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The Best Restaurants and Bars in Raleigh, Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill

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The Best Neapolitan Pizza in Durham, Raleigh, Cary, Carrboro and Chapel Hill

Sneaking a peek at the speckled underside of pizza
Sneaking a peek at the speckled underside of Neapolitan pizza

Pizza comes in many forms and styles: NY thin-crust, Chicago deep-dish, Detroit-style pizza, thick Sicilian and more. But when it comes to REAL pizza in my mind, you have to go back to the motherland, Neapolitan pizza from Italy. Now there are strict rules for true Neapolitan pizza: 00 flour, San Marzano tomatoes, and mozzarella di bufala. Quality ingredients that result in tender delicious, thin crust, soft melty cheese, and fresh tomato flavor, perfection.

Neapolitan pizza is usually served as a single-serving pie and cooked in wood-fired ovens. But the reality is that when you find Neapolitan pizza in the US, it’s often more like Neapolitan-style and takes some liberties on the official guidelines. But in my opinion for pizza, Neapolitan is the only way to go to truly understand what great pizza is about. And thankfully, the NC Triangle is starting to sprout up more Neapolitan-style pizza places over the past five years! Here’s a quick tour of some of your best options for Neapolitan pizza!

 

Capp’s Pizzeria, Chapel Hill – A bit off the beaten path in southwestern Chapel Hill near Pittsboro, I am really impressed with the pizza coming out of this joint! Great crust, crushed tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese, Capp’s spins things up a bit with its combinations. Don’t miss the Mama Mia with meatball, red onion and jalapenos. They also do a traditional (for Connecticut) clam pie on the Friday and Saturday!

Napoli Pizzeria, Chapel Hill and Durham – This food truck has gone bricks and mortar at the Durham Food Hall! Overall they are doing a solid Neapolitan pie and the pancetta garlic pizza I tried was excellent!

 

Pizzeria Toro, Durham – One of the first Neapolitan pizza spots in the area, Toro does some really good pies in a hipster setting. Expect to get a little fancier with their pies and the prices rise accordingly ($14 to $18). While they still do a good pie, I’ve also got some burnt ones here which is not cool if you’re paying a premium. But a good spot if you’re hanging out in downtown Durham and want some Neapolitan pizza.

 

Pizzeria Faulisi, Cary – A great option for the Triangle Neapolitan pizza craze, Faulisi does a very solid pie and crust (mix of 00 and Boulted Bread flour). Decor-wise it sits neatly between casual and hipster with a bright, light and white interior along with some counter service. Love their pies, it’s got a snappy crust and keeps things simple the way Neapolitan pies should be. And it sits conveniently right next to Bond Brothers beer so who can complain about great pizza and beer?

 

Cugino Forno, Durham – This NC chain focused on Neapolitan pizza has opened their newest spot in Durham! Located right next to Hi-Wire Brewery at Golden Belt, this spartan pizzeria is offering up classic pies in a 16″ form. The pizzas are solid and will probably feed two people…

 

Pizzeria Mercato, Carrboro – A cool little pizzeria run by Gabe Barker in a funky little corner of Carrboro. They are doing more Neapolitan style with a snappier (stiffer) crust but it still holds mostly true. They also offer some great appetizers and entrees, do NOT miss their arancini (serious noms). Pizzeria Mercato is more of an Italian restaurant to me, doing really good za. I just wish it was a bit closer to me!

Pompieri Pizza, Durham – Pompieri was one of the earlier entries into the Neapolitan pizza race in the Triangle and it’s still chugging along. The concept and space is quite different, located in an old firehouse, lined with aquariums and family-friendly. The pies are very thin crust and are served uncut with a pair of shears. While they definitely use quality ingredients here, it’s not quite traditional Neapolitan pizza here which is fine for most people.

Poole’side Pies, Raleigh – The newest entry in this category, Poole’side Pies offers up solid Neapolitan-style pies in a stunning setting reminiscent of a classic swimming pool theme.  Along with a handful of fun, fried appetizers and interesting salads, Poole’side stretches the Neapolitan concept a bit with some Southern style.

 

V Pizza, Cary – A smallish chain based out of Jacksonville, FL has a couple of locations in the Triangle now. Offering up a more sophisticated take on Neapolitan pizzas and oven-baked wings, V Pizza offers up a lovely patio and craft beers along with its pies.

 

 

Flirting with Fire food truck, Various Locations – This very cool food truck hauls around a SERIOUS wood-fired oven all around the Triangle! And the one time I was able to try them out at a street fair, I was pretty impressed. Solid crust and they stick to the basic topping options. If you find them in the neighborhood, Flirting with Fire is definitely worth the visit!

