Foster's Market

Foster’s Market is like a breath of fresh air among all of the sleek, modern restaurants cropping up today. There’s a very earthy feel to the market area and the seating area, which creates a very relaxed atmosphere. The layout of the market is a little confusing the first time you walk in. However, once you figure out how to order and where to sit, the food is totally worth it. I ordered a turkey sandwich with spinach and brie, which was served warm. The blending of flavors was delicious, and all of the ingredients were high quality. My friend Peter ordered a southwestern wrap and my friend John ordered the havarti ham sandwich. Initially, I was afraid Peter did not like his wrap because he was speechless when it was delivered. I thought maybe he had ordered something else and his order had been confused. I quickly learned though that he was speechless because he was so enamored with his wrap, which he went on to proclaim was very delicious. John, too, had no complaints about his meal. The food was delicious, the service was friendly, and the store part had a wide selection of treats to take home. Foster’s Market is a great place to go if you want to sit down, relax and really enjoy a home-cooked meal.

Locations:

2694 Durham-CH Blvd.

Durham, NC

750 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Chapel Hill, NC

Hours of Operation:

7:30 am-8:00 pm daily

Nevermore Film Festival

This weekend some friends and I attended the 11th Annual Nevermore Film Festival at the Carolina Theatre. This is a festival strictly dedicated to the macabre and all things horror, immediately evident when you arrive to the booming sounds of creepy music playing outside, and the fact that the staff of the Carolina lit the entire building in an eerie blood red glow. We instantly knew we were in for a treat when it seemed like Halloween had taken a break from October and taken over a new month. The ambiance didn't stop at the exterior of the building, as we walked in and were greeted by patrons in zombie makeup, vintage horror movie posters everywhere, skeletons hanging off of signs, and my favorite: the rules to surviving a zombie outbreak posted in the restrooms.

The schedule of films was robust and had something for everyone, from the classic slap stick Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, to independent films such as Scare Zone, and revival showings of classics like The Re-Animator. Overall, I was pleased with the line up and excited to have fun at the movies. My friends and I decided to attend the showings of 1988's Night of the Demons, 1986's Witchboard, and the classic 1986 Re-Animator.

Our day began with Night of the Demons, a pretty terrible film about a Halloween party gone wrong. It was a lot of fun and most of the audience knew exactly when to yell at the characters on screen, when to clap for the hero, and when to laugh at the horrible one liners. After the screening the director of the film held a short Q&A and then introduced his second film Witchboard. To say that we had a great time making fun of this film would be an understatement, it's true that the movie was pretty good to have been made in the mid 80's by a couple of straight out of school film students, but it was classic 80's cheese. The performances were over the top and almost seemed to beg for attention. At times the I was laughing so hard that I worried someone would ask me to leave the theater, but luckily the majority of the audience seemed to be in the same frame of mind and enjoyed laughing and screaming together.

We wrapped up the evening with a showing of H.P. Lovecraft's Re-Animator, shown in the 1,000 seat (and rumored to be haunted) Fletcher Hall. We sat in the balcony of the old theater and watched a truly grotesque tale of bringing back the dead unfold before us. The audience cheered for the creepy lead, they laughed when the headless corpse of the reanimated doctor carried his head around, and they screamed during the intense final moments of the film.

All around, we all had a great time and I really hope that some of you were able to take advantage of the festival. It's held every year, so if you missed it, be sure to look out for Nevermore 12 next February. The fact that the Hub sold 5 passes for $5 was a pretty good deal considering that quality of the total package: Cheesy Horror + Creepy Decor + Over the Top Fans = an amazing film festival.

Amélia Café: Simply Divine

I set out once again this week to taste the food of Durham. I wanted to find a really good dessert place nearby Duke. I fielded many suggestions, but I ultimately decided on Amélia Café in Brightleaf because it provides such a wide variety. I was told that Amélia’s offers desserts ranging from tarts, mousses and cakes to cookies, crepes and gelato. This description hardly prepared me for the experience I was about to partake in. Stepping into the café was a bit overwhelming because of the vast array of decadent cakes and beautifully decorated cookies and pastries. I scoped out the desserts at the counter before even noticing the table in the center of the café, which is piled high with additional treats that can be purchased and taken home. We finally settled on ordering gelato, a crepe, a chocolate shortbread cookie, and a Valentine’s Day sugar cookie. Everything we ate was delicious, but the best was definitely the crepe. The café offers hearty meat/cheese crepes as well as dessert crepes on their menu. However, we opted for a banana-chocolate crepe, which was not on the menu, but the server was happy to make for us. It was by far the best crepe I’ve tasted since my 6^th grade French teacher made crepes for our class party. Amélia’s also sells good lunch food and coffee, but the dessert is the real reason to make the trip in my opinion.

