Dining Out, Recess Style

Best Asian

Lantern

Best Brunch
Vin Rouge
2010 Hillsborough St.
A Sunday morning in Provence should be about gracious living, delicious food and perfect drinks. All three come together at Durham's own Vin Rouge, whose Sunday brunch offering takes top honors. The attentive staff will keep your thirst quenched with fresh squeezed orange juice or their own special mimosa topped with a bit of grenadine. Indulge in the Eggs Florentine--served with to-die-for home fries and a small salad--or Vin Rouge's signature Eggs Benedict, which substitutes a crab cake for the usual ham and is a regular on the restaurant's specials menu. Omelets, pancakes and other breakfast staples all appear on the bill-of-fare as well (at surprisingly inexpensive price points), making this Ninth St. hangout a warm, welcoming way to start your lazy Sunday in style.
$$ DC

Best Southern
Crook's Corner
610 W. Franklin St
This charming eatery, located on Franklin Street where Chapel Hill threatens to become Carrboro, offers Southern Food even Northerners (along with Easterners and Westerners) will enjoy. Decorations are quirky but not in a tasteless "pieces of flair" kind of way. Choose indoor or outdoor seating depending on the weather and your mood. You may start off with jalapeno-cheddar hushpuppies, chicken and ham chowder or an assortment of cheeses reminiscent of the Cracker Barrel on its best day. Main course options include shrimp and grits, Carolina pork BBQ with collards, hoppin' johns and cornbread and catfish fingers, all equally scrumptious. For dessert, someone at the table must order the "Good Banana Pudding", a remarkably delicious example of the modest-but-wonderful flavors that pervade Crook's Corner.
$$ SB

Best Lunch spot
Foster's Market
2694 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.
Your typical Duke student's best friend, Foster's Market, offers scrumptious, inexpensive, healthy meals that are to die for. Where else can you find such an enticing plethora of sandwich and wrap options, as well as salads, soups and hot meals? Take the Fresh Mozzarella sandwich, for example--simple, yet filled with real mozzarella, a balsamic vinaigrette and crisp, fresh lettuce. Ex-Martha Stewart chef Sara Foster founded the market on a philosophy of unique food, wine and atmosphere--hence the great ambiance, cozy nooks and ample outdoor seating, perfect on a sunny day. A word of caution--it's probably not your best bet for a date, because food can get a little messy. Solution? Spinach quesadillas, oddly enough, are great, especially if you like a spicy kick in your food. By the way, don't forget to leave room for the brownie edges... simply divine.
$ MP

Best French-Med
La Residence
202 W. Rosemary St
If you've got romance in mind, treat yourself to La Residence in Chapel Hill. Seated in a ladder-back chair at a candle-lit, linen-topped table complete with fresh flowers, your special someone might be magically transformed into a mysterious Parisian belle or a tall, dark and handsome Mediterranean stud. La Residence has the food for both. The regional inspirational is delightfully mixed and the menu changes monthly; appealing starters include Coquilles St. Jacques with parmesan crust and gremolata and tuna nicoise with sun-dried tomatoes and lemon aioli. Entrees are well-portioned and beautifully presented, from free range chicken with a fruits of the forest polenta to pan seared Atlantic salmon with balsamic glazed gnocchi, shiitakes, and sautéed arrow leaf spinach for the more adventurous palate. Add to the fare an impressive wine list, and the option to dine outdoors on those cool autumn nights, and you've got yourself a date.
$$$ DW

Best Italian
411 West
411 W. Franklin St.
When the impeccable cooking and tuxedo-clad servers of Il Palio aren't a budgetary option, the best choice for Italian goes to Chapel Hill's 411 West. Notorious for waits in excess of two hours, the restaurant recently expanded and now contains three separate dining rooms to serve up their traditional/gourmet Italian specialties. Pizzas, pastas, entrees and salads make their way onto the menu--from traditional favorites like angel hair herb primavera and chicken parmesan to culinary creations such as wood grilled shrimp polenta and a grilled tenderloin pizza. Moderately priced, 411 is the right place for almost any occasion--or any group of people. The open-air atmosphere imbues the restaurant with a pervasive sense of freshness that isn't lost in the hearty cooking. Recess recommends starting off with their wood-fired focaccia and herbed artichoke spread.
$$ DC

Best Fast Food:
Cookout,
Hillsborough Rd.

Best Mexican:
Margaret's Cantina
1129 Weaver Dairy Rd. Chapel Hill.
When the usual Mexican fare just isn't living up to expectations, a trip to Margaret's is in order. The self-described "Mexican with a twist" restaurant located inauspiciously in the Timberline shopping center offers an array of traditional and non-traditional Mexican favorites, all designed to bring choice and excitement to the standard south-of-the-border menu. A variety of salads and specialty entrees adorn the menu, including Sopa Seca, a Mexican lasagna, and carne asada, thinly sliced steak, marinated and grilled, served on a bed of rice and smothered in salsa verde. Entrees are well-prepared and a welcome change from the typical lethargy so often seen in Mexican cooking. A final word of warning on the drinks: She makes them well, but Margaret keeps her margarita mix mighty strong, so beware.
$$ DC

Best Pizza:
Pizza Palace
2002 Hillsborough Rd. Durham.
Pizza Palace of Durham makes its home just off Ninth Street, next to Vin Rouge. It's a nondescript building with a decaying seventies feel--enter and the time warp continues, with the laminated checkered tablecloths and Duke Vs. Indiana Final Four pennants on the paneled walls so reminiscent of your bachelor uncle's rec room. But give it a shot and order some pizza, by the pie or by the slice, and kick back as your congenial but never pushy server brings you beer in an iced mug. The pizza's fresh, hot, and thin-crust New York style, with tangy, just-salty-enough sauce and hot red pepper flakes at the table. It's relaxed, inexpensive and family-owned, plus the pizza's delicious; the next time you're tempted to dial 682-PAPA, consider giving Pizza Palace a go.
$ MV

Reviews written by Sean Biederman, Dean Chapman, Malavika Prabhu, Whitney Robinson, Jon Schnaars, Meghan Valerio and David Walters