Bon Appetit calls Durham-CH "America's Foodiest Small Town"

It's official: Durham is, or make that part of, America's "foodiest small town."

So sayeth Bon Appetit magazine, whose October issue dispenses with the usual Raleigh-Durham tomfoolery and creates in its headline a new micropolis out of the bookends of our metropolitan statistical area.

Naming rights quibbles aside, it's a nice feature on the western half of the Triangle, with a focus on the area's slow food movement, the presence of local mainstays like Crook's Corner and Magnolia Grill, and a glance at newer lights like Parker & Otis, Locopops and Piedmont.

The article's thesis is that the presence of so many local farmers and their connections with restaurateurs is central to the success of Durham and Chapel Hill's food scene, one the New York-based author compares to his own home.

It's an article that's been in the works for some months, having been researched in the earlier part of the calendar year, and now making it into print at fall's beginning.

The full article is available online at the Bon Appetit web site.

Comments

[gg]

That's great news for Durham!

The city should celebrate by imposing a 1% tax on prepared foods! Oh snap... ; )

[Joe Eater]

Oooh, good one. ;)

[JC]

Perhaps you can recommend another idea on how to raise funding for the MiLB Fan Experience Museum which is just one of many projects slated to receive funds under the Meal Tax.

It is easy to through uninformed comments out there regarding the Meal Tax but in reality it is a wonderfully progressive tax (i.e. taxes those that spend the most on restaurants) and also taxes those that visit our area rather than just live here.

[Allen]

To the good sirs and madams on the right-side, might I say...nah nah nah nah boo-boo...stick your head in doo-doo.

[gg]

JC: "Perhaps you can recommend another idea..."

Meh. Seriously? Well virtually any other tax collection scheme is better (i.e. easier to enforce) than something this convoluted.

Less seriously? How about baseballs sold in Durham. Or bats. There's a higher correlation between baseball consumption and MiLB participation. (What about a baseball ticket surcharge? 500,000 +++ were sold last year.)

I know, I know... The meals tax will also support the arts.

Fine: Let's tax English/Humanities majors (sic).

[Visconti]

How about a Value Added Tax or a Luxury Tax?

[B]

How about MiLB paying for their own damned museum?

[Durham Bull Pen]

Nice.

[Jodi Bakst]

It is so nice to see Durham and Chapel Hill getting the recognition that is due. I have always said that people in the area care alot more about what they put in their body than on their body. This is an area that really cares about good quality food overall. It's great!

[smith]

I'm way behind on my magazine reading (I subscribe to 3 sports magazines and Bon Appetit) and finally just got around to reading the October issue, sent in September. I better read the Thanksgiving issue in the next 2 weeks before it's too late!

This edition features the restaurant editor Andrew Knowlton's (who has my dream job of eating at whatever restaurant he feels like anywhere in the world every night) pick for America's "foodiest" small town—where food is more than just something we must eat for energy. Food for these small towns is a centerpiece for functions, it's a social cause, it's a mean for the town to succeed economically. Now, the small towns they look at aren't exactly Mentor, Ohio or Marble Canyon, Arizona homes for sale(I've been to both, neither will ever win for being "foodie"). This year's pick by Mr. Knowlton is... Portland, Maine!

I haven't been to Portland in at least a decade and aside from going lobstering and having a delicious lobster, I don't remember anything too special. Yet, things certainly have changed in the food world this past decade! My personal pick would go to Boulder, Colorado where last year I went on a 24 hour binge of Boulder's 3 headed monster of places to eat—Frasca Food and Wine for outstanding New American cuisine with an Italian twist, The Kitchen for terrific brunch and a restaurant that cares as much about being "green" as it does being delicious, and Glacier Ice Cream, which is some of the richest ice cream I've ever tasted, especially when eating it outside with temperatures in the teens. I also love Ann Arbor, Michigan for Zingerman's outstanding deli, and last year's winner Durham-Chapel Hill. In fact, I applied to Duke solely so I could eat at Magnolia Grill during a "college visit."