Piazza Italia
Oh my goodness y’all, it has been ages since my last post, and for that I apologize. This whole full-time-employment thing is a real energy sucker (they don’t really warn you about that in your Art of the Harlem Renaissance seminar) and I’ve also been working on a few other writing projects, namely articles about Steampunk. Yes, I just outed myself. No, I do not feel any shame. Anyhow, I’ll be catching up over the next few weeks. I have many a joint to review because, people, I eat a lot.

Los Portales (Southpoint)
Los Portales is a new Mexican restaurant in the shopping center across Fayetteville from the Streets at Southpoint. It replaced Bakehouse Bistro, which could never get their service up to par with their tasty sandwiches. I asked my waiter if this Los Portales was related to the former taqueria of the same name and he said no, it was its own restaurant, but he didn’t seem to be familiar with the taqueria, so the jury’s still ou

China Express
With all of the cold and rainy weather, last week was a great time to try the homemade noodle bowls at China Express on HWY 54. The first two pages of China Express’ lengthy menu are full of the standard cheap Chinese options, all served with rice and an egg roll and all less than ten dollars. We avoided those pages and immediately flipped to the back of the menu, where you’ll find a small handmade Chinese noodles section. I order

Nasher Museum Cafe
The Nasher Museum Cafe is not your average museum restaurant. First off, it’s a sit down and be served restaurant, rather than a cafeteria where you must hope to god that the carrot cake more closely resembles baked good than a brick. Secondly, both the indoor and outdoor seating areas offer great views. Seated

Scratch Seasonal Artisan Baking
Did you know there’s a pie CSA (well CSP - Community Support Pie) in Durham? Scratch bakery sets up at the Durham farmers market on Saturdays and in addition to selling a variety of pies and baked goods, they run a pie CSP. To join, it’s $65 for four happy weeks of pies. You get to choose between three small pies or one large and whether you want sweet or savory. You pick up your pies at the farmer’s market on Saturdays.