AWESOME

1. Toast (Main St., downtown Durham) Cutest little Italian paninoteca (sandwich shop), and my selection for BEST OVERALL RESTAURANT IN DURHAM! You can never go wrong by eating here. Everything is tasty! It is not expensive! Try warm goat cheese crostini topped with local honey and cracked black pepper… Two thumbs up for Toast!!!
2. Nosh (Erwin Rd. near Duke University) Excellent, inexpensive food; plenty of vegetarian choices. Breakfast served any time. Staff is very, very nice; they also love dogs. #1 best burger in Durham.
3. Old Havana Cuban Sandwich Shop (Main St., downtown Durham) Crystal’s new favorite Durham restaurant. Oh, that slow-roasted local pork!!! Cheap delicious coffee and free wi-fi are bonuses.
4. Piedmont (Foster St., downtown Durham) – Rustic French fare, great brunch, live music on weekends, good wine list, yummy cheese and dessert. They buy much of their produce, cheese and meat from the Durham Farmers’ Market. I’ve eaten there dozens of times and have always had a good experience.
5. Geer Street Garden - Two big thumbs up! Excellent food, impeccable service, best outdoor dining in Durham. 2nd best burger in Durham.
6. Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant (Guess Rd, North Durham) - This is a very strange and fascinating restaurant with food to die for. Dining room music is like a Chinese version of the Napoleon Dynamite soundtrack. Waitress personalities range from ultra surly to bonkers. Famous for their Dim Sum. Do not order off the American menu or you are a FOOL. The Chinese menu (i.e., with food that real Chinese people eat!) is the real deal.

Very good

• Bread & Kebab (Main St., Durham) Delicious Afghani food. They have a buffet!
• Sprout Cafe (Museum of Life & Science, Durham) Wraps, sandwiches and burgers. Great side dishes.  They use local meats, dairy, breads and veggies, and they’re also delicious and inexpensive – two thumbs up!
• DaisyCakes (Foster St., Durham) Breakfast, lunch, and amazing confections and pastries! CUPCAKES!!!
• Saigon Grill (N. Roxboro, Durham) Delicious, authentic food and great service. Even my mom approves.
• Gregoria’s Kitchen (Chapel Hill Rd., Durham) Cuban Steakhouse – amazing appetizers and cocktails! They also serve Sunday brunch.
• L’Uva Enoteca (American Tobacco Campus, Durham) Excellent Italian food. I had a great lamb au jus sandwich and roasted pear salad. Fun individual coffee pots.
• Only Burger truck Delicious hamburgers served from a truck. What more can I say? (The Only Burger restaurant is fine, but the truck is the novelty.)
• Chubby’s Tacos (Ninth St., Durham) This place turned my whole world around.
• Bull McCabe’s Irish pub (Main St, Durham) Best fries in Durham, hands down. Also great vegetarian black bean burgers, weekly specials, trivia night, great atmosphere.
• Baba Ghannouj (Many locations, but I like the one at Hwy 54/Hwy 55 intersection) – Delicious, highly nourishing food from the fertile crescent of the world. My favorite side dish is the cauliflower salad. I feel great all day after eating lunch here. Eat from the buffet or order off menu.
• Meelo’s Restaurant (Hillandale Rd., north Durham) “Casual food with Italian and Spanish flair.” I really like this place — good food, good prices, great service. Casual Italian decor with awesome cheesy Italian music.
• Wimpy’s Grill (Old West Durham) Biscuits in the morning, hamburgers for lunch. Pretty much the best biscuit I have ever had.
• Allen & Son Pit Cooked Bar-B-Q (Chapel Hill) Delicious. I think this is the best around.
• Metro 8 Steakhouse (Ninth St., Durham) Churrasco skirt steak is to die for.
• Dain’s Place (Ninth St., Durham) Great burgers and huge beer selection.
• Thai Cafe (University Dr., Durham) Delicious food, very inviting atmosphere, and they have a transgender waiter or two.
• Kabab & Curry House (Guess Rd, near Costco) Love this hole in the wall with its amazing food.
• Sitar India Palace (15-501) – deelish, lot of vegetarian options, relatively inexpensive, fancy interior, very romantic setting.
• Silver Spoon (N. Roxboro Rd, Durham) Delicious down-home diner food with diverse customer base and good prices.
• Amante Pizza (several locations) – SUPER great pizza; they deliver.
• The Federal (Main St., downtown Durham) – Good burgers, homemade fries with garlic and cilantro
• Rue Cler (Rigsbee Ave, downtown Durham) – French + awesome bakery. Dinner time: menu fixe $30 per person.
• Akashi (Hwy 54, South Durham) – Awesome sushi and lunch bento boxes!
• Vin Rouge (Ninth St, Durham) Frenchy French and delicious. Excellent service.
• Tonali (Shannon Drive, Durham) Upscale Latino. A bit pricey, but extremely good!
• Pupuseria Y Taqueria Orellana (N. Roxboro Rd, Durham) – $1.99 hot, fresh pupusas served with Mexican slaw and hot sauce. Divine with tamarindo juice on a lazy Saturday afternoon.
• The Wooden Nickel (Hillsborough, NC) Great burgers and insanely garlicky fries, just the way I like ‘em.
• Gulf Rim (Hillsborough, NC) Delicious Louisiana seafood meets Latino cuisine. Good beer menu too. Beers served in frosty mugs.
• Q Shack (15/501 and University) – I didn’t understand this place until I finally tried it. OMG, delicious. Perfect for when you need some serious self-indulgence. I like to eat the half rack of short ribs. Then treat yourself again to Local Yogurt across the street.
• Taqueria Lopez (Durham, NC on Hillsborough Rd.) OMG this is good Mexican! Try the tortas!
• China Palace (Garrett Rd, SW Durham) – Very authentic and tasty Chinese food. We like the Chinese greens with garlic.
• China 1st (Hwy 54, South Durham) – Amazing handmade noodle soup.
• Chosun Ok (Hwy 54, South Durham) – Delicious Korean food.
• Fishmongers (Main St., Durham) – Delicious fresh seafood in a great atmosphere at a great location. Love the garlic mussels with ice cold beer!

