Take Mom and Pop to Nana's

Recess' food editor solves your problem of where to eat with the 'rents

Everyone knows that Parents' Weekend is one of the precious few opportunities to get a good, off-campus meal while at Duke, especially for those freshmen without cars. And with your parents picking up the tab, at no other time are the Triangle's best restaurants more affordable. Moms and dads, possibly feeling nostalgic for family dinners at home, often insist on taking their supposedly hardworking sons and daughters out to that meal to remember. Which means there's only one question left to answer: where to?

Fortunately, Nana's is the perfect venue for such a meal. Although others may already be bragging about their upcoming meals at the Magnolia Grill or the Fairview at the Washington Duke Inn, both respectable choices, Nana's has distinct advantages over both.

Nana's large dining room makes reservations much easier to come by than at the perpetually booked Magnolia Grill, and it also offers more charm than the sometimes stodgy Fairview. Nana's appealing upscale Southern cuisine, refined yet unfussy setting and amicable but professional service strike an ideal balance between elegant and cozy.

Adding to its charm, Nana's does not aspire to be the quintessential "fancy" restaurant. Thankfully, there are no intimidating waiters in tuxedos to contend with or leather-bound menus printed entirely in French. Instead, Nana's provides its diners with one of the most pleasurable and rewarding dining experiences in the Triangle.

The menu provides a wide variety of dishes, but focuses on strong, woodsy flavors that complement, rather than overwhelm, the other tastes. A grilled venison loin with sweet potato gratin and a honey balsamic sauce exemplified this culinary philosophy of food that is at once delicate and hearty. The venison was superlatively tender and flavorful, easily surpassing any beef dish in recent memory. The accompanying bright orange sweet potato gratin was a whimsical, Southern take on the traditional French potato dish.

All other items sampled from the seasonally appropriate menu were well executed and delicious. Another standout was the pate with truffles, pickled okra, grilled onion, and lingonberry compote. This dish highlighted the seductively deep flavor of the truffles as a direct foil to the sweetness, acidity, and bitterness of the other accompaniments.

The only slightly disappointing dishes of the evening were the desserts. While not poor by any means, both the blueberry and quince crisp and the sweet potato bread pudding were unremarkable. The hearty flavors from the savory menu seem to have crept onto the dessert menu, resulting in desserts that are overwhelmingly heavy after such large and rich main courses.

Durham, NC

(919) 493-8545

Prices: Appetizers, $6-12.50; Mains, $20-27.50

Picks: Truffled pate, grilled venison loin, seared scallops

Perks: professional waitstaff, New-Southern cuisine, tasting menu