Antonio’s Coney Island is located in a Shell station at 5108 Wake Forest Hwy. Because this is the former home of short-lived Carolina Steak & Cheese, I had to order a steak & cheese when I saw one on the menu.

The combo pictured above ran about $6.50.  While it wasn’t bad, it was pretty generic and the steak & cheese was very very skimpy. And by very, I mean very.

They also had burgers, chicken fingers, and similar fare.
(Update) We will be going back to try the hot dogs soon.

Tier’s Grill won me over for sure.  Tier’s (601 W. Chapel Hill St.) opened September 12 in the grill space at the gas station on the corner of Chapel Hill St. and Gregson (across from the Police Station).

I was walking along Chapel Hill Street towards downtown and saw a smiley-faced Tier’s Grill sign announcing breakfast and lunch.  I’ve gone to the grill at this location during various proprietors’ runs and was curious to see what was going on with Tier’s.
My take on what is going on at Tier’s …

A year ago I might not have believed that I could get something that good lookin at a gas station convenience store.  I know so much better now!

Tacostumbras recently opened in the Exxon “Town ‘n’ Country” convenience store on University Dr. and Dixon Rd.  Based on my limited Spanish, the name is really funny to me.  It seems like it should mean something like “Tacos: Get used to them!” or “You’ll get used to tacos” or something about having a taco habit (which I have).  As the sign says, they …

Today I stopped by Cheek Road Grocery & Grill (5801 Cheek Road). First of all, let me say that this area of Durham is awesome — very much in the country, and exactly the type of area I had anticipated living in when I moved here. (I moved to North Durham instead, which is possibly as sparse but with much less country.) It is definitely beautiful country.
That brings me to Cheek Road Grocery & Grill, which is actually a grocery, grill, gas station, bait & tackle shop, social gathering spot, …

UPDATE: I tend to misuse words and think everyone knows what I’m talking about.  Slumming = eating at less-than-haute places such as trucks and gas stations.
I know we’ve been missed. It’s finals, sorry. But I managed to take a break for some slumming (by which I mean awesomely not fancy, nothing negative implied at all) and here are the results:

These are chicken livers and collards from Metro Express Market & Grill (2500 Erwin Rd, in the Exxon shop). I have wanted to like livers, especially fried ones, for …

I recently found out that I really like banana pudding so I went to Tommy’s Mini-Mart (1832 Cole Mill Road, at an Exxon station) on a tip that they had the best in Durham. Although I don’t think that I’m really discerning enough yet to accurately rank puddings, I liked the low pudding-to-other stuff ratio, but would have preferred slightly less mushy wafers.  Does anyone have any Durham banana pudding suggestions?

I know most people already know and love Sam’s (the Quik Shop, not the Club). But it’s easy to miss and my favorite place to shop in Durham (possibly anywhere) so it needs a post.

I’m pretty sure it says nowhere on the outside that there is any beer on the inside.

It looks like a nondescript gas station convenience store, on the corner of Erwin and Main St (right before Ninth). But inside, when you walk past the junk food aisles, there’s this awe-inspiring array of beer. The word …