Spartacus 4139 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd. South Square, Durham Entrees: $12–$18 Sandwiches: $9 Website Spartacus has been operating in Durham since 1993, which is a very impressive run for a restaurant. Greek food is their specialty, but they offer pasta, burgers, grilled steaks, and seafood as well. It’s definitely the sort of restaurant you can bring
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Hiko’s Premium Ka No Izumi Junmai Daigingo Koga Shiga, Japan   This is a fantastic sake. I lost my tasting notes on it right after I tried it, so this is a loose, loose remembrance of the flavors. Normally, I wouldn’t bother writing up a post when that happens, but I wanted to make sure
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Beasley’s Chicken + Honey 237 S. Wilmington Street Downtown Raleigh We tried Beasley’s with a bunch of fellow foodies, two of whom are huge fans of the spot. It’s a concept restaurant by Ashley Christiansen, a two-times James Beard nominee, which is a huge honor. The space sells only fried chicken and sides. You can
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Pinot Evil Pinot Noir Dry Sparkling Rosé France [insert photo lost during last week’s hard drive failure. Le sigh] For a dry rosé, this is pretty darn sweet, or rather, it’s a nice blend of sweet and dry.  The flavor is strawberry galore and mostly makes me think of strawberry frozen yogurt. In fact, its
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Cinco Joses Old Vines Grenache 2008 Campo de Borga, Spain [insert picture that I lost in my hard drive failure here. Le sigh.] Do yourself a favor and do NOT read the horrible explanation of who each Joe is on the label. It’s ten seconds I really need back in my life, including an extra
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It’s been a while since I’ve posted a round-up of upcoming foodie events and news for us Triangulars (yes, I have decided I like Triangulars best out of the options of what to call us residents of the NC Triangle). I’ve got a backlog of emails on tasty, delicious possibilities in the next few weeks,
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La Volta 411 Fayetteville Street Downtown Raleigh Website Entrees: $13–$20 La Volta is an Italian restaurant on Fayetteville Street, right off the pretty City Plaza stretch of downtown Raleigh, which means it’s a prime location for people watching, especially if there’s a costume convention in town. There are plenty of outdoor tables, but I found
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Pernod Anise French anise-based liqueur Oh, licorice, how I love you in your many forms! Hang around me for long and you will learn a little secret: Sambuca is my undoing. Absinthe is a close second. However, my opinion of Galliano is much, much lower, so I was unsure whether or not Pernod would match
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The Republic 353 W. Main Street Five Points, Durham Website   The Republic is a bar and lounge that always intrigued me when I walked by, but for some reason, I never stepped inside until recently. I think it might be because the space looks really, really dark from the outside, which doesn’t come across
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Root Beer Flip Foundation Downtown Raleigh Website I shy away from cocktails that have soda as a main ingredient—I prefer less dilution and more thoughtful ingredient combinations than soda-based drinks usually reflect. The root beer flip at Foundation, however, is an absolutely delicious cocktail that I don’t regret breaking that rule for at all. The
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