed to this list and is a blog worth following for those interested in Durham's food scene.