Fair to good

• Nanataco (University Rd., Durham) – Fairly good food at pretty good prices. Very sad that they use Styrofoam, though.
• Pop’s Italian Restaurant (West Village, Durham) – Used to be amazing gourmet rustic Italian food and good service. LOVED the mussels! However, ever since they moved out of the Morgans Imports building into West Village, I think the food (and definitely the atmosphere!) went downhill.
• Piazza Italia (Brightleaf Square) Pretty good Italian food. They have excellent mussels and oysters Rockefeller. The best thing is the homemade gelato, however.
• Pop’s Back Door (Shannon Rd. near former South Square Mall area) Dirty sounding name, good pizza. Too bad the beer selection is very sad (read: not local) and the tables are wiped with bleach water which ends up soaking into the wood and causing the restaurant to smell strongly of mildew. (Same phenomenon as California Pizza Kitchen at Southpoint Mall and Spotted Dog in Carrboro.)
• Beyu Caffe Good coffee and the food is okay, but it is an amazing Durham hangout with diverse community feel. We just tried dinner there also! I had delicious shrimp crepes with roasted vegetables. Location super convenient to everything including Carolina Theater and the Durham Performing Arts Center!
• Bull City Burgers and Brewery Two bad food experiences – once in late May 2011 and again in late June 2011. Thought it was unlikely that we’d be going back, but a better experience in October 2011 put them back on my good list.
• Tobacco Road Sports Cafe (between Durham Performing Arts Center and Bulls stadium, overlooking ballpark) Burgers are not bad, but stay away from the Kobe burger – it’s too expensive and unimpressive.
• Dos Perros (Mangum St., downtown Durham) – Good food and nice atmosphere, but too expensive for me. This is a good place to take people for brunch.
• Mami Nora’s Peruvian Rotisserie Chicken (off N. Roxboro) Really good chicken. I don’t recommend the chicken salad. The beans are very good.
• Palace International (Broad St., Durham) – African food. I had a good, big plate of oxtails and greens for dinner one night. Clinton and I love their homemade iced tea.
• Vimala’s Curryblossom Cafe (Courtyard on Franklin St., Chapel Hill) – Indian restaurant, good food, restaurant is tricky to maneuver when it’s busy.
• Tandoor Indian Restaurant (Franklin St., Chapel Hill) – Basement restaurant but they do such a great job decorating that its unique location is a major plus — cozy and quiet. The food is delicious.
• Eastern Lights (University Dr., Durham) – I thought this was going to be Korean, but the menu is 98% Chinese. A bit expensive.
• Brigs (Hwy 54, South Durham) – Diner, great breakfast and sandwiches!
• Firebird’s Rocky Mountain Grill (Southpoint Mall, Durham) – American grill (CHAIN RESTAURANT)
• Hunan (Chapel Hill) – Chinese. I think this place has been renamed “Hunam” with an “m”.
• Tandoor Indian Restaurant (Hwy 55, South Durham) – Indian. I love the fish hot pot.
• Mellow Mushroom (Blackwell St., downtown Durham) – great salads and pizza. My favorite is the Magical Mystery Tour because I love jalapenos.
• Tyler’s Taproom (Blackwell St., downtown Durham) – one of the best hamburgers in town. My favorite is the Western.
• Parker & Otis (Brightleaf Square, downtown Durham) – breakfast and sandwiches
• Lilly’s Pizza (Hwy 70, Raleigh) – Fun for date night. Late night pizza with punk rock atmosphere.
• Cuscatleco (N. Roxboro Rd. or Garrett Rd., Durham) – Great Salvadoran food.
• Cafe Parizade (Erwin Square on Main St, Durham) – Gorgeous and colorful with high ceilings, comtemporary art, white tablecloths and a great menu. Clinton took me here for our 2nd anniversary.
• Grayson’s Cafe (Chapel Hill Rd., Durham) Had mediocre breakfast food here one time. Nice people though.
