Though I have been to Charleston over four times the past 16 years, I hadn’t been back to North Carolina in 16 years, when I took my first (of multiple) two week road trip across the Deep South to study my barbecue styles. North Carolina is famed for BBQ and I include a couple stops here, along with 10 other standout restaurants and bars in Raleigh and Durham. It was good to be back and I only wish I had more time, but as you can see, I packed in a lot of tastes in two and a half short days. The region is unrecognizable foodwise since I was last here.
Staying at the The Umstead Hotel and Spa, an incredible luxury hotel stay with spacious suites, views over a manmade lake and top-notch spa, felt like a real reason for retreat. It’s pampering and consummate with its own farm providing produce for the hotel food and home to the best restaurant of my trip, Herons, reviewed below. The Umstead is merely 10 minutes drive from Raleigh and just under 30 minutes from Durham, making it an ideal base from which to explore both.
RALEIGH FOOD
Herons at The Umstead Hotel and Spa
Dining at Herons at The Umstead Hotel and Spa, I will begin by saying chef Steven Greene is an underrated chef nationally. It was worth flying all the way across the country for a short stay at this soothing property and a meal at Herons. If there were Michelin stars in the Carolinas, Greene should be the first to have one… and this is said from someone who has dined at over 13,000 restaurants globally and many hundreds of those Michelin-starred or The World’s 50 Best fine dining-type restaurants.
A South Carolina native, Greene worked his way from the ground up in restaurants across SC and NC with some international cooking honing his truly global, artful menu. Herons wine cellar is also one of the strongest in the Carolinas, with no less than 11 sommeliers on the team, including chef Greene, helmed by wine director Troy Revell.
Visiting their farm down the street, it’s impressive to see the range of what they grow — even in winter in the greenhouses — from a caring farm team, all utilized in dishes at Herons and the hotel. But it’s chef Greene’s skill with creative, artistic dishes that are, most importantly, damn delicious, that stay with me. When we started with a vibrant amuse bouche platter themed around aji dulce peppers, I knew we were in for something special. Think aji dulce kakigōri (Japanese shaved ice) or an aji dulce tart over Hokkaido sea urchin. Yes, please.
“Wow” moments were many. A bruleed seafood tartare, for one, of Orikane salmon in maple sudachi glaze, dotted with burdock, coconut purée, nitro-chopped cashews, seaweed brioche and salmon roe. Or a striking bowl of skyr (creamy Icelandic yogurt) mousse marked with pickled, dehydrated and rehydrated beets in beet lemon juice with a surprise of caramelized cocoa nib powder adding earthy, chocolatey depth. A little crispy crab sando layered in uni aioli and shiso playfully accompanies purple cauliflower chawanmushi with uni and Dungeness crab in a spiky glass bowl spiky like a sea urchin shell.
Arriving tableside under a liquid nitrogen mist, Harkers Island oysters (they told us exactly what time they were harvested that morning) are layered in smoked char roe, Champagne sabayon and Carolina gold rice stew warm in the shell. Little blue quail eggs of bacon and butterfly pea flower arrive in a nest. Toasted, savory Himalayas caviar and crème fraiche macarons arrive on a pink bed of flowers. Brilliant. Duck confit corn dogs dusted in pickled cucumber powder arrive in a vase looking like cattails. Dawnbreaker Farms is an impressive NC purveyor of duck and foie gras, which made an appearance in both the foie course and dry aged duck breasts in gooseberry purée with black tea duck consommé and a juicy duck dumpling.
I could go on. Wine pairings included some of my longtime beloved producers like the famed Chateau Musar in Lebanon or local-to-me, Japanese Kenzo in Napa and A Tribute to Grace Grenache in Los Alamos, alongside new-to-me 2015 Klein Constantia Vin de Constance muscat dessert wine from South Africa. Consummate, sweetheart service froma tight team seals the deal.
I wouldn’t consider being in the region and not making a reservation at Herons. From presentation and plating to taste and creative inspiration, you don’t often see this range done so expertly, especially in the region. You heard it here: this is a truly special menu from a visionary chef that deserves to be in the national conversation.
// 100 Woodland Pond Drive, Cary, NC; www.theumstead.com/dining/herons
Death & Taxes, Raleigh
Two-time James Beard Award-winning Ashley Christensen is a well known chef in this region and Raleigh pioneer with her AC Restaurants group, including popular Poole’s modern diner. I dined at Death & Taxes, the wood-fired restaurant she opened in 2015 where every dish, from oysters to veggies, are wood-touched. Wine and service Director Kat Robinson oversees a tight wine list and cozy wine cellar that includes a welcome offering of orange and natural wines, like a vegetal, zesty 2020 Avesso Azul Bojo do Luar ‘Tez’ Vinho Verde from Portugal, or vintage wines not typical in the area. From a house Pimm’s Cup variation to wonderfully tropical, grassy Warm Fuzzy Feeling (rum, cachaça, coconut milk, kiwi syrup), cocktails also please.