Locations:

Brightleaf Square

905 West Main Street - Suite 23J

Durham, NC 27701

Telephone: (919) 683-5600

University Square

143 West Franklin Street - Suite 143B

Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Telephone: (919) 969-0064

Hours of Operation: 8am – 9:30pm

Spring Awakening

As you all hopefully already know, the musical Spring Awakening is coming to Durham in just a couple weeks, and I, for one, am really excited to see it. I saw it on Broadway a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I wasn't sure that I would like it since the story takes place in the late 1800s in Germany and so I didn't think I would be able to relate to any of the characters. But it turned out to speak to issues that are still relevant and controversial today, plus the rock music that accompanies it is very modern--definitely not what I was expecting for a musical based on a play that has been around for over a hundred years. I ended up becoming briefly obsessed with it, rocking out to the music and even attempting to recreate some of the choreography. So of course, I'm planning on seeing it again at DPAC on March 3rd, and would highly recommend that the rest of you do the same.

Don't forget, tickets are $10 and they go on sale tomorrow at 10 AM at the Hub! Hopefully I'll see you there (I'll be the one behind the cash register).

Honey's: Delicious After Midnight

This past Friday late at night, I set out with my two friends, John and Roshen, to try out another classic Durham establishment. I’d heard some interesting things about Honey’s, and since it’s been in business for over 30 years, I thought something must be worth checking out. Honey’s, just a five-minute drive from Duke, is open 24/7, which is probably its best feature. It caters to late night drivers coming off I-85, and herds of students and locals, hungry after a long night. This diner features an eclectic menu with items ranging from fried chicken livers to pancakes and eggs. The food is similar to IHOP, but a notch up in quality and with a more southern vibe. The one ingredient pretty much everything on the menu has in common is butter. John said it best when he said, “There’s just so much butter on this table!” We noticed that there were even spots of butter inside the biscuits. This led to a huge debate about Bojangles biscuits vs. Honey’s biscuits. John claimed that since Bojangles mass produces their biscuits they have the recipe perfected. Roshen quickly shut down his argument with a simple, “No way, not at all. These are way better.” Upon further visits, we learned that on a good day Honey’s biscuits are supreme, but Bojangles biscuits are consistently great. The trick: if you ask your waitress at Honey’s if it’s a good day for biscuits, she will probably give you an honest answer. While deciding what to order, don’t forget to save room for dessert. The desserts at Honey’s are large creations. They normally have minimal ice cream and tons of whipped cream and/or hot fudge, and are very tasty.

Location:

2700 Guess Road

Durham, NC 27705

Hours: 24/7

Additional features: wireless Internet, bouncy ball machines, student discount (if you remember to ask for it)

Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits

I entered Bojangles with two other friends expecting some pretty good chicken and buttery biscuits. None of us are from the South and none of us had managed to go to Bojangles before now, but we had heard good things. Upon entering, we were completely awed. We stepped up to order, blown away by the extremely bright menu behind the counter. John and I ordered two-piece dinners, and Roshen ordered an eight-piece family dinner, including a half-gallon of super-sweet iced tea. Less than a minute later our orders were ready and we were sitting down to eat. We opened up our Bojangles boxes just like “opening up a Christmas present,” according to Roshen. First we attacked the biscuits. They were perfectly buttered and just hot enough. Next we tried the mashed potatoes. They were tasty, but nothing special. Sinking our teeth into the juicy chicken was incredible, but the seasoned french fries were the real delight. No fries with this flavor can be found anywhere else. They are truly unique to Bojangles, and made the schlep over in the rain more than worth it. The Bojangles we were at had temporarily run out of ketchup, but ketchup wasn’t necessary with these perfectly seasoned fries. Luckily, this french fry seasoning can be purchased for a reasonable price. You can practically replicate your Bojangles experience at home!

Cuban Revolution

This restaurant brings the flair of Cuban cuisine with new-age American twists. Decorated in a more minimalist style with breathtaking larger-than-life funky paintings of iconic fgures (including Marilyn, Kennedy, and Castro) and tv's tuned to sports, news, or even old footage of 50s Cuba, this place has an eclectic, quirky vibe that somehow draws you in and makes you feel comfortable.

The service is quite good as well. The staff is friendly and helpful, patient to explain anything on the menu that a guest might not be familiar with and always offering suggestions if you can't make up your mind. The management is enthusiastic as well and happy to tell you all about Cuban Revolution. (I had a great chat with the owner about the origins of his restaurant and the other sister restaurants all the way up in the North East.)

And of course, the food has always impressed me. Everything I have had there is delicious and very reasonably priced, even for us college stuents, haha. Be sure to try their rich and flavorful black bean soup or their sweet, fried maduros (ripe plantains)!

Location: 318 Blackwell St. (in the American Tobacco District and right next to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park)

Hours: Sun.-Thurs. 11am-12am
Fri. & Sat. 11am-2am

Contact: 919-687-4300 or http://www.thecubanrevolution.com

Mammmmma Mia!

Going to see the musical Mamma Mia at the Durham Performing Arts Centre (DPAC) was amazing! I couldn't stop dancing in my chair to "Dancing Queen" or shedding a tear or two to "Chiquitita." The story, set on an island in Greece, perfectly combined all the greatest hits from Abba and made me want to go back in time. Needless to say, following the performance, my firends and I went to Charlie's Pub on 9th Street to karaoke out the tunes which are still stuck in my head today. DPAC is a great theatre with lots of good stuff going on. If you haven't already done so, go to one of their performances. You can buy discounted tickets from us at the Hub: Hairspray, Spring Awakening and Wicked are coming up!