• Tosca’s Ristorante Italiano (West Village, downtown Durham) – Italian; very nice atmosphere.
• Chopstix (N. Roxboro Rd.) – Don’t laugh! This place is actually really good. Not to mention craaaazy cheap!
• Kabab and Curry House (Guess Rd.) – Avoid dinner rush because this restaurant is a 2-person show.
• Bullocks BBQ (Hillsborough Rd in Durham) – Everyone goes to this place for the novelty of the enormous portions and family-style eating. I think the experience is better than the food itself, though the food is pretty good. Cash only.
• Costa Azul (Guess Rd, near where you turn to go to Costco) – Very weird decor and sometimes music/TV can be way too loud. However, the staff is super nice and the food is amazing. Try the fried chicken plate, and you won’t be sorry.
• Nana’s (University Dr., Durham) Upscale dining, not sure how to characterize the cuisine. I had oyster appetizer and rack of lamb for dinner. An extensive, expensive (and confounding) wine menu and waiter who wasn’t able to answer my questions – only confused me more. We loved the food but felt uncomfortable in the restaurant. Probably would NOT choose this place over the Piedmont, which has never failed us. Sadly had to leave behind 1.5 pieces of lamb which I was too full to eat because they didn’t offer doggie bag. Why have such expensive, HUGE portions in a place where doggie bags are not offered? Seems a waste. Service 6/10; atmosphere 6/10; food 9/10.
• Spotted Dog (Carrboro) – Hodgepodge of things; many, many vegetarian options
• Cosmic Cantina (Ninth St, Durham) Very funky little restaurant with cool rooftop patio; cheap Mexican food and beer
• Pho Cali (Capitol Blvd, Raleigh) Good food but horrible atmosphere (smoky, loud TV, etc). Decent pho and other Vietnamese dishes.
• Eno River Eatery (N. Roxboro, North Durham) – Diner style comfort food
• Golden China (Durham, near Costco) – Very good and inexpensive vegetable hibachi.
• Dale’s Indian Cuisine (Ninth St., Durham) – Indian
• Don Cecelio’s (N. Roxboro Rd., North Durham) – Mexican; good vegetarian menu
• Kanki (15-501, SW Durham) – Japanese steakhouse and sushi
• Thailanna (Hwy 55, South Durham) – Thai
• Mt. Fuji (Brightleaf Square, downtown Durham) – Thai and sushi
• El Rodeo (Brightleaf Square, downtown Durham) – Mexican
• El Dorado (Hwy 55, South Durham) – Mexican
• International Delights (AKA “No Ketchup!) – Mediterranean
• Bocci’s Italian (Fayetteville Rd., South Durham) – Italian
• Sunset Grille (Fayetteville Rd., South Durham) – very good burgers
• Moe’s (Southpoint Mall, South Durham) – Southwestern (CHAIN RESTAURANT)
• PF Chang (Southpoint Mall, South Durham) – Asian fusion (CHAIN RESTAURANT)
• Macaroni Grill (15-501, SW Durham) – Italian (CHAIN RESTAURANT)
• California Pizza Kitchen (Southpoint Mall, South Durham) – Italian fusion (CHAIN RESTAURANT)
• Cheesecake Factory (Southpoint Mall, Durham) – hodgepodge (CHAIN RESTAURANT)
• Spice n Curry (Hwy 54, South Durham) – Indian
• Orient Garden (Hwy 54, South Durham) – Chinese
• Cafe Cafe (Raleigh) – Senegalese and Vietnamese
• Alivia’s (Main St., downtown Durham) – French bistro and bar
• Bombay Grille (Hwy 54, South Durham) – Indian
• Mad Hatter’s (Main St., Durham) – Cafe food and breakfast, great desserts.
• Sarah’s Empanadas (Hwy 55, south Durham) – Spicy cheese empanada is my favorite; gazpacho very good in the summer.
• Guglhupf (15-501, SW Durham) – bakery, European cafe food. Pretty terrible service, very poorly organized, can get unpleasantly crowded on weekends and around weekday lunch. Cheese plate is very tasty, though, as is their espresso.
• Rockfish Grill (Southpoint mall) – fish and more (CHAIN RESTAURANT)
• El Toro Pizzeria (Chapel Hill St, downtown Durham) – If this place didn’t have terrible service and act like dicks toward customers with children, they would be in the “Very Good” category.