Christensen and chef de cuisine Andrea Cardella’s dishes reached their pinnacle with grilled octopus on a bed of Sea Island rice peas, graced with parsley, pine nuts, Castelvetrano olives and piquillo peppers. It’s savory, unctuous, gratifying and those slightly al dente rice peas are so nurturing. Second favorite dish was embered golden beets and roasted beet puree contrasted by dill crema, fennel and Boulted rye croutons. Two hearty entrees also comfort: twice-cooked pork shoulder over braised gigante beans with bacon, embered vegetables and chicharrones; and grilled wild king salmon with charred cabbage, butter beans, crispy artichokes, whey. All those starchy beans made us overstuffed but happily so.
// 105 W. Hargett Street, Raleigh, NC; https://ac-restaurants.com/death-taxes
Laotian Food: Bida Manda
Opened in 2012 by owners and siblings, Vanvisa and Van Nolintha, Bida Manda means “mom and dad” and tributes the wonderfully vibrant cuisine of Laos. Predating the growing trend of modern Laotian restaurants in the U.S., like the special Ma Der Lao in Oklahoma City, which has been on recent national best-of lists like the New York Times, or LaoTable in my home city of SF since 2016, Bida Manda is a special place, dramatically lined with sapling trees on the ceiling and walls. The kitchen is helmed by chef Lon Bounsanga, also head chef at neighboring Brewery Bhavana and their soon-to-open third location, SAAP.
As I’ve long learned in my months in Thailand and Vietnam and at SF Thai restaurants with Lao and Isaan Northern Thailand ownership or influence (like sadly just closed Hawker Fare or current Saap Ver), dishes many think of as Thai are actually Laotian, including larb and green papaya salad. While you’ll find some of those dishes here, you’ll also find Thai and Vietnamese dishes and some of my Isaan/Lao favorites, like aromatic lemongrass pork sausage and what is often translated to rice ball salad, but here is listed as “crispy rice lettuce wraps.” A ball of crispy coconut rice mixed with herbs, fried garlic, shallots, peanuts, eggs and lime is served with an addictive caramelized sweet chili sauce, scooped into lettuce wraps. A whole fried fish special over papaya salad and a fabulously pickly Dill With It cocktail of gin, lemon and lime juice, pickle brine and honey were other highlights, the drink pairing vibrantly with the food.
// 222 S. Blount Street, Raleigh, NC; www.bidamanda.com
Longleaf Swine
The best barbecue this visit was Longleaf Swine. With a large patio and intimate indoor dining area and bar, this is true Carolina ‘que, meaning whole hog pulled pork. Their pimento mac ‘n cheese rocks and their sandwiches are killer, like a filling vegetarian collard green melt layered with Muenster Cheese, green apples, collards and fried tobacco onions on Union Special Sourdough. Portions are big, lines are long but move swiftly, sauces are delightful and you won’t be sorry you stopped by.
// 300 E. Edenton Street, Raleigh; https://longleafswine.com
Sam Jones BBQ
With another location in Greenville, NC, I visited the Raleigh Sam Jones, which opened in 2021. Sam Jones honors the rich barbecue legacy of his grandfather Pete Jones with his whole hog BBQ, and has won many accolades since his initial Winterville spot. I wish I could have tried more of the menu, though I did prefer the more tender, flavorful pulled pork at Longleaf, but loaded mashed potatoes, collard greens, breads and sauces make a hearty feast here.
// 502 W. Lenoir Street, Raleigh; www.samjonesbbq.com
RALEIGH BARS
Foundation, Raleigh
Foundation is Raleigh’s first real pioneer in the “craft” cocktail bar space since 2009 when owners — builder Will Alphin and architect Vincent Whitehurst — brought on opening bar manager Andrew Shepherd, who put the bar on the map. Dim and low-ceilinged, the exposed brick, stone and wooden beams space feels like the ultimate neighborhood bar: in some ways divey-comfortable yet lined with local art and set to a 90s rock soundtrack (think Nirvana’s “Lake of Fire”). There are ten NC-only craft beers on draft (I loved their house collab with Botanist and Barrel of a Cherry Bounce of Elijah Craig barrel-aged cherry juice with apple cider). They carry a range of spirits heavy on whiskies and serve solid house cocktails and classic cocktails, including seven different Old Fashioneds. Most of all, a tight team, helmed by bar manager Kyle Hankin keep it real, welcoming all with a pour and friendly banter. It’s clear to see why it’s an industry favorite and late night treasure.
