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You are here: Home / Restaurant & Bar Reviews / Durham / First Take: True Flavors Diner in Durham Delivers a Full Plate

December 11, 2016 by Ron Wen 2 Comments

First Take: True Flavors Diner in Durham Delivers a Full Plate

Front of True Flavors Diner in Durham - nctriangledining.com
Front of True Flavors Diner in Durham – nctriangledining.com

Out by Route 55 in Durham you’ll find a small cafe and catering business named True Flavors! I had heard a bit of buzz about it through my network but there wasn’t a ton of visibility given its part catering business and has limited hours (closes at 2:30pm in general). But I really wanted to check it out and took a special trip out there for a work lunch which was well worth the effort.

Dining area at True Flavors Diner in Durham - nctriangledining.com
Dining area at True Flavors Diner in Durham – nctriangledining.com

If you’re looking for True Flavors just be aware that it’s in a back corner of a quiet plaza, we stumbled on it nearly accidentally while getting lost! Big red signage in front, inside True Flavors has a nice open feel with a lot of sunshine and green for brightness. The place is busy already at noon time, I suspect they do more of a breakfast/early lunch type crowd here. There’s plenty of space to stretch out in and we get seated in a back corner with a friendly and enthusiastic waitress. But don’t miss the single seats by the kitchen where all the action happens!

Open kitchen at True Flavors Dining in Durham - nctriangledining.com
Open kitchen at True Flavors Dining in Durham – nctriangledining.com

Since we’re short on time, we put in our orders quickly for the Hot Bird chicken sandwich and a bacon-bourbon meatloaf that I had been stalking for a while! Yeah, I was checking out their menu for the last month or so and nothing would sway me from my plan. The food comes out REALLY quickly, in less that 10 minutes and closer to 5 which is great if you’re pressed for time. And it looks really impressive overall.

Chicken fried steak at True Flavors Dining in Durham - nctriangledining.com
Chicken fried steak at True Flavors Dining in Durham – nctriangledining.com
Hot chicken sandwich at True Flavors Diner in Durham - nctriangledining.com
Hot chicken sandwich at True Flavors Diner in Durham – nctriangledining.com

My meatloaf is hard to see under the gravy, bacon and greens but it’s sitting on some mashies along with some green beans! It’s a large portion for lunch but not close to the Hayes Barton Cafe which will coma you. I take a bite and it’s good, excellent meatloaf texture but not as much flavor in the meat. Taken as a whole with the mashies and beans it’s a good meal but fell a bit short on the flavor side for me. But at home I usually do a Cajun meatloaf which is loaded with peppers and spices so maybe my taste buds are tuned differently.

Bacon bourbon meatloaf at True Flavors Dining in Durham - nctriangledining.com
Bacon bourbon meatloaf at True Flavors Dining in Durham – nctriangledining.com
Onion rings at True Flavors Diner in Durham- NC Triangle Dining
Onion rings at True Flavors Diner in Durham- NC Triangle Dining

My table-mate’s TFD hot bird sandwich looks fantastic! A fried chicken breast with spicy sauce on brioche along with a wonderful stack of beer-battered onion rings, I’m a bit jealous of his choice but what the heck, maybe next time. Service through-out lunch is great and tempting, she asks about dessert but I’d actually like to be conscious back at the office this afternoon. So we head out of True Flavors, stuffed and happy, back to work! In the end, I think I may have picked the wrong lunch item but overall I think True Flavors is doing a good job and presenting a nice twist on diner food in a more gourmet setting. And yes, I’ll need to get back for visit two to understand how good this place is and you can bet I’m getting those onion rings!

 

True Flavors Diner + Catering

5410 NC-55

Durham, NC 27713

919.316.7978

Location on Google maps

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Last Updated on January 5, 2020

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Filed Under: Durham, Restaurant & Bar Reviews Tagged With: Diner, Lunch

Comments

  1. Glenn says

    December 18, 2015 at 11:56 am

    One of our favorite places in South Durham. Breakfast options are also good, and desserts are amazingly decadent. My wife ate half of her bourbon bacon sweet potato pie slice and took the rest home to finish later.

    Reply
    • Ron Wen says

      December 18, 2015 at 12:29 pm

      Hey Glenn, I definitely need to check them out for breakfast, that seems to be their specialty. Definitely not a low-cal visit!

      Ron

      Reply

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