If you’ve spent anytime at the Durham Farmer’s Market, you’ve probably seen the long lines that form at Phoebe Lawless’ Scratch stand (CD wrote about her Pie CSA almost a year ago).

And more than likely, you’ve probably fallen victim to the temptation of one of her doughnut muffins. Something about that big bowl of sugar-coated muffins amid rows and rows of fresh veggies is really hard to resist on a Saturday morning.

And, as probably most of you already know, that same big bowl of doughnut muffins has found a permanent home in downtown Durham. On one of the more charming and hidden streets of downtown, Scratch sits next to Sew Crafty on Orange St., a pedestrian crossway right in the middle of Rue Cler, Dos Perros and Revolution.

Scratch is a counter breakfast and lunch spot with an emphasis on fresh, local ingredients. The coffee is Counter Culture and some of the best in Durham. A glass case displays the day’s eats and a chalkboard lists any sandwiches and the source for most ingredients. Local bacon, peaches and pears were for sale on one of the days we visited.

I’ve been a handful of times since Scratch opened this past June. My first visit was opening week for a chocolate doughnut muffin – dark, rich, slightly salty, studded with chocolate and totally addictive. I’ve also been lured by the biscuits – three, small light and fluffy biscuits served with your choice of Maple View butter or a really great peach butter spread. (I usually opt for both, but the extra 50 cents for a pat of butter hurts a bit.) I’ve also tried the sausage biscuit (amazing), the tomato pie (rich and indulgent), an eggplant open-faced sandwich (the best), an empanada (kind of dry but still tasty) and a few of the daily salads (all excellent). And of course the pie, oh the pie.

Warning, the prices at Scratch reflect the local sourcing and the care for ingredients. In other words, they can be a bit steep.

Scratch is a welcome addition to Durham and a great spot for a morning coffee, a casual lunch or a mid-afternoon pie and lemonade fix.

But more importantly, we doughnut muffin addicts now have a regular supplier six days a week.
(Scratch is closed on Sundays).

http://www.piefantasy.com/

111 Orange Street
Durham, NC 27701
(919) 956-5200

Vin Rouge is not new and certainly not a secret. Part of the Bakatsias restaurant empire, Vin Rouge sits on the corner of 9th and Hillsborough, between the excellent Blu Seafood, and reliable standby, Elmo’s Diner. It is frequently cited for a variety of reasons: an interior and exterior environment that seriously evokes old world Europe, the high art mac and cheese at dinner, and, most often, chef Matt Kelly’s cooking, which apparently has made his kitchen a favorite among regional chefs.

I like dinner just fine. When in the mood for French-influenced bistro cuisine, I’m equally excited to find myself at Vin Rouge or Rue Cler. You really can’t go wrong with either one. But when it comes to the Eggs Mediterranean, Vin Rouge is without peer.

The centerpiece features two well-toasted English muffins, canadian bacon, and a perfectly poached egg. This is all textbook, but it is the sauce that makes it (and makes it Mediterranean). It’s a hollandaise sauce, infused with tomato, served with a dollop of a tomato, olive, and caper relish. The salty/sweet/vinegary combination is an excellent, piquant foil to the rich hollandaise sauce and egg yolk.

On the side, a generous portion of crisp frites, and lightly dressed greens. The latter serves as a delicious and light guilt-reduction mechanism. Yes, I just had a breakfast of fries, eggs, and hollandaise, but see, I also had a lovely salad.

My last personal rave is for the bread. Each table gets one or two small tin buckets filled with fresh, crusty, bias-cut baguette slices. They are baked slightly dark, resulting in a flavorful crust with good bite, and a moist, tender crumb on the interior. It’s hard to not fill up on this stuff.

Everyone who joined me loved their meal as well. Below see the Eggs Florentine, served with a traditional hollandaise and sauteed spinach instead of ham.

The mushroom omelette.

And a half order of the french toast, with bacon. They were very accommodating in preparing this on request, for our young kids, who had eaten breakfast earlier, unable to wait until Vin Rouge opened at 10:30.

Overall, just a great, great experience. The place was packed soon after we arrived, so many of you are already onto this one. Logistically, be aware that it can be noisy inside, but the new-ish front patio (covered) and side patio (not covered) are quieter and an excellent choice weather permitting. Consistency is generally very high, though on a recent visit, the muffin was just a tad well done, and the proportions of the sauces were slightly off, but even so, it still made for a tasty brunch.

Vin Rouge
2010 Hillsborough Rd map
Durham, NC 27705
(919) 416-0466
http://www.ghgrestaurants.com/vinrouge/vinrouge.html, and here’s the brunch menu

Reviewed 8/22/10

TAQUERIA & PIZZERIA PLAZA GARIBALDI (315 FOUSHEE ST, DURHAM, NC, 27704)

Mobile

CAPITAL CITY SEAFOOD MFU (DWAYNE GREENE, DURHAM, NC, 27707)

TASTY HAVEN BUD FOOD TRUCK (518 E TRINITY AVE # B, DURHAM, NC, 27701)

*Presence on this list indicates that a restaurant has been inspected, not that it is necessarily open for business today (although it often is).

