Piola 1101 Environ Way East Highway 54, Chapel Hill Website Pizzas and entrees: $8—$13 Piola is an Italian restaurant chain that now has 10 branches open in the US, including one in the Highway 54 East development in Chapel Hill. It’s done in bright colors, with grey floors and a bit of a squiggly line
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28 October, 2010
Kiwi + Strawberry Caipiroska @ Piola
Comments : 2 Posted in : Bars and Tasting Rooms, Bars in Chapel Hill - NC, Spirits on by : The Gourmez Tags: bars, caipiroska, chapel hill, cocktails, east highway 54, kiwi, kiwi strawberry caipiroska, piola, strawberryKiwi + Strawberry Caipiroska Piola Chapel Hill Website $7 This very pretty drink has the perfect ratio of alcohol to sweetness. The freshly muddled kiwi and strawberry add much to the good quality of the vodka, and the taste is clean and full of tasty bites of pulp. Definitely worth a drink! My only complaint
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27 October, 2010
Placido Chianti 2008
Comments : 3 Posted in : Chianti, Red Wine on by : The Gourmez Tags: 2008, apple, blackberry, nectarine, placido chianti, pungent, tom and melody's wine blog, tummies growl, tuscanyPlacido Chianti 2008 Tuscany, Italy This chianti tastes pungent, and not in a good way. Unripened blackberries, nectarines, apples, mild chocolate, and herbs—dried thyme, mostly—are the notes I taste. Those don’t make for a great combination. I’m not spitting it out, but it’s not really worth drinking, either.
26 October, 2010
Washington DC Travelogue September 2010 #5: Embassy Row, U Street, and Adams Morgan.
Posted in : Bars in Washington - DC, Coffee Shops, Restaurants, Travel Guide for Washington - DC on by : The Gourmez Tags: adams morgan, embassy row, heidi's brooklynn deli, lafayette square, motorcade, sheridan circle, soho tea and coffee, tryst, u street, washington dc, watermelon cocktailMy last day in DC started with a nice, long walk—probably too long as I get a little crazy with the walking when travelling—down Embassy Row. Embassy Row is the stretch of Massachusetts Avenue between Scott Circle and the DC National Cathedral, I believe. I headed up Massachusetts Avenue from Dupont Circle, and right away,
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20 October, 2010
TerraVITA: The First Biodynamic and Sustainable Food and Drink Fair of the Southeast
Comments : 2 Posted in : Events, Restaurants, Travel Guide for Chapel Hill - NC, Travel Sponsored Stays and Tours on by : The Gourmez Tags: biodynamic, carrboro coffee company, chapel hill, colleen minton, early girl eatery, fearrington, french broad chocolates, haw creek honey, heron's, joe van gogh, lucky 32, nana's's, neal's deli, organic, silent auction, six plates, southeast, southern village, sustainable, tea chi, terra vita, terravita, watt's groceryTerraVITA is the brainchild of Colleen Minton, who planned this big tent event to help promote better and more natural food and drink movements. The first was held this past Saturday at Southern Village in Chapel Hill and brought in regional restaurants with similar philosophies and wine and beer distributors from further afield. In line
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19 October, 2010
Washington, DC, September 2010 Travelogue 4: National Sculpture Garden, National Archives, and Foggy Bottom
Posted in : Bars in Washington - DC, Dining in Washington - DC, Restaurants, Travel Guide for Washington - DC on by : The Gourmez Tags: dc nightlife, dc streets, dupont circle, foggy bottom, front page restaurant, national archives, national sculpture garden, washington dcAfter lunch and the Museum of the American Indian, I made my way across the Mall to the National Sculpture Garden. Or rather, I made my way toward the National Archives, but you have to wander through the Sculpture Garden to get there from that direction. This is not a bad thing. The Archives as
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18 October, 2010
Yelp Helps and Bright Lights, Bull City
Posted in : Events, Restaurants on by : The Gourmez Tags: bright lights bull city, brightleaf, downtown durham, durham arts council, durham magazine, the picnic basket, volunteer, west village, yelp helpsThere are two exciting events coming to downtown Durham this weekend. Unfortunately, I can’t make either of them, but I hope some of you can! First up is Bright Lights, Bull City on Saturday, 10/23, an event sponsored by Durham Magazine to celebrate our vibrant downtown, Brightleaf, and West Village businesses. There will be live
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14 October, 2010
Corn Maze Adventure 2010!
Comments : 4 Posted in : Events, Travel Guide for Durham - NC on by : The Gourmez Tags: corn maze, corn maze adventure, corn rows, goat, horror film, jack o'lantern cyclops, mapleview ice cream, mckee's farm, rooster, scarecrowThis year’s Corn Maze Adventure came courtesy of Mckee’s Farm, in Rougement, NC, about forty minutes away from us. In addition to a few farm animals and Mapleview Farm ice cream, they’ve got the largest maze we’ve tried yet: 12 acres! The Welcome Sign Before we headed in, we spent some time taking pictures of
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13 October, 2010
Yelp’s Pop Culture Palooza Party at Legend’s
Comments : 2 Posted in : Bars and Tasting Rooms, Bars in Raleigh - NC, Events, Restaurants on by : The Gourmez Tags: catdaddy, charles nelson reilly, coti collins, diane rehm, drag, dsi, legends, maker's mark, market restaurant, match game, mberry, midnight moon, moonshine, oxford gastropup, paint savvy, palooza, pop culture, randy savage, sara palin, sono, tofu chips, vitaminwater, yelpChristina G. (@yelpnctriangle), the wonderful manager of Yelp for our area, invited me plus the husband to come to their free Pop Culture Palooza event this last Friday. Pop Culture was a bit hard to dress for, so we didn’t attempt costumes, but there were a few mild takes on Lady Gaga’s style and plenty
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12 October, 2010
Tri Foodie Tweetup at Lucky 32
Comments : 2 Posted in : Dining in Raleigh - NC, Events, Restaurants on by : The Gourmez Tags: anna mae bread, buttermilk pie, chocolate chess pie, ciabatta, country gravy, debbie moose, fried chicken liver, jazz fest shrimp, lucky 32, lucky 32 southern kitchen, my restaurant guru, pork belly slider, southern sourdoough, spicy, sweet potato hush puppy, triangle foodie tweetup, trifoodietweetup, voodoo porkStalwart readers, I’ve been very social lately! My inner, introverted writer is complaining about all this time out in the Triangle food and drink scene, but my extroverted, night owl persona couldn’t be happier. If you are a local foodie, though, and you haven’t made it to one of the food and drink-themed events happening
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