 

Blaze Fast-Fired Pizza, Morrisville – Ok, feel free to laugh at me but I do think that this chain is doing an excellent job serving up Neapolitan style pizza! Given their unlimited toppings model, it’s definitely not traditional but the crust is pretty close! And for $8 you really can’t beat the price. I love my pizza but try not to be a pizza snob, and Blaze hits all the right notes. The casual but cool interior along with Chipotle style ordering makes Blaze super family-friendly, too.

Grandma pie at Hutchins Garage, Durham - nctriangledining.com
Grandma pie at Hutchins Garage, Durham – nctriangledining.com

And there’s more great pizza in the area with more traditional pies such as Hutchins Garage, Trophy Brewing and Pizza along with Di Fara Pizza Tavern and Oakwood Pizza Box! Which is great news for us all because, not everyone has a friend with a wood-fired pizza oven. As a huge Neapolitan pizza fan it just makes me happy to see these options popping up. I’ve made the pilgrimage to great pizza places around the country like DiFara, Totonno’s, Motorino, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, Apizza Scholls, and more. It’s just wonderful to have some good local options here near home! So if you’re a budding pizza fan, give one of these spots a try and I’m sure you’ll be loving that thin-crust za, too.

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First Take: Dain’s Place for Delicious Tots and Burgers…

Sign at Dain's Place in Durham, NC Triangle Dining
Sign at Dain’s Place in Durham, NC Triangle Dining

Deep, deep in Duke territory lies the fabled bar, Dain’s Place.  I had been here years ago but as a Carolina grad, I tend to shy away from 9th Street for some unknown reason!   But I was checking out the Doughman Race which does an after-party at Dain’s so it was definitely time for a return visit.  As a quintessential college bar deep in downtown Durham, how could I resist?  And I’m glad I was able to make it back…

Tots on fire at Dain's Place in Durham, NC Triangle Dining
Tots on fire at Dain’s Place in Durham, NC Triangle Dining

Dain’s is one of those old-school bars that dishes out a small menu of bar eats along with great beer.  Inside there’s lots of worn, polished woods, small booths and a couple of long high-tops down the center.  Really a classic bar feel and usually the place is packed and busy.  My friend and I grab a seat at the high-top and hang loose with the menus.  Lots of young families and just a boisterous feel to the place, the owner Dain comes in with his new infant, looks like the Doughman post-race has just finished up!  I order up the same meal I did years ago, the famous Tots on Fire and the Defibrilator burger showcased on Man versus Food.  We’re talking about a 1/2 lb. burger with bacon, cheddar, sweet chili and a hot dog on top for good measure!  Well, who wants to live forever?!

Defibrillator burger at Dain's Place in Durham, NC Triangle Dining
Defibrillator burger at Dain’s Place in Durham, NC Triangle Dining

Service here at Dain’s is spot-on, the staff and bartenders are all very cool, friendly and efficient.  That same attitude is reflected in the crowd here, it’s a fun group.  Ten minutes later we get our big bowl of tots covered in cheddar, chili and jalapenos.  Two forks tucked in on top gives us some tools to handle this monster appetizer!  Dain’s tots are awesome!  Super-brown and well-crisped, they make for a great base to all that chili and cheese on top, super-yum…   And the defibrillator burger? A tall, pile of beef, pork and more cheddar on a nice kaiser roll, good stuff.  Probably too much for one human being!

Busy bar at Dain's Place in Durham, NC Triangle Dining
Busy bar at Dain’s Place in Durham, NC Triangle Dining

Overall Dain’s Place does a great job at being the type of bar that anyone can feel at home in.  Good beer, a small menu of bad for you but tasty eats along with some friendly people.  It’s really hard to go wrong with that formula!  Still I have to confess that I’d probably prefer to come visit when Duke is out of session!  What can I say but some old habits die hard.  But if anything would lure me back into enemy territory, it would be the tots at Dain’s Place.  They are THAT good…

 

Dain’s Place

754 9th Street

Durham, NC 27705

919.416.8800

Dain’s Place’s Menu

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First Take: Vin Rouge for Classic French Cafe Fare

Front of Vin Rouge in Durham, NC Triangle Dining
Front of Vin Rouge in Durham, NC Triangle Dining

Way out on Ninth Street in Durham, after all the casual sandwich and pizza eateries you’ll find two restaurants sharing a parking lot, Blu Seafood and Vin Rouge.  As two of the fancier restaurants on the strip, both of these spots are Durham classics and I finally got in to try Vin Rouge for a quick meal.  From the outside Vin Rouge is a bit bland: bright yellow awning, dim lighting and gravel parking lot.  Step inside and you’ll be hit with wonderful smells coming out of the open kitchen.  You’ll immediately notice a crowded cafe like space with a small hostess stand right out in front.  I grabbed a seat at the classic bar in the main dining room, there looks to be two other dining rooms in the back and on the side of Vin Rouge but I wasn’t able to check them out.  Vin Rouge has a warm continental feel to the space albeit a bit cramped. The menu is in the $15 – $30 entree range which means it’s a touch above-average in price but that’s not unusual for French food.   I ordered up the classic steak frites, hangar steak version.