Eh, whatever

• Elmo’s Diner (Ninth St., Durham) – The food is so-so, the coffee is awful. However, it is a very child-friendly restaurant and has a warm, comforting diner atmosphere. The best things on their menu are turkey with cornbread dressing, turkey sausage links and pecan pancakes.
• Satisfaction (Main St., Durham) – Pizza and sandwiches. People love this place, but I think it’s cheap and gross.
• Blue Corn Cafe (Ninth St., Durham) – South American, I guess? Everyone loves this place but me.
• Jujube (Hwy 54, Chapel Hill) – Dinner experience in 2008: worst service and some of the worst food (at the highest prices) I’ve ever seen. I wrote the manager a constructive letter about it, but he/she never contacted me. Next dinner experience was in May 2011: Service okay, food so-so. Poor excuse for Asian food.
• Twisted Noodle (University Drive, SW Durham) Thai food is okay; service is very bad.
• New Dragon Inn (Guess Rd, North Durham) Used to be good, but new owner and new cooks are not good. Tastiness level has plummeted.
• Rick’s Diner (University Drive, SW Durham) Blueberry pancakes are good, the music is nice. Very crowded on the weekends. Hate the atmosphere.
• Banditos (Woodcroft Shopping Center, SW Durham) – Mexican
• Torrero’s (Main St., downtown Durham) – Mexican
• Nantucket Grill (Fayetteville Rd., South Durham) – Continental; pretentious and their free dessert doesn’t impress me. Pinenut salad is so-so.
• Pho 9N9 Vietnamese House (S. Miami Blvd, RTP) – Vietnamese
• Benedict’s (Hwy 55, South Durham) – Diner
• Randy’s Pizza (Hope Valley Rd, SW Durham and N. Roxboro, N Durham) – pizza. Unimpressive.
• Carrburrito (Carrboro) – Burrito joint
• Mama Dips (Chapel Hill) – Southern comfort food
• Bali Hai Mongolian Grill (Ninth St., Durham) – You choose your own meat, veggies and sauce, then they cook for you. Novelty interesting, food and price not so good.
• Foster’s Market (15-501, Durham) – coffee shop, wraps and sandwiches. Note: very disorganized system for taking orders, but self-serve coffee and casual atmosphere is nice.
• Banh’s (Ninth St., Durham) – Chinese and supposedly Vietnamese on Wednesdays. The food sucks hardcore, but a lot of people seem to like it for some reason. Whatever.
• Honey’s (Guess Rd, North Durham) – Diner with sticky booths. Food is pretty bad. But it’s open 24 hours, so you can get waffles at 3 AM or whatever. (NEW IN 2009: Now smoke-free!)
• Watt’s Grocery (Broad St., Durham) Supposedly very wholesome, organic food which I have found bland and disappointing on more than one occasion. The best part is their late night menu (’til 2:00 AM) with ice cream sandwiches and red velvet cupcakes.