While snacking on crave-worthy Mackey’s Ferry blister-fried peanuts from Jamesville, NC, cheeky cocktails like The Simpsons’ tribute, Marge Simpson’s Maiden Name, a blend of Durham Distillery Conniption American Dry Gin, grapefruit sherbet, sumac, aromatic bitters, and, impressively, three products from my home in the SF Bay Area: St. George Spirits Bruto Americano, Mommenpop Grapefruit Aperitif Wine and Lo-Fi Dry Vermouth. Try pours of local NC spirits like fernet or amaro from Eda Rhyne, or an indigenous NC grape in drier-than-usual Muscadine red table wine from Sanctuary Vineyards in Jarvisburg, NC. Their coffee-table Foundation book is a real tribute to the history of this beloved Raleigh institution for nearly 15 years.
// 213 Fayetteville Street, Ste. 10, Raleigh, NC; https://foundationnc.com
The Bar & Lounge at The Umstead Hotel and Spa
The Bar & Lounge at The Umstead Hotel and Spa looks like the typical upscale hotel bar, but is home to an earnest bar staff who care, play with shrubs (drinking vinegars) in flavors like carrot ginger or rhubarb vanilla, and use them in non-alcoholic in booze cocktails alike. A refreshing, layered Almeria, combines Hendricks gin, Lillet Rosé, Castelvetrano olive brine and a house cucumber lemongrass shrub. Set to live music, it’s a cozy night pre-or post-Herons’ or hangout while staying at this treasure of a hotel. Other vibrant drinks included Pitaya (Cathead Vodka, Grand Marnier, green tea, house dragon fruit mango punch shrub, yuzu) or Moro (Lunazul Blanco tequila, Cointreau, blood orange, coconut, lime).
// 100 Woodland Pond Drive, Cary, NC; www.theumstead.com/dining/herons
DURHAM FOOD
M Sushi
With the original M Sushi in Durham, chef/owner Michael (Mike) Lee has five other restaurants, including M Tempura, and a new M Sushi roughly a half hour away in Cary, NC. He opened this original early 2016 in a long, low-ceilinged space centered by the longest sushi bar I’ve ever seen made of African Bubinga wood. The natural, comfortable room is the backdrop for Seoul, Korea-born Lee and a pristine lineup of fish from Japan, Korea and beyond. While the menu initially reads like a typical Americanized Japanese sushi restaurant with plenty of rolls and straightforward nigiri, trying chef’s omakase menu, it’s clear there is much care here, a rarity for sushi in the entire region.
I am spoiled for Japan-worthy and Michelin-starred sushi bars at home in SF (to be fair, by and large since the 1800s, California holds the largest Japanese population in the U.S.) so what chef Lee does is common at home, but a real gift here. His nigiri is silky and quality even if the rice doesn’t contain the subtle vinegar tang of my favorite Michelin-starred sushi spots. He pushed beyond with the likes of lobster shabu shabu in crustacean butter, dipped in pineapple puree dusted in guajillo chili powder.
Another highlight is a wreath-shaped crudo of Tasmanian sea trout, shima aji (striped jack) and bluefin in olive oil, ponzu sauce, tobiko roe and fried shallots. Chef Lee’s most creative moment was a course of Hokkaido scallops three-ways: 1) raw and layered with Hokkaido uni, dates, browned butter, black truffle in ponzu under shaved chestnuts; 2) fried in panko, topped with kaluga caviar; 3) in a scallop lobster dumpling in truffle mousse and shaved perigord truffles. Sheer decadence. A table-smoked black cod sablefish over uni rice with ikura roe is silky comfort. With a short but sweet sake selection, I sampled pours of limited edition Tatenakawa Foo Fighters Junmai Daiginjo Blue sake (brewed from Omachi rice) and Silver (Dewasansan rice). This is the sushi destination of the region and I am curious to try Lee’s other restaurants.
// 311 Holland Street, Durham; www.m-restaurants.com/location/m-restaurants-sushi
Littler, Durham
Book ahead to get a table or bar seats in the intimate, little white light-strewn, truly cozy Littler, with its 33-rpm record player and reel-to-reel tape player behind the wood-paneled bar. Farm-to-table dishes from chef/owner Gray Brooks feel like home in NorCal, with creative spins on comfort food served on mismatched china. From Gruyere and black pepper popovers to carrot cavatelli pasta laced with harissa yogurt, lime and toasted hazelnuts, there is balance, contrast and fun here. I adore rabbit and dumplings and Littler’s version is warm with leeks, celery, peas, chives, Dijon mustard and tarragon.