Steak frites at Vin Rouge in Durham, NC Triangle Dining
Steak frites at Vin Rouge in Durham, NC Triangle Dining

Fifteen minutes later I get a large oval platter with a heaping pile of crispy fried, greens and a small strip of steak charred well-done.  A nice balanced meal of veggies, carbs and protein with an emphasis on quality over quantity.  The fries were excellent, heavily salted and crispy but a great side.  The steak was a bit chewy and cooked medium-well as I ordered, I’m good with chewy because hanger steak is not about a soft texture, it’s all about taste-texture and this small steak had plenty!  Paired with a light bleu cheese sauce, it made for a nice flavorful meal.  Service at the bar was excellent, Vin Rouge is very well-staffed and trained but since they’ve been around for a while, I’d expect that to be the case.  Overall Vin Rouge struck me as a very traditional, classic French bistro and I’d like to come back for a full meal in one of the side rooms.  One concern I do have is the open kitchen which is great from a visual perspective but the main dining room picks up all the odors coming from the kitchen!  Not a bad thing but it skews your taste a bit given your smell and taste are connected.  But yeah, a nice bon appetit to Vin Rouge and I’ll be back!

 

Vin Rouge

2010 Hillsborough Road

Durham, NC 27705

919.416.0406

Menu at Vin Rouge

Location on Google maps

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Guglhupf, Durham for Fantastic German Fare in a Casual Setting

Guglhupf-IronSign

A while back I had reviewed a Durham favorite, Guglhupf, for it’s bakery and brunch eats.   Great patio, great pastries, it’s easy to see why people rave about this place but I had never made it to dinner at the Hupf.  It’s located in an odd section of 15-501 that’s not quite Duke territory, not quite Chapel Hill and I rarely get out here.  But finally I did and it was a great meal!  While I loves me some J. Betski’s, Guglhupf also rocks out German food but in an entirely different way.  Read on, my friends!

Entrance to Guglhupf, Durham- NC Triangle Dining
Entrance to Guglhupf, Durham- NC Triangle Dining

From the outset, I really wasn’t sure what to expect for dinner service at Guglhupf since in my head, it’s all about lunch and brunch.  You see the cafe menu chalked up when you enter but immediately notice the hostess stand to your left where I was immediately greeted.  I had to wait a bit so I grabbed a seat right outside the kitchen to watch the action.  The back of the restaurant was a flurry of activity and cooking with great smells emanating out.  The dining room was primarily a “mature” crowd (40 – 60) and the dimly lit dining room was alit in amber glow.  Look up overhead and you’ll notice the paper lanterns lighting the scene, funky and a bit different than expected.

Second floor dining room at Guglhupf, Durham- NC Triangle Dining
Second floor dining room at Guglhupf, Durham- NC Triangle Dining

We make our way up the stairs to the second floor which winds around the circumference of Guglhupf overlooking the first. Interesting design, it makes for a super airy feel which is great for people-watching.  Our waitperson stops by, decked out in a black-tee and pants.  So here’s where Guglhupf maintains its cafe background.  Given it was a Saturday night, some people were dressed up in jackets but the staff was dressed down and there was white-paper lining the tables.  So it was a mix to me in terms of the ambiance that Guglhupf is throwing out, a bit casual cafe but in a slightly more upscale fashion.

Braised short rib-spaetzle at Guglhupf, Durham- NC Triangle Dining
Braised short rib-spaetzle at Guglhupf, Durham- NC Triangle Dining

They’ve got several beers on draft, I go with a .5 liter Kolsch, order up a split-pea and hamhock soup, along with braised short-ribs.  They also had some seasonal specials but I had stalked the menu a bit and new exactly what I wanted.   The Kolsch is served in a nice boot-shaped glass and is a good way to start of the warm evening.  The split-pea soup is on the light side, decent but not overwhelming.  I would have preferred a bit more density to the soup but it was good.  But yes, the main!  The short-ribs were incredibly good!  I’ve eaten shortribs for a long time, my mom makes a great home-cook version but these were equally awesome.  Slow-braised in pan jus, paired along with some perfect spaetzle (German noodle) flecked with herbs and some well-sauteed greens-cauliflower, wow!  There’s something about meat, whether you’re talking about beef, pork or fish, that when it’s cooked with the bone-in, it’s SO much better.  And the meaty, sinew of the short-rib paired along with it’s contrasting side rocked it out.  Very well prepared, flavored and thought out dish, it was yummy times two.  Or maybe even four.  And it was a very generous portion.  I’ve done short-rib before and been given one measly bone.  Two is nice but Guglhupf dished out three so I was able to share the love.