Stay away

• Refectory Cafe (15/501 in Durham) – Completely overrated restaurant with bland, stale, overpriced food and terrible service. Also the menus and signs are all in Papyrus, a font that makes me nauseous.
• Cinelli’s Italian Restaurant (old Broad St./Main St. location in Durham) – Overpriced gross food. Sticky, dirty restaurant. Bill came to $40 for a pasta and salad lunch – ouch! Haven’t tried the West Village location, but I don’t think I will.
• Flying Burrito Mexican Restaurant (Chapel Hill) – made us ill (literally) twice
• Spice Street (Chapel Hill) – pretentious, bad service, boring menu
• Serena Restaurant and Bar (S. Miami Blvd, RTP) – unbelievably good sandwiches and salads, but unbelievably bad service! Do not go there if you have a limited amount of time to eat or if you’re very hungry.
• Texas Roadhouse (N. Pointe Dr., Durham) – salty, salty food; a lot of sales pressure
• Jason’s Deli (15-501, SW Durham) – sandwiches supposed to be the “best”, but I find them to be dry and flavorless.
• Saladelia Cafe (University Drive, SW Durham) – Sandwiches and coffee shop; used to like this place more but had a very bad cookie there recently, which tasted the way farts smell. I don’t think they have very sanitary cooking and serving practices.

Restaurants Crystal wants to try next:

• Bennett Point Grill
• Four Square
• Revolution

Places Crystal has reviewed that no longer exist:

• Cafe Zen (American Tobacco Historic District) – OMG, this is the worst restaurant. My friend and I both got food poisoning from their nasty, spoiled sushi. The service is terrible. This place should be SHUT DOWN!!
• Brooklyn Pizzeria (Erwin Rd., Durham) – Blah.
• Hot Pot (Hwy 55, South Durham) – Jamaican.
• Tupelo’s (Hillsborough, NC) “Southern coastal cuisine with a New Orlean’s accent” Super cute restaurant in one of the cutest little towns in North Carolina.
• Durbar 84 (Hwy 55, South Durham) – Indian and Nepalese
• Symposium (American Tobacco Campus, Durham) – Very impressive decor, lovely atmosphere, food is fair to good, service is a bit overly friendly.
• Roma Pizza Shop (N. Roxboro Rd., Durham) – fresh, tasty pizza. Delicious crust. Good prices, and they deliver!
• Pao Lim (Durham-Chapel Hill Rd, SW Durham) – Chinese, Thai
• Park Diner (Hwy 55, South Durham) – Sandwiches, cafeteria style gourmet, casual. Unfortunately this place only does catering now…
• Anotherthyme (N. Gregson St., Brightleaf Square district, downtown Durham) – This is a special occasion restaurant for me and Clinton. Casual gourmet, romantic setting, great value. Reservations recommended. Note: Crystal recently demoted this restaurant from “awesome” to a “very good” rating because restaurant was unexpectedly closed on a day that Crystal & Clinton had reservations.  After 25 years in business, I think this place has closed down now…
• Grasshopper (Ninth St., Durham) – Asian fusion
• George’s Garage (Ninth St., Durham) – Hodgepodge (self-serve brunch, sushi, etc)
• Rockwood Filling Station (University Dr., Durham) – pizza is so-so, dessert is awesome. I dislike the fact that they have a huge TV in the restaurant. This restaurant is now closed (July 2010).
• Pizza Palace (Guess Rd, North Durham) – Very decent pizza, craaaaazy venue. Be sure to see what’s upstairs… Very sad this place closed. It was replaced by a BBQ joint and then Bella’s Cuisine.
• Kim Son Vietnamese Restaurant (Guess Rd, Durham) The food is just so-so. The bubble tea is nice but expensive. Decor has improved tremendously since spring 2008 remodel. Scary lady who will talk your ear off. I’m avoiding this place entirely now.
• General Store Cafe (Pittsboro, NC) – This won first place in my book for best Triangle-area restaurant (OUTSIDE OF DURHAM)! Ingredients were all locally produced/grown/raised; gourmet but casual dining with LOTS of charm and personality. I am so sad that they closed.