Only Burger from a Truck

Why is it that food seems to taste better when it comes from a truck? At least when it comes from the local celebrities that run Only Burger. Unlike the name would imply, they don't only sell burgers, but they keep it simple and therefore there's not much to trip up someone like me who has a hard time making decisions. Your choices? Your meat (yes, they do have veggie burgers and turkey burgers on most days), your toppings, and whether or not you want fries and a drink with that. It doesn't get more simple than that.

So how do you find this fabulous mobile food joint? Follow them on Twitter for their daily spot updates. Every morning they post where they will be for lunch and dinner, as well as if there are any specials for the day (like fried green tomatoes or carmelized onions to put on your burger). They usually end up at the same places on a regular basis and there's always a long line so get there early or call ahead to make sure they don't run out (which has happened before). 

And what makes this food truck so great? Well, it's the care they put into their food. The burgers are freshly made, placed on a butter toasted bun, and topped with the freshest ingredients. The fries are awesome too; perfectly cut each day to the perfect size. 


Only burger is a local staple. So log on and find out when they will be cooking up a fantastic burger near you!

The 3 B's: Beer, Bourbon and BBQ

Chris with his tasting glass at the BBB festival

Beer. Bourbon. Barbecue. It doesn't get much better than that. Especially when those three are combined in an "all-you-care-to-taste" event combined with great music, pig races and so much more!

Bryant checking out Jack's table

As you walk into the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival at the Koka Booth Amphitheater in Cary and pick up your souvenir tasting glass, the sounds of Bluegrass music and the smell of smoked pork is already filling the air. With over 60 beers, 40 bourbons, 15 BBQ vendors, and other drinks mixed in, it would be hard to find something you didn't like. In addition to the headliners, there were things like Peach Sweet Tea Vodka and Coffee Patron among other unique liquors. 

One of my favorite mixed drinks was from the St. Germain table. St. Germain is an elderflower blossom liquor of the French influence. The Dia Del Amor cocktail was fantastic and made me wish I were sitting on the beach drinking this cocktail and eating some fresh crab. The sweet elderflower combined with the sour lime and a dash of hot sauce, is a celebration for the taste-buds (if you don't mind a little spice in your life). This drink consists of St. Germain, Tequila, Fresh Lime Juice and a few dashes of hot sauce (personally, I'd add a few dashes to hot sauce to anything so this was a winner in my book), and garnished with a chili-salt rimmed glass and a lime. It was a fabulously refreshing summer drink. Another great summery favorite at this table was the St. Germain Cocktail which consisted of St.Germain, sparkling wine, and club soda. It was sweet and light...I think I found my new favorite summer liquor! 


The amount and variety of Bourbon was fantastic. The servers were very knowledgeable (not that I would expect otherwise) so it was definitely a great learning experience as well. There were the typical players there like Makers Mark, Wild Turkey and Jack Daniels, but there were some unique other brands, flavors, and varieties where everyone (even non-bourbon drinkers) should find something they like. 


The beer selection was also above par (side note: I never understood that phrase...I don't know much about golf, but I'm pretty sure being below par is what you're shooting for, right?). There were well-known brands as well as great local breweries present.

The smoker at The Little Red Pig pickin' the meat for our plates!

A whole pig from The Little Red Pig

Then there's the Barbecue...North Carolina definitely knows how to do a good barbecue. I was glad that my northern friends enjoyed the vinegar-based Eastern Carolina style barbecue. We tried a few different vendors and each was better than the next. Our personal favorite? The Little Red Pig.  

Chris before we devoured our plate...

 The Little Red Pig is based out of Marshville, NC (and if you were wondering, they do catering!). They smoked the whole entire pig and were literally picking the meat right off the animal to put on our plates. The freshness and flavors were unbelievable. They also had multiple vinegar-based BBQ sauces to put on top (although the meat was perfect by itself) with a variety of heats. The coleslaw was a fantastic pairing to the perfect smokiness of the pork. On the side, the classic BBQ pork baked beans were absolutely fabulous with the prefect balance of sweet and smokey. It was all you would expect from an award-winning Carolina BBQ place. 

And what kind of Beer, Bourbon and BBQ festival would it be if there wasn't the Miss Barbecue and Daisy Dukes contest? Or what about the Beer Belly Competition? And let me tell you, there were some real winners (sarcasm intended) on the main stage. The Daisy Dukes were shorter than short and those beer bellies? Well imagine me, at 5' 10", wrapping around one of these bellies and still not being able to touch my feet to my head...enough said. 