Schnitzel at Guglhupf, Durham- NC Triangle Dining
Schnitzel at Guglhupf, Durham- NC Triangle Dining

With that great meal, I wasn’t able to make it to dessert but you know that Guglhupf is going to excel in that area.  Service all night was spot-on with water refills, plate clearing and descriptions so kudos there!  Overall while I wasn’t sure exactly what to make of dinner at Guglhupf, it really worked well for me.  This place would be great as a first date or for a dinner party.  The one suggestion I do have is to move to tablecloths and raise the bar a bit on presentation.  Food this good deserves better than paper tablecloths or shorts-sneakers which I saw in the dining room.  And while I’m not the absolute biggest fan of German food, I really did love my meal at Guglhupf.  They stay true to their roots without being stuffy or boring.  No skinny-Minny hostess up front in a short dress with an attitude, just a well-done effort all around from food to staff and ambiance without much pretension at all.  I’ll be back and yes, I’m saying that in my best Ahnold Schwarzenegger as testament to the great dining at Guglhupf…

 

Guglhupf Cafe

2706 Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard

Durham, NC 27707

919.401.2600

 

Guglhupf menu

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Fullsteam RTP Thinks Outside the Box for Beer and Food in Durham

Fullsteam RTP in Durham - nctriangledining.com Fullsteam RTP in Durham – nctriangledining.com

When it comes to the OG of the NC Triangle beer scene, Fullsteam Brewery was one of the first along with Big Boss and Lone Rider Beer. When Fullsteam opened up its original location on Rigsbee Street in Durham, they transformed the entire neighborhood. Beer lovers and families would swarm Fullsteam Brewery on the weekends and warm nights, encouraging other businesses to set up shop in the neighborhood. Businesses like Geer Street Garden, Cocoa Cinnamon, and more. With the additions of Liberty Warehouse Apartments, Hutchins Garage and the Durham Food Hall, the growth just continues in that neighborhood corridor. So I was curious to see what Fullsteam with its new space out in Boxyard RTP. As the anchor tenant for Boxyard, I had high hopes, here’s what to expect when you visit!

Bar at Fullsteam RTP in Durham - nctriangledining.com Bar at Fullsteam RTP in Durham – nctriangledining.com

Located on the right-hand side of the Boxyard complex, Fullsteam RTP covers two floors with the main bar and kitchen on floor one and a smaller events space (TopBox) above on floor two. Inside, you’ll find a neat, tidy, and modern space, albeit basic. The overall dimensions of the shipping containers it was built from, visible through metal panels in the floor and of course, the corrugated metal sidewalls. The bar in the back has a neat, wood inlay front face and a tight cluster of beer taps. Overall a very different feel than the old-school Fullsteam on Rigsbee!

Front of Fullsteam RTP in Durham - nctriangledining.com Front of Fullsteam RTP in Durham – nctriangledining.com
Interior of Fullsteam RTP in Durham - nctriangledining.com Interior of Fullsteam RTP in Durham – nctriangledining.com

Seating consists of some four-tops to the side and longer tables upfront, with access to the Boxyard courtyard through swinging glass doors. In warmer weather, I imagine this interior space will be quite open and similar to a covered patio. Mod, textured, white chairs match those outside placed neatly around the interior. And like the original, Boxyard RTP is offering up some food, in this case, fresh flatbread pizzas, and snacks (fries, breadsticks, peanuts, burrata).

Food menu at Fullsteam RTP in Durham - nctriangledining.com Food menu at Fullsteam RTP in Durham – nctriangledining.com
Beer and pizza at Fullsteam RTP in Durham - nctriangledining.com Beer and pizza at Fullsteam RTP in Durham – nctriangledining.com
Margherita pizza at Fullsteam RTP in Durham - nctriangledining.com Margherita pizza at Fullsteam RTP in Durham – nctriangledining.com

The pizza I tried felt clean and tasty, the classic with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil. They pre-bake the crusts and then top them and heat them up for service. It’s a light and airy bite with plenty of tangy tomato and fresh green, basil pop. I’m sure the menu will continue to evolve in the months ahead as the kitchen gets settled in. Overall, I’m pretty happy with what they’ve done here, just expect a Fullsteam experience that’s WAY different than what you would get downtown. And it makes total sense given how new and novel the Boxyard RTP development is. But great to see a Durham classic go beyond where it started and expand to new locations. Good luck Fullsteam RTP, you’re off to a great start!

Courtyard view at Fullsteam RTP in Durham - nctriangledining.com Courtyard view at Fullsteam RTP in Durham – nctriangledining.com

 

Fullsteam RTP at Boxyard

900 Park Offices Drive

Durham, NC 27703

919.295.2337

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