Restaurant Week.

Restaurant Week is a weeklong dining extravaganza showcasing the culinary talent in your city. Participating restaurants will usually offer a variety of three-course prix fixe dinners for $20-$35 per person, depending on the venue. I went to Piedmont during Durham's restaurant week. They describe their cuisine as "Contemporary American, seasonally focused and ingredient driven." It was good, but extremely overpriced for restaurant week.

Peter Piper - gin, pickled hot peppers, black salt rim.

We started out with some beverages, the average cost of each being around $10. Which is ridiculous. I got the Peter Piper, and it was basically a dirty gin martini with hot papers instead of olives. I wouldn't recommend it purely based on the price, but I really did enjoy it.

Charcuterie - Pork rillette, chicken liver pate, smoked fish-cream cheese spread, ginger-apple mustard, pickled vegetables, toast.

Next up were the appetizers. The firs plate, Charcuterie, offered an interesting variety of...spreads? Dips? Fixins'? I'm not sure what to call this hodge-podge. There is a good chance they actually served us mud instead of Pate (at least that's what it tasted like). So to sum up the plate, they were just trying too hard.

Fritters - NC hoop cheeses-cornmeal fritters, toasted paprika-tomatoe sauce.

The star of the first course was definitely the Fritters. To be honest, I'd probably just describe them as "fancy fried cheese balls" but I'm sure that would piss off chefs everywhere...so I won't say that. Either way, concept and exception were both on point.

 



Eggs - Deviled eggs, potato salad, pork cracklings.

Some people might find it weird that eggs are on the menu at a nice restaurant, but it is very common in NC. No complaints here, I love deviled eggs and these were delicious. The pork cracklings (fancy bacon) were probably the crunchiest thing I've ever eaten.

Bread - Our bread, local butter-herbs-Coon Rock Farm raw honey.

At this extremely over-priced restaurant, I'm sure it would really break the bank to give their guests free bread...so they charge $2 per order. Of course we caved and got it. The bread was nothing special, but the butter was whipped, so I guess that counts for something?

Sausage - Our bratwurst, roasted radishes, their greens, potatoes, stone ground mustard cream.

The main course had its shining moments, but it also had its flaws. This first dish, aptly named Sausage, was interesting. The appearance of some of the vegetables was alarming - they looked as if they were taken straight from the ground to the plate - which isn't exactly appetizing since I eat with my eyes first. Beyond the appearance, they had little flavor and didn't take away from the taste of the meat....which may have been the point?

Pork - Fall spice roasted pork loin, honey glazed sweet potatoes, garlicky Chinese cabbage, gingered molasses.

The pork dish was a let down. Did they taste the dish before they served it? Probably not. The meat looks blackened...but its just burnt, the cabbage was way too salty, and the sweet potatoes tasted like carrots.

Chicken - Blackened spice rubbed cast iron chicken, braised collard greens, Carolina Gold rice-chicken liver croquette.

The blackened chicken was ahhhhhhmazing. The meat was so tender and juicy, it basically melted in your mouth. The collard greens and liver croquette (uhhh?) were good too, but had they given me a plate with just the chicken, I can't say I would've been mad.

 



Fish - Mahi Mahi, herbed mashed potato cake, tat soi, Old Bay fish broth.

The fish was cooked perfectly and the broth added a lot. However, the potato cake tasted more like an uncooked biscuit than mashed potatoes. The mystery greens were good too.

The restaurant week menu included beignets for dessert, but when we were ready for dessert, they had run out! They gave us the choice of having chocolate pudding or paying extra to substitute for a different dessert. Who goes to a restaurant for chocolate pudding? Not me.

 



Butterscotch pot de creme, sweet creme fraiche, caramel, sea salt

The butterscotch dish was sweet, but it had just enough salt to balance it out. I would definitely eat this again.

Lemon-vanilla panna cotta, ginger shortbread cookie

The panna cotta was creamy and delicious, but it would have been better served with more cookies (fatty).

Flourless chocolate cake, cocoa buttercream, chocolate-mint ice cream.

The dense flourless chocolate cake paired well with the lightness of the mint ice cream.

Lime meringue tart, traminette syrup, spiced cookie.

The lime meringue tart was excellent....errr minus the fact that they left the bottom of the baking dish on the plate. When the server saw that part of the pan was one the plate she asked, "Was that on there?" I wish we had said "no, we brought it with us."

Conclusions: Restaurant Week is hit or miss. The Piedmont is overpriced. I love food. K, byeee.