Southern salmagundi is a take on a classic British meat-and-veg spread gone Southern with celery root remoulade, white truffled deviled egg, radishes, pimento cheese straws and lamb merguez sausages. Cast iron-charred cabbage sports Scandinavian touches dotted with beets, walnuts, dill, pomegranates, crema and caraway. A pineapple upside down cake for dessert is tropical in banana amaranth meringue, passionfruit curd and coconut foam. Making it truly the “whole package” kind — and a must in Durham — a vibrant natural and small producers wine list alongside well balanced cocktails (like Freshly Pressed, a green cocktail of gin, Ancho Verde, cucumber, lemon, dill, aquafaba foam) seal the deal.
// 110 E. Parrish Street, Durham; https://littlerdurham.com
DURHAM DRINKS
Corpse Reviver Bar & Lounge at Durham Distillery
Over the years, I’ve reviewed Durham Distillery’s Conniption Gin and their newest purple-hued Conniption Kinship Gin in my Distiller Magazine spirits column. This March I had the joy of visiting their distillery, which opened in 2015, and their Corpse Reviver Bar & Lounge, opening October 2020 in the distillery basement in a former morgue, hence the name, also tributing one of the great classic cocktails.
Bar manager Taylor McClintock and team turn out the most creative and interesting cocktails I had in either Raleigh or Durham, alongside delightful bar bites from local Phoebe Lawless’ Snack Services, like pigs in a blanket, potato green garlic hand pies and 1970s retro-fun sweet potato pecan cheeseballs (yes!)
Cocktail standouts were many, from a nuanced, frothy Moshi Moshi (Conniption Kinship Gin, Tempus Fugit Créme de Noyaux, lemon, umeboshi shrub, egg white, black sesame seeds) to a silky Milk Money clarified Piña Colada soy milk punch combining nutty genmaicha tea-infused Kill Devil Rum, Velvet Falernum, coconut water, pineapple and lime. There are classics, like a playful Orange Julius’ vibes twist on the Bronx (Conniption Navy Strength Gin, Mata Vermouth, Bordiga Dry Vermouth, fresh orange juice, creamy orange foam), a nitrogen-infused Corpse Reviver #2 and signature frozen house dry martini tributing London’s great Duke’s Bari. Whichever direction you go, expect layered goodness.
// 715 Washington Street, Suite B, Durham; www.thecorpsereviver.com
Kingfisher, Durham
Across the street from Alley Twenty Six in easily walkable downtown Durham, Kingfisher opened in 2019 from gracious husband-and-wife team Sean Umstead and Michelle Vanderwalker in a subterranean basement marked by a neon kingfisher bird sign. A striking horseshoe-shaped bar centers the roomy space where they host live jazz on Tuesdays, featuring drinks and bites in ceramics and other design elements by local Durham artists and makers.
The bar itself is a striking slate and turquoise tile, while cocktails and bites feature local ingredients, like a pleasing fava bean-goat cheese-lemon-mint-olive oil dip with pita bread. They go culinary on drinks, like a savory, apple-y Fromage Pomme (Hennessy Cognac washed with Karst cave-aged gruyere cheese, acidified apple juice) or the bitter-earthy-clean Ground and Grain (turnip-infused mezcal, buckwheat, Cocchi Americano, Salers gentian apéritif). Even their house Strawberry Daiquiri is a vibrant beauty of local winter strawberries beautifully preserved in white rum, tart with lime.
// 321 E. Chapel Hill Street, Durham; www.kingfisherdurham.com
Alley Twenty Six, Durham
In easily walkable downtown Durham across the street from Kingfisher, Alley Twenty Six was opened by Shannon Healy in 2012, his bar/restaurant quickly becoming a Durham staple. The team crafts house ginger syrup, soda and tonic, alongside a welcome selection of tinned fish/conservas and a food menu I didn’t get a chance to try. Cocktails exhibited welcome balance from a kind bar staff, like the Mexican Herbalist (jalapeño-hibiscus infused tequila, lime, ginger, honey) and silky Corn Pop, a clarified corn whiskey milk punch. They also make a properly balanced — instead of typically-too-sweet — New Orleans’ Hurricane (light and dark rums, passionfruit, lime, orange, overproof rum).
// 320 E. Chapel Hill Street, Durham; www.alleytwentysix.com