Good fruit, great price.

Popped in Johnny's to pick up a few veggies and fruits for the week. Picked up an orange, green pepper, cucumber and an apple and they charged me $1. Hopefully I wasn't charged incorrectly- The prices seemed very cheap. The produce looks local, and everything tasted very fresh. Orange was incredible. Don't forget, this is a great place for coffee and a pastry too.

Trivia at The Station

Good times were had all around last night at The Station (adjacent to Southern Rail in the Carr Mill Mall Plaza). The Station is hosting trivia night on Wednesday evenings at 9PM (next week is canceled in honor of our nation's birthday) Yes, this is the same amazing trivia that used to be take place down the street at Hell on a different night of the week. It is hosted by Mark, former Hell owner, and he is equally charming (dirty) hosting trivia in a new venue. The only difference is The Station smells better.

Also important to note is that last night (Wednesday) was half price wine night. Half price bottles of wine, so we got a nice one. Not sure if this is the case on any Wednesday, but it can't hurt to ask.

Dining Bliss at The Lantern

We had a lovely dining experience last night at the Lantern. We believe our server may have been the chef or owner. She was wearing a kitchen apron, and gave impeccable service. I have trouble not believing that we ordered the 2 best dishes on the menu. We had 1) Fried whole North Carolina flounder with garlic, chiles, tamarind, fresh lime leaf, carrot salad and jasmine rice 2) Shaking beef - seared rare Wagyu flat iron steak with black pepper, sweet caramelized red onions, watercress salad and soy-vinegar pan sauce. For drinks we had a Dark and Stormy (my regular drink of choice at Lantern) The Red Geisha which is a vodka drink with muddled strawberries. The food was generously portioned, so I'm glad I went in hungry and did not order an appetizer. My only regret was not saving room for dessert.

Important correction! SANDWHICH staying at the Courtyard.

We can all breathe a sigh of relief, because one of our favorite eats on Franklin Street isn't going anywhere. 3 Cups moved out. Sandwhich is NOT moving. My apologies for the mis-information in my previous post! Here is a reposted comment from co-owner, Janet.

"Just a quick correction -- 3 Cups moved out, SANDWHICH is still there and plans/hopes to stay long term. You can go to the website www.sandwhich.biz for more info. I'm the co-owner of sandwhich. I worried that 3 Cups departure would imply that we had left too. As the whos in whoville say, "we are here, we are here, we are here!". Thanks for the warm sentiments, though. Preesh. Janet"

More great food out of a truck.

On my way home from the post office I noticed a crepe vending truck, Parlez-Vous Crepe, parked outside of Johnny's the converted old bait shop that is now a coffee/pastry/produce stand. Naturally, I slammed on my breaks, parked, and headed over to the crepe truck. Parlez-Vous owner Jody Argote greeted me from the window and took my order. She said the crepe truck stops at Johnny's on Saturdays from 9-2. Fantastic! I ordered a crepe with preserves, fresh fruit and chocolate shavings. As good as it sounds. Next, I grabbed a nice cup of coffee inside. I *think* that Brian Plaster, the owner of Johnny's, rung up my coffee. He told me that they have fresh pastries from Guglhupf and produce available every day. The building was clean and cool, and obviously well preserved from the former business, a bait shop, Johnny's Sporting Goods. Here is an old website about Johnny's Sporting Goods, just for fun.

3Cups and Sandwhich peace out.

Crap. It looks like 3Cups and Sandwhich will be moving from the courtyard to a new location in Chapel Hill. It's sad that these two nice places will leave the immediate W Franklin Street area, because I think they filled a nice niche for that location. They have been there for at least several years and it seems like the community can happily sustain fancy coffee, wines and gourmet/organic/locally grown sandwiches. Yum. According the recent N&O reports, the "sister businesses" are paying rent into an escrow account over a dispute with the property owner over parking spaces. As a result they have been evicted, and are choosing not to fight the motion

Crawdaddy's on Memorial Day

Finally made it to Crawdaddy's (where Banditos used to be next to TJ's) I've never had a "crawdaddy" before, but the ones that came on my salad (the popcorn variety) were sweet and juicy. Our server was polite, attentive and helpful. It was his 3rd day. The star of the meal was the Cajun breadsticks. Deep fried, filled with cheese and served with a spicy tomato based sauce. When we were finished eating our server offered us a free dessert. I am still not sure why they offered all diners a choice of chocolate cake or bread pudding, gratis, but let's just say no one had to twist my arm to indulge in chocolate cake. The frosting was quite tasty.