Southern Living Names Durham One of the "Tastiest Towns in the South" in 2013

Southern Living has named Durham, NC one of the “Tastiest Towns in the South” in its February issue, on newsstands January 18th.  Which town is the tastiest?  That's up to readers and fans.

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Durham Tastiest!

To celebrate the many flavors and rich, diverse stories behind today’s Southern cuisine, Southern Living editors convened in its Birmingham-based Test Kitchen to identify the most compelling food destinations across the region. Durham made the cut, and now it's up to restaurants to rally their fans and customers to get out the vote.

"Durham's food scene is on par with the best in the nation. Chefs here have integrity, appreciation for the ingredients, the sourcing, the producers, the preparations, and the customers.  In Durham, food is a culture that rises above most barriers, and all of Durham's diverse inhabitants come together over great food all the time," said Sam Poley with the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, Durham's official marketing agency.  "Things like this are fun.  Folks in Durham are really proud of this place and the things that make it great.  We're hoping they, and the places they love, will work together so that everyone knows Durham is where great food happens."

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“North Carolina’s Triangle has long been fertile ground for enjoying the region’s rich bounty,” writes Southern Living Senior Editor Paula Disbrowe. “From Scratch Bakery to Watts Grocery, where much of the menu is raised, caught, smoked, pickled or cured within a two-hour radius, Durham is brimming with spots that passionately support local businesses,” adds Disbrowe.

Readers will decide the winner by casting votes for the “Tastiest Town in the South” from January 10 to February 28 on southernliving.com/tasty or via smartphone by downloading the complimentary Digimarc Discover app and scanning the corresponding image in the magazine. Each daily vote allows a consumer to be entered for a chance to win $1,500 toward a trip to the Tasty Town of his or her choice.

“Southern cooking has become one of the country's hottest culinary obsessions,” says Southern Living Editor-in-Chief Lindsay Bierman. “But there's a lot more to it than pork belly and grits. Every day, we're discovering hyperlocal microcosms of food culture across our region."  Durham has exemplified that description for decades.

Southern Living will profile each of the towns and reveal the “Tastiest Town in the South” in the May issue, on newsstands April 19th and online.

Southern Living editors identified the top 10 “Tastiest Towns in the South” based on the following criteria:

• Food as a cultural identity: The unique food or ethnicity that defines a particular Southern region
• Growth of a culinary-minded community: The influence that the culinary industry has on the local community and tourism
• Diverse cuisine at a variety of price points: Accessibility to hearty, flavorful meals at any budget
• Local, sustainable food practices: The focus on sourcing products from local purveyors to geographically define where each meal comes from
• Hot chefs on the rise: The influence of the area’s culinary talent in the media and pop culture
• Abundance of buzz-worthy food events: The number of festivals in the area that celebrate all things food and drink

For the full list of towns, visit: southernliving.com/tasty. Rally around your favorite tasty destination and vote online from January 10-February 28.

One vote per day is counted toward the finally tally.  Learn more about Durham 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.

Durham's Magnolia Grill is Tops

People around the country and the world are aware that Durham is a dining hot spot.  Bon Appetit called Durham the Foodiest Small Town in America in 2008 and last year Durham was named on the New York Time's list of the "Top 41 Places in the World to Visit" citing it's food as a primary reason.  That NYT article was one of several on the matter that appeared in the publication.

Among Durham's best known restaurants is the Magnolia Grill. Just passing the 25 year mark in November, the restaurant holds two James Beard Awards (think Oscars, but for food) and more accolades than is reasonable to mention, though being number11 on Gourmet Magazine's list of Best Restaurants in the country bears repeating.

Today it was named by the News and Observer's restaurant critic, Greg Cox, as Restaurant of the Year. Magnolia Grill is a venerable mainstay that continues to push the envelope of discovery in the creation of new flavor and preparation within the contemporary Southern sphere. Alumni from the restaurant have opened restaurants both locally and far afield, as well as gone on to positions in some of the world's most notable operations.

Durham's food scene is in large part due to the continued, tireless efforts of the Magnolia Grill's proprietors, Karen and Ben Barker. Collectively, they provide culinary direction that wows guests nightly and provides a bar which many chefs in Durham aspire to reach and best. As the old saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats.  In Durham, the Barker's have raised the knife and set a standard upon which those who live and visit can count for the quality of food and service.

Congratulations to the Magnolia Grill family for this achievement.  Congratulations also go to:

• Nana's for their Gold Medal 
• Fairview, Four Square, Revolution and Watts Grocery for their Silver Medals
• Blu Seafood and Bar, Dos Perros, Los Comales, and Vin Rouge for their Best in Class rankings
• G2B and Happy China for being among the Best New Restaurants

For a searchable list of all dining in Durham, see Durham's official visitor website dining section.

Eat Pie and Be Merry!

The 3rd Annual SEEDS Pie Social is this Sunday April 10th from 2-6 pm at the SEEDS Garden, 706 Gilbert St in Durham. Suggested donation of $10 comes with up to four slices of pie.  Proceeds benefit the Durham Inner-city Gardeners (DIG) program at SEEDS.

DIG is a youth-driven, urban farming leadership development program that empowers young people by teaching organic gardening and healthy life skills while providing them with meaningful employment and job skills. Pies are being generously donated by local Triangle restaurants and bakers including Toast, Watts Grocery, Scratch Bakery, Foster’s, Durham Catering, Daisy Cakes and more.



Farm Fresh North Carolina Launch Party March 7

Durham has long been a leader in the slow food movement through chefs like Shane Ingram (Four Square), Amy Tornquist (Watts Grocery), and Ben & Karen Barker (Magnolia Grill). But now Durham can also add to its list of “greats” a book on sustainable farms and restaurants.

Durham-based writer Diane Daniel has completed writing Farm Fresh North Carolina, “the go-to guide to great farmers’ markets, farm stands, farms, apple orchards, u-picks, kids’ activities, lodging, dining, choose-and-cut Christmas trees, vineyards and wineries, and more.”

A launch party for the book will be held Monday, March 7 at 6pm. Taking place at Fullsteam Brewery, Scratch Baking and Farmhands Foods will be on hand to provide the crowd with food while Piedmont Lowlanders will provide live bluegrass music.

Diane’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic Traveler, Budget Travel, Gourmet, Backpacker, AARP Magazine, and more. She has also contributed to several other books including Checking In 2007: Places to Stay in New England and The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything. In 2008, she received a prestigious national Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award in the newspaper writing category.

Farm Fresh North Carolina was supported by a grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation and was published by UNC Press.