To top off the whole experience, there was great Country and Bluegrass music playing in the background from some fantastic bands. Everyone was eating, drinking, dancing and even singing along. Talk about a good time!

My friend Bryant Avondoglio shot and edited a great video to give you a special taste of the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ festival:



It was so much fun (even in 96 degree heat) and definitely a must-have experience. Can't wait for the next one!

Things Change (a tale of a reunion with Boston)

Boston, Massachusetts. Everyone knows where it is and the history of it. Many probably have some sort of opinion about it. Some have a connection with it. I have a connection with it. As someone who has no hometown, Boston, Massachusetts is the closest thing I have. It's my home away from...well, my current living situation...I have been going to Boston my whole life. I can't say that about anywhere else (except maybe my Grandpa's farm, but that's another story for another time). There's nothing like going back to someplace constant in your life, to realize how much has changed in your life. Recently, I had a reunion with Boston.

Actually, my real reunion was with my cousin, Jackie, who lives just outside of Boston. We have been best friends since the day I was born...seriously. Jackie and I are one year apart. She is the blonder, shorter version of me. Our moms (who are sisters) even dressed us the same when we were kids. We had the same haircut, liked the same things, even went to the same University and always had that more-than-a-cousin, better-than-best-friends connection with each other. It's almost scary! Like last year, when she was visiting me, we walked out of our rooms in the morning, ready to start the day, wearing the exact same thing (same shoes and all!)...talk about weird connections!

Anyway, back to Boston...so I spent a much-needed, long weekend there visiting Jackie, seeing my family, and exploring a new side of the Boston (and the surrounding areas). First on the list, Brimfield. The Brimfield Antique Show, to be exact. Now this is a real example of how things change. Fifteen years ago (wow, saying that makes me feel old!), the mention of Brimfield would have sent Jackie and I running and screaming in the other direction. That, combined with the "A word" (antiques) were a deathly combination for any kid (especially a kid in our family which means you are dragged to countless antique shows a year in search of hatpins and Lucite purses, among other things). It meant hot days, and being dragged aisle after aisle while the grown-ups sifted through other people's junk. But now? Jackie and I jumped at the chance to go and peruse through the booths of old jewelry, unique dishes, antique furniture, intricate lamps and other chotchkes. We also found some beautiful hat pins to add to our collections. 

Rockport, MA

The disgustingly delicious cupcake ice cream sundae

When we had enough of the heat, Jackie, Aunt Susan and I headed to the beach! Rockport, MA for some more shopping and taking in the beautiful sailboat-lined scenery. Rockport is a quaint little beach town. One could spend hours looking through the art galleries, going into the unique beachy shops, and of course, eating a cupcake ice cream sundae from Rockin' Cupcakes...yes, you heard me...a peppermint patty cupcake consisting of perfectly baked chocolate cake topped with a mint buttercream, cut in half and topped with mint chocolate chip ice cream, whipped cream, a cherry and M&M's (you could have any combination of cupcake, ice cream and toppings, but this is what we ended up with).


The rest of the weekend we actually spent in Boston. Another change was that we treated this trip as a way to be a little touristy for once. It's amazing when you live (or "live") somewhere, how much you miss out on the legitimate touristy things that are really neat. 

We also spent some time in Boston's North End (and especially their equivalent of Little Italy). We had never tried Panza before, and we were in for a real treat. Panza is a traditional Italian restaurant that you'll need a reservation for. The atmosphere is what you would expect from a little restaurant in Italy. The inside was small and had an upscale family feel to it. We started with some bruschetta and garlic bread. Garlic bread is garlic bread...until you've had Panza's garlic bread. The way the literally grill the crusty italian bread and rub it with olive oil and garlic is just delicious. It almost has a sweet taste to it. The bruschetta is even better because it starts with the garlic bread. It's topped with marinated tomatoes, red onion, and goat cheese (I love anything with goat cheese), then perfectly complimented with a sweet balsamic reduction. Talk about a fantastic mix of fresh ingredients to make your taste-buds scream for more! And that was just the beginning! Just when we thought we couldn't eat another bite, our main dishes came. "Free form" lasagna made with black pepper pasta, an absolutely amazing seafood risotto, each dish was just fantastic. Unfortunately, we had to make room for dessert, but had already made plans so we couldn't try it here.

