After spending a month in Maya’s Vacation promotions, I’m switching gears to highlight some of my mentions and interviews for this very blog, the Gourmez, and the connections I’ve made with the wealth of amazing people in our food and drink industry in the Triangle. Today’s brag comes by way of my Carpe Durham connection,
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29 May, 2012
Minneapolis Blogging — The Guthrie Theater and the Amen Corner
I’m preparing a series of blogs on my second trip to Minneapolis because it’s an awesome city that deserves the love. I liked it just as much this time around as I did last May, when I first discovered the city. But rather than follow chronology as I normally do for travel blogs, I’m going
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25 May, 2012
Firefly Mango Palmer (Alivia’s Durham Bistro, Durham)
Firefly Mango Palmer Alivia’s Durham Bistro (Restaurant Review) Brightleaf, Durham My delight in this drink takes me by surprise. It is made with Firefly sweet tea vodka, sour mix, simple syrup, and Malibu mango rum. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you already know why the Firefly Mango Palmer was more
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23 May, 2012
Revelation Cabernet-Merlot 2010
Revelation Cabernet-Merlot 2010 Pays D’Oc, France This French blend comes across like a Spanish wine with plenty of spice in nice proportions. Those Spaniards can go overboard sometimes, so the balance is appreciated. The fruit is lovely, bright and young with raspberry and champagne grapes prominently featured. A bit of tobacco lends depth, and the
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21 May, 2012
Carmen’s Cuban Cafe
Carmen’s Cuban Café 108 D Factory Shops Road Morrisville Website Lunch: $7 to $9 Dinner: $10 to $25 I have wanted to check out Carmen’s for a very long time, because it was the only Cuban option (at least, the only one I know about) in the Triangle for years. In the past three, both
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18 May, 2012
North Carolina Sour at Foundation
North Carolina Sour Foundation (Past Reviews) Downtown Raleigh $10 What a lovely drink to look at! The picture doesn’t do the contrasting colors justice. The North Carolina Sour is a pretty one with its bottom half orange from the combination of Carriage House apple brandy and lemon and the top half full of McRitchie Ring
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16 May, 2012
Torrontes Dolce 1591
Torrontes Dolce 1591 La Rioja, Argentina Sparkling Torrontes! Hooray! Torrontes quickly fought its way to the top of my favorite white wine varietals, so trying a sparkling version is trés exciting. This bottle has a fun purple rubber cork that contrasts with the simple, elegant label design, but I think that just makes it all
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14 May, 2012
Bourbon Tasting
Bourbon Tasting The Roxy (Bar Review) Brightleaf, Durham $20 The Roxy hosted a bourbon tasting the night before my birthday, and bourbon is something I’ve definitely grown to love during my time in NC. And let’s be real — I’m down for tasting any sort of alcoholic beverage. This was the first time I went
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11 May, 2012
Food Neighbor Recipe Delivery Service
About a month ago, I was contacted by Clay Williamson to try out his new business called Food Neighbor. It’s a grocery delivery service. More precisely, it’s a recipe ingredient delivery service. Clay offers a selection of recipes midweek, then orders can be placed for the next week. Then he purchases the ingredients from Whole
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2 May, 2012
La Vieille Ferme Récolte 2010
La Vieille Ferme Récolte 2010 Rhone Valley, France This red table wine smells like a black raspberry gumdrop. It tastes like a liquid black raspberry gumdrop with hints of licorice and eucalyptus. The aftertase is all spice, mostly cinnamon. Some strawberry and vanilla also comes through. It’s a thin-bodied wine with exquisite layers, making it
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