[text borrowed from Erich Huang]
Here's an incomplete list of things to do along Tobacco Road. The city
of Durham owes its name to Bartlett Durham who donated land for a
railroad station. The Brightleaf tobacco that grows so well in our red
clay ultimately made the Duke family's fortune and the American Tobacco
Company that was ultimately trust-busted into RJ Reynolds, Liggett
& Myers, P. Lorillard, and a new, smaller American Tobacco Company.
The American Tobacco Historic District houses Tyler's *, which possesses the best beer selection and corndogs in Durham. Right next to it is the Durham Bulls Athletic Park *
the leading edge of a wave of new minor league baseball fields in the
mid-90's. It was designed by the same firm that designed the Orioles'
Camden Yards. Their August schedule is here *. Nearby is Brightleaf Square *, a shopping complex of reclaimed tobacco warehouses. Across the street is James Joyce *, an Irish Pub. The Sarah P. Duke Gardens *
is the equivalent of Central Park for Durham. On a pretty day you'll
find every variety of Durhamite enjoying its trails, fields, ponds, and
flowerbeds.
A favorite during medical school after a night of, ahem, debauchery, is the Waffle House *. More refined is Foster's * a quaint establishment run by the FOM (Friend-of-Martha), Sarah Foster. Next door is Guglhupf *, a German bakery with cream puffs as light as cumulus cloud. There are a couple of nationally known gourmet restaurants: Magnolia Grill * run by a husband and wife team who have respectively won the James Beard Foundation Best Chef in the Southeast award and Bon Appetit Best Pastry Chef awards; and Nana's * which was named by Esquire as one of the top new restaurants in the country. For rib-stickin' food in Durham, try Bullock's *.
Franklin Street is Chapel Hill's main drag. Whenever the
dastardly Tar Heels are lucky enough to win an important ballgame it's
painted blue amongst a dissipated riot of North Carolina's wasted
youth. Aside from the standard college bars and pita stands is Lantern *, a tiny fusion restaurant that manages to capture authentic Asian flavor. For authentic Southern, there's Mama Dip's * for old fashioned heart attack fare, and Crook's Corner *
the restaurant started by the former Bill Neal, one of the best-known
early champions of Southern Regional cuisine. It put shrimp and grits
on the map (accompany it with their habanero hush puppies). During the
1st year of medical school, Monday post-exam debaucheries were capped
with a visit to Time Out Chicken *,
a Franklin Street institution that was graced (until it was stolen)
with a blow-up photo of Chris Webber calling his illegal timeout in the
National Championship game. A block or so east is Ye Olde Waffle Shop *,
a family-owned establishment with a loyal following that crowds its
tiny dining area on the weekends. Farther afield down Airport Road is
the Flying Burrito *,
a Mexican/Seafood restaurant that has branches on Topsail Island and in
the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Cheap, huge, and satisfying burritos.
The Flying Mayan is vegetarian, but so good you wouldn't know the
difference--it has sweet potato in it. Also good are the fish tacos. A
representative of my med school class could be found there every day of
the week. Wear gloves and carry a Class A fire extinguisher if you want
to try their Atomic Wings.