The catch? Chefs must stay away from the fall-back dishes for these categories. No hummus and veggie platters, french fries, portabella or eggplant sandwiches and steaks, veggie burgers, or standard chocolate cakes will be allowed. I think that’s awesome, in no small part because I can’t stand mushrooms, and though not a vegan, I love trying experimental cuisine. I can’t wait to see what our chefs come up with. Participating restaurants thus far will be Toast, Rue Cler, Piedmont, Beyu Caffé, the Federal, Dos Perros, Nosh, and Alivia’s Bistro, but more participants are still being confirmed. If you are a restaurant owner or chef and interested in signing up, contact the organizers at bullcityveganchallenge@gmail.com.

I knew Chef Shirlé—who’s a personal chef, food blogger, and member of the band Free Electric State—had started the monthly vegan brunches at the Pinhook, which I posted about a few weeks ago, but I didn’t know that she’s not vegan, either, so I asked her why she’s so passionate about promoting vegan options in the area. She’s excited about it because she feels that our vegan population is underserved by the area’s restaurants, and she’d like to call attention to the demand that there is here for vegetarian and vegan fare. I also asked her to elaborate on why she likes to cook vegan meals. She said, “As a personal chef, I deal daily with my clients’ likes and dislikes, allergies and dietary restrictions, so making food taste like something it’s not is a specialty of mine. I like the challenge, and I like to make peoples tummies’ happy . . . Some might argue that they are not being true to themselves, as a chef, by cooking without foods that they feel at home with, but I truly believe that being a good chef is to be ABLE to prepare a meal for those that are diet- restricted, and that this should be expected, just like when you invite friends for dinner and have to omit something because someone is allergic. You’re not going to just slap down a salad for them while everyone else eats filet. That would be rude.”

Eleni is a vegan and she blogs on developing vegan versions of mainstream dishes. She’s been voted a Durham Neighborhood Hero in the past, is half of the indie-rock duo Beloved Binge, and is also a documentarian. Yes, this means that the Bull City Vegan Challenge is going to be made into a documentary, so keep an eye out for the woman with the camera when you’re trying the chefs’ creations! She just might want to record your reactions, if you’re willing.

For more information, you can check out their facebook page, follow them on twitter @BC_VC, or check out the challenge’s website, which is still under construction.

Pick up a copy, and you will learn the history of how RPP and YAR started Carpe Durham (including their and some of our real names–ooh, ahh!), the basic premise behind how a restaurant gets written up (it’s not complicated, folks), and how you—the active, opinionated, and fantastic readers and commentators here—have made this site a success.

In addition to some of our regular bloggers’ thoughts, comments by Lysistrata, 9/9, and burgeoningfoodie on past posts have also been printed to showcase those lively debates we have.

Besides the article on Carpe Durham, you really should pick up this issue of Durham Magazine. There are wonderful pictures of many favorite dishes at local restaurants that an amateur photographer like myself could only dream of taking, an article on the supper clubs cropping up around Durham, and profiles on beloved restaurant staff.

Durham Magazine is $4 and available at Parker & Otis, The Regulator Bookshop, Barnes & Noble at Southpoint and New Hope Commons, Sweets and News at Northgate Mall, Gurley Pharmacy, Whole Foods, and Sam’s Quik Shop.

*UPDATED with more pictures from TUF*

Pollos La Carbonera is that bright orange and yellow building you pass right near the Fayetteville exit of I-147. Bull City Wings was its last incarnation, but now it’s a Mexican stand with a drive-through window around the side and another window up front to order from on foot. There are a few picnic tables to sit at that provide a nice view of downtown and a breeze. Carpe Durham had some good comments on the food soon after they opened.

You can only get there by car if you are heading south on Fayetteville on the overpass. There are two drive-thru lanes but use the one on the right—-the car on the left side is parked there by one of the employees. Don’t be fooled by the handwritten menu posted by the drive-thru window.

They have a larger menu that the cashier will hand over of tacos, tortas, hamburgers with torta-like toppings, quesadillas and sincronizada (the “cheese-covered” section!), gorditas, huaraches, and . . . charbroiled chicken platters! You didn’t notice that “Best Charbroiled Chicken in NC” slogan on the sign, did you? Even the chickens are excited about it.

After trying their chicken taco (in the background), I’m inclined to agree.

