Evenings for Two » Chapel Hill

Cypress Wine Dinner a Hit

smilingirl — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 16:06:42 +0000

One day it was an outdoor specialty store, the next it was a restaurant. At least that’s what it felt like when I was walking down Franklin Street one afternoon and discovered the restaurant officially named Cypress on the Hill. Located at 308 West Franklin Street, it’s in the spot that used to be the Trail Shop.

We serendipitously ended up attending a Spanish wine dinner there where most of the guests were friends and family of the restaurant. Bottom line is that the food and the experience were lovely.

Sunday Nights at Southern Rail + Robert’s at the Franklin

smilingirl — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:20:17 +0000

Did you know that Southern Rail has a completely different menu on Sunday nights? Not that their regular memu isn’t great. It’s just that if you go in on Sunday you might get to try something new. Last night I had duck served over roasted root vegetables and my husband had rainbow trout over a gumbo like base. Both were fantastic. The waiter explained that since they serve brunch on Sundays, it was hard to get the prep together to serve the full menu. So the chef does a more limited menu based on what’s on hand and also uses the opportunity to try out new dishes as well. BTW - $2 off all draft beer on Sundays. This is well worth a special visit.

In other news, it looks like they’ve expanded into that place that had the turkish furniture next door and they’re calling it The Station. They’ve got all kinds of stuff on the calendar like watching football on Sundays and Mondays, live music on Thursdays and a DJ on Fridays and Saturdays.

So what to do on a Sunday after dinner? We headed up the street to Robert’s at the Franklin to hear some live jazz and the place was hopping. Not sure if that was just the homecoming weekend effect or it’s always that way, but the band was terrific. The only down note was that the bartender ignored us for a good 30 minutes when we went up to get a 2nd drink. We already had a tab open. When she finally acknowledged us we ended up just closing it out rather than having another drink. They should do better than that.

[where: chapel hill, nc] [where: carrboro, nc]

You say oysters, I say Squids

smilingirl — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 23:33:32 +0000

So right this minute we’re shucking fresh raw oysters at home and cracking open the first of what will ultimately be several beers because we don’t have to drive. Oh yeah!!!

Best oysters in town come from Squids. You can go there an eat them–but here’s a little bit of local knowledge–you can actually order them for yourself. Just call ‘em up and order as few as a dozen or as many as a box — we’re not sure exactly how many are in the box but it will feed a lot of friends.

Shuck them yourself, make up some cocktail sauce, slice up some lemons and put a couple sixes on ice. Volia - you’ve got an instant party for two or twenty.

In the interest of the theme of this as a date night publication you know what they say about oysters don’t you…..

[where: Chapel Hill]

Fearrington - Looking beyond the Inn

evenings4two — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 08:52:14 +0000

If the Inn and Restaurant are all you think about when you visualize Fearrington Village, you may want to expand your horizons. There is an incredible amount of programming going on out there. Combine some of the daytime events with lunch at The Grainary or a light bite at the Belted Goat. Wander their beautiful gardens. Or shop in their lovely boutiques. Or you could just hang out with the oreo cows. They’re very cool cows. It’s definitley outing wothy. Let’s just take this week for example:

Sunday Oct 12 - 6pm gourmet tasting dinner featuring the North Coast Brewing Company

Tuesday Oct 14 - 4pm Farmers’ Market and/or 6pm McIntyre’s Book Club Night. Sounds like they come up with great suggestion for your club’s reading list.

Thursday Oct 16 - 7pm McIntyre’s presents a dual author event with (local auther) William Conescu reading from Being Written, and (New York author) Diana Spechler reading from Who By Fire. Check out details here.

Friday Oct 17 - 2pm Michael L. Walden comes to McIntyre’s to discuss North Carolina in the Connected Age: Challenges and Opportunities in a Globalizing Economy.

Saturday Oct 18 - 10am McIntyre’s is delighted to host Howard N. Lee as he visits to read from The Courage to Lead: One Man’s Journey in Public Service.

Sunday Oct 19 - 4pm Join Fearrington Wine Director Maximilian Kast at The Belted Goat for a wine seminar about California before Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Who’s Peforming Tonight?

evenings4two — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:39:47 +0000

No it’s not the subject line of my latest spam. It’s just my wonder at the plethorea of performing arts events we have around here.

Went to Memorial Hall on UNC campus on Friday night to see Buckwheat Zydeco. Saw him for the first time in NYC about 20 years ago. Had no idea what Zydeco was before that. Fell in love with the music. Anyway, the opening band Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas stole the show. They rocked! We were dancing in the aisles.

If you’re not including the Memorial Hall/Duke Performances/the Progress Energy Center in your date night plans you’re missing out. It doesn’t matter what you’re into. Big band, classical, jazz — let me just gloat for a moment — we have tickets to the sold out Wynton Marsalis show in January. Find a sound you love or discover something new. Many of the shows start at 7:30 or 8pm, which is perfect for going out to dinner before the show.

Check Memorial Hall out here. Find Duke Performances. Check out what up at in Raleigh here. Opera, Broadway, ballet and more. Wow. Are we lucky.