Lucha Tigre, Chapel Hill

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Mexican-Asian fusion is not something I’ve seen before but is the concept behind Lucha Tigre. It is a new-ish place, in the old Flying Burrito space next to Flyleaf Books and Foster’s Market in Chapel Hill. The space is nice with gray walls decorated with black, white and red Lucha Libre wrestling posters. We went early, since we have the little one, and the atmosphere was causal and comfortable. We started with the Lucha Mojito which were a twist on the traditional mojito and included ginger. It was fresh and bright! I loved that it was served with a piece of sugar cane which I had to chew down!

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Bull City Burger and Brewery, Durham

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Ok, I must admit, it is more difficult than I anticipated finding time to blog with a newborn and a full time job but I’m trying. Needless to say it is more appealing to spend the limited down time trying out new places than it is to sit down and write about them! We have been able to try a few places so the posts will roll out slowly but surely.

A few weekends ago when the weather was nice we took the opportunity to take a walk in Duke Forest and try Bull City Burger and Brewery (BCBB).  This is a cool burger joint right in downtown Durham. It is a casual, comfortable space with communal wooden picnic benches and floor to ceiling glass windows allowing visitors a glimpse into the brewery. They also have a nice covered outdoor space behind the restaurant for warmer days. Though casual in feel they are serious about their product. They use North Carolina pasture-raised beef, bake their own buns and make their own condiments. They also offer a nice choice of atypical beverages; in addition to their own beers, they have a self-serve wine dispenser, and a Boylan fountain soda machine.

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Little Peanut

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Happy New Year!! This year has been incredible with great trips and wonderful foods but most importantly the arrival of our little peanut!  Eight weeks ago G and I welcomed our baby boy, JJ.  Needless to say, life has been very busy! It has been a wonderful and emotional several weeks and we look forward to many more adventures, challenges, and lessons in parenting!

I do plan to continue the blog posts though the frequency may be more sporadic as I adjust to motherhood and head back to work.  I do have notes for several posts and, if you can believe it, we have actually tried a couple of new places with the peanut!

In other peanut related news, the latest obsession at our house is peanut butter by Big Spoon Roasters.  They produce small batch hand crafted nut butters in Durham, NC using local peanuts and wildflower honey.  We have tried the straight peanut butter and the peanut cocoa butter both of which were amazing!

Tapas in Barcelona

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Earlier this year, G and I were lucky enough to spend a week eating in and exploring Barcelona! It is a fantastic city and I am finally getting a chance to write up my copious notes into blog posts. I thought I’d start with some thoughts on tapas as they are ubiquitous in Barcelona!  There are tapas bars all over the city; some small quaint hole-in-wall joints to larger, stylish restaurants.  Tapas are small dishes which were originally provided free with the purchase of drinks.  Now they range from the traditional small bites to small plates style dishes.  Tapas are a great dining option because you can sample several flavors and items and not have a huge meal, especially when you are on the go.  During our week stay in Barcelona we were able to try several tapas bars and I thought I would highlight three of our experiences.

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Vin Rouge, Durham

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One of our new favorite places is Vin Rouge in Durham.  I know, as usual, it took us awhile to ‘discover’ it even after all the wonderful press and reviews.  But, recently we have been there for dinner three times which is quite frequent for us to re-visit a place.  Our first experience with Vin Rouge was brunch a little over a year ago.  While our bunch meals were good, we weren’t wowed and weren’t feeling compelled to go back for dinner.  But, with all of the great great buzz on the place we finally tried it again for dinner in February and had a wonderful experience and have been back a few times since!
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Herons, Cary

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To celebrate our anniversary G and I decided to finally check out The Umstead Hotel in Cary.  We made an entire afternoon of it with massages and an afternoon at the spa and then dinner at the nationally recognized Herons.  The entire hotel has a modern, elegant style with muted neutral tones and warm lighting.  This elegance is carried on into the restaurant, Herons.  The walls are covered in a warm wood paneling.  The space is divided into smaller rooms with alcoves holding beautiful large artful pieces which set off