It’s definitely great charbroiled chicken, and an interesting change from the marinated chicken common to most tacos. I think the full platter of chicken would be pretty darn good. Both tacos come topped with cilantro and onions, and the taco in the forefront is barbacoa. The meat was somewhat fatty and chewy and tossed in a very light barbecue sauce. Both tacos held up well with only one tortilla to support them. The tortillas definitely seemed fresh and were nicely browned.

I also dug the gordita beneath these copious toppings.

It was at least a third of an inch thick and really tasty. The meat, carne azada, was less impressive as it was still a bit chewy and fatty as it was in the barbacoa version. It had a decent level of spice but not a lot of flavor. The gordita was also topped with beans, jalapenos, lettuce, cilantro, onions, and tomato. Both the tacos and the gordita came with a side of either salsa roja or verde. I asked for the spiciest and the cashier said they were both about the same level of spicy, which I must say, was pretty hot at first but mellowed out after I’d been eating for a while. I would hazard a guess that roasted habaneros were involved in the red one.

Pollos La Carbonera offered all the standard taco-stand meats including lengua, pastor, and chorizo. I can’t remember any of the others, but I do remember that those tortas looked interesting, especially the one that came with an egg as one of the fillings.

Here’s one of their tortas:

And a gratuitous picture of tacos. Mmm, tacos.

Pollos La Carbonera
606 Fayetteville Road
Downtown Durham
$2–$8 per item

Reviewed 7.30.10.

There’s a new way to beat the heat and a new truck on the mobile scene in Durham - Don’s Italian Ices. Former Park Diner owner Don Mazzia has started churning out homemade, fresh, semi-healthy (lots of agave and organic options) Italian Ices and selling them around town.

Flavors include classics like blueberry and strawberry ($2 for a large cup) and fancier options like organic kalawi peach, tart cherry vanilla and more ($3 a cup). This Saturday at the farmer’s market, Don had a total of nine flavors and was more than happy to share and let patrons sample.

We sampled the peach, strawberry agave, tart cherry and banana vanilla. All made with fresh fruit, the agave versions were a little sweeter than the classic sugar variety. The tart cherry was my favorite, but we ordered a cup of the banana vanilla.

Don’s is a welcome addition to the mobile scene and he says he’ll be set up every Wednesday night/Saturday morning at the farmer’s market and most evenings with Bulkogi at the Wachovia on Ninth St. or at Sam’s Quik Stop. The best way to find him, as with any food truck, is to follow him on Twitter at donsclassicices.

At lunchtime, it is safe to say that King’s was slammed. An eclectic mix of hungry Durhamites braved the heat and opening day long lines to sample the new menu, featuring burgers, dogs, veggie options, pulled pork, and shakes. We went anticipating a wait, and between expected opening day logistical issues and a large and enthusiastic crowd, it took about as long as we expected to order and get our food (25-30 mins). The ordering system involves filling out a paper slip (one per order) and we expect it won’t take long for the kitchen to hit its stride. One additional logistical note: place your order at the south window, and pick up your food at the east window – several customers waited to order in the pick-up line for several minutes before realizing they had to order at the other window.

Like the unprofessional reviewers that we are, interest in trying the burgers trumped any efforts to sample a variety of offerings. The burger, cooked on a flat-top griddle, was very good. The beef is ground fresh daily, so they can cook it medium. It had a good balance of outside crust and pink middle, with little seasoning on the patty. You have a number of options for toppings, but we just got the King Burger, which comes with tomato, onion, chopped lettuce, and “King Sauce” which seems to be a mustard/mayo hybrid. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the tomatoes were fresh and in season – it’s always a letdown to get a supermarket grade tomato on a sandwich at this time of year. The burger was a bit prettier than pictured when I first got it, but I had a few bites before remembering to take a picture.

I was disappointed by what appear to be frozen fries. They were good enough, well cooked and salted, and on par with the fry offerings at the old King’s and Wimpy’s, but Durham is blessed with some great, house made fry choices (OnlyBurger, the Fed, Piedmont, Rue Cler, Vin Rouge, to name a few), that my standards have been raised. Maybe they’ll take a cue from Joe’s Diner – the first time I visited I got frozen onion rings, but on subsequent visits I’ve watched them peel a whole onion, slice it, bread it, and drop in the fryer, a massive step up.

Fan’s of the old King’s will surely miss staples like the Fried Bologna sandwich, fatback, and other regional specialties. A larger menu would be welcomed at some point, but we are fine with the philosophy of mastering the basics before expanding (I’ve previously heard rumors of breakfast or hours outside of the current window of 11-4).

Read on for additional comments from a fellow CD reviewer:

The Spicy Black Bean burger held up well to this reviewer’s toppings (kraut, pickles, onions, mustard, tomatoes, & lettuce). It was slightly crisp on the outside and retained moisture on the inside- something difficult to attain. This patty had a sweet spice to it that was not overpowering and exceeded my expectations!

Ah King’s, I fell in love with your sign and cute style you brought to a cinder block burger shack. I love that once again I’m able to consistently pick up a quick meal in Central Park. Then, when I arrived to try out your newly restored place, I found you offer the rarest of delicacies in Durham restaurants: crushed ice for your beverages. Little slivers of ice refreshed me as I waited on your new picnic tables, admired your sun flowers, and chatted with your other followers.

UPDATE: Since this visit on 8/3, King’s has posted an updated menu on their website. The King Burger now seems to be of the choose-your-own toppings variety instead of a preset list. It also looks like they tweaked some of the prices. The burger is now $3.75 and the combo, with fries and drink, is $6.75 (up 25 cents for each). As the new menu is dated “August 2010″ perhaps they are planning on regular updates as they get up to speed.

King’s Sandwich Shop
701 Foster St. map
Durham, NC 27701
(919) 682-0071
www.kingssandwichshop.com, click through for menu

Reviewed 8/3/10

This is a popular event! I got to the Pinhook at almost 12:30 and the line was about halfway down the block. It went slowly, though the wait was definitely hastened by chatting with a couple of regulars at the monthly events and an out-of-towner who’d driven from High Point to attend. Only about 10 more people were able to get in after I did, and then the food was out. So if you’re interested in checking out the next one, make sure to get there early!

After paying my $7 at the door, I moved right over to the sheet-covered pool table where Caroline and Siobhan, Fiction Kitchen’s owners and chefs, were serving up the grub. On the menu were a summer squash gratin with creamy béchamel, crepes with asparagus and pea and mint puree, and roasted tomato ragout. The price included a portion of all three options and either coffee or tea. Seating was a free-for-all with people lounging all over the Pinhook’s couches and chairs as well as sitting on the stage and a few tables outside.

The Pinhook also had a bartender on staff if you wanted a Bloody Mary ($7) or Versailles ($6) to go with your brunch. I must say, that was the strangest Bloody Mary I’ve ever had. It was really thick and had some sort of unusual flavor that wasn’t to my liking. I want to say it was olive juice, but I’m hoping someone from the Pinhook will find this blog and jump in with the right mystery ingredient. It was moderately spicy.

What about that food, you say?

I liked the crepes the best and thought their texture was pretty good, even without eggs to fluff them up. Caroline said they hadn’t come out quite like she wanted, but with the pea and mint puree to kick up the flavor, I thought they were tasty. The squash in the squash gratin was definitely overcooked but managed to taste bright and sweet anyhow. The ragout was fine, too, but I don’t think I’d go back just on the basis of the food offered—and since the menu changes each time, this month’s okay meal could easily be a fantastic one the next time. But the real reason to go to the monthly brunch is for the vibe: a homemade meal with a bunch of mostly late twenty- to early fortysomething Durhamites (and some out-of-towners and fifty- to sixtysomethings, too) with similar food philosophies getting together. Not being a vegan, I can’t quite imagine how exciting it is to find an opportunity to eat out with a menu solely designed to fit your culinary needs, and from the line and the smiles of the crowd, I’d say that it has definitely created a sense of community among the vegan and vegetarian folks around here. Everyone seemed happy to be there to support the effort to provide a vegan option for eating out, if only once a month.

Have you been and would you agree? How was the food at other brunches? Caroline is toying with the idea of “crab” cakes and creamed corn for the next one.

Monthly Vegan Brunch at the Pinhook
117 West Main, Downtown Durham
Pinhook website
The Fiction Kitchen website
$7, 12 pm to 2 pm, first Sunday of the month

Reviewed 8.1.10.

In what used to be a panderia across from Compare Food off Roxboro Rd. there is now a paleteria called La Monarcha. A colorful window advertises paletas, ice cream, aguas frescas, frozen bananas and more.

Inside we were greeted by freezer after freezer of frozen treats. From a quick count and estimate, La Monarcha has over 30 flavors of popsicles and 25 flavors of ice cream – maybe more. You pick out your own popsicles and they are $2 a piece. The cases were full with every color in the rainbow. Flavors aren’t labeled, but many were easy to figure out based on the color, fruit or nut in them. We chose a strawberry, dulce de leche and pistachio. (I did overhear another customer asking for pineapple chile in spanish.)

The strawberry was fresh and full of fruit, the dulce de leche was rich and indulgent and the pistachio was creamy, a bit salty and contained probably half of cup of the nut.

Note: We swapped out the walnut on the left for a strawberry.

On a Sunday afternoon, there was a young family behind the cases. None of them spoke English very well, but with the self-serve popsicle cases it wasn’t really a problem. La Monarca’s card says they’re open every day, but doesn’t list hours. It would be a great stop after a taco at Los Comales or La Superior and I look forward to trying the some of the less easily distinguishable flavors and the ice cream.

2000 Avondale Dr., Suite P

Durham, NC 27704

(919) 491-1161