Me, Jackie and the rest of the family at "Asshole's Pastry"

Dessert was a few doors down. The infamous Mike's Pastry (or as my family now calls it, "Asshole Pastry"...but don't worry, it has nothing to do with the Pastry shop or the people in it). This place is always crowded. If you go to Boston, you have to stop (trust me, it's worth the wait)! I would argue (although the claim has not been proven since I have not tried them all), that they make the best canolis in town (*gasp!* Yes, I said BEST canolis in town)! The canoli shell is freshly made (I've had some horribly stale canoli shells in my life) and the ricotta filling is deliciously rich and creamy. My personal favorite is the chocolate chip one, but they have more flavors than I even knew could exist in the world of canolis: espresso, amaretto, cheesecake, pistachio...the list goes on. They also have traditional Italian pastries, cakes and gelato. A quick warning...as tempting as it might be to stock up, these canolis aren't at their best the next day around so you better plan on just coming back the next day to get fresh ones.

To continue in our touristy ways, we ended up going to the observatory at the Prudential building. I highly recommend this experience to any Boston visitor...or native, for that matter. It's a great way to see a totally different perspective of Boston (literally). The view from 50 stories up is really awesome. They also provide free headsets to give yourself a guided tour of the city skyline. This was definitely a side of Boston I've never seen before.


It's amazing when you think about how things change...whether over a period of a couple hours or a whole lifetime. Years ago I wouldn't have cared to go to an antique fair or to be a tourist in a city I know so well, but I've come to appreciate these things more as I've changed. 

So I challenge everyone...go do something touristy, something you've overlooked or never thought to do before in your own "hometown"?



 

The addictions of Thai Cafe

Also referred to by a small group of co-workers and friends as "The Crack House" because of it's addictive nature...and before I go on I need to include this little disclaimer:

Disclaimer- I do not condone the use of drugs and in no way actually believe that Thai Cafe is  actually using crack or any sort of narcotic in the food. It is just a figment of speech. 

But back to Thai Cafe...It's in a small strip mall off of University Drive and 15/501 in Durham, NC. It doesn't look like much from the outside but the servers are friendly and the food is fantastic! My friends, Rebecca and Bailey, introduced me to this gem. The first time I went, I ordered the Shrimp Pad Thai. I always judge a Thai restaurant by their Pad Thai as it is usually the most popular dish. It was delicious. At lunch, you get a bowl of coconut soup or the house salad with your meal. I always get the house salad as I am in love with Asian dressings. This particular dressing is a ginger dressing. The minced ginger in this dressing is what makes the dish so delicious and spot-on. When the Pad Thai comes out, it looks delicious and smells even better. Their peanut sauce is light and just what you'd expect with Pad Thai. The mix of vegetables, bean sprouts, peanuts and perfectly-cooked shrimp were absolutely delightful. I must say, though, that this is not the best dish they have...which brings me to how we named this place "The Crack House." 

Chicken Masaman

Chicken Masaman. Thin slices of chicken tossed with roasted cashews over top sliced avocado and covered in the traditional Masaman curry sauce (which is a mild coconut milk based sauce with tamarind, cinnamon, cardamom and other sweet spices to create a "curry" that is hard to explain but must be tried). One bite of this dish and you are hooked. You wake up thinking about it! We've had to go at least once a week to get our "fix" of this Thai splendor. I'd recommend spending the extra $1.50 to get brown rice, instead of white because the awesome texture of this whole-grain rice (and I am a texture person when it comes to food) adds to the overall experience.

This is a must-try for this area, especially if you are a Thai food fan, as I am.

One extra little tip, try to save room for dessert (keyword is "try" because it will be really hard but if you are super disciplined and can immediately ask for a to-go box to put half your meal in, I suggest that) because right around the corner is Local Yogurt, which is such a great place, it deserves it's own post so stay tuned...

LoYo

Two cups of local yogurt with an array of delicious toppings

Also known as Local Yogurt is a Durham institution! Fresh, homemade frozen yogurt from local farms topped with the largest, most unique array of local toppings makes this place a must-visit in the triangle. 

They post the daily flavor changes and specials on their Twitter Feed to let customers know which flavors they are serving. Everything from original (which is not vanilla but plain yogurt) and chocolate to mango, coffee, or raspberry, depending on the day or what's in season. Toppings including baked goods from local bakeries, fresh fruit from local farmers, toasted nuts and candy galore!

It's really a sweet establishment...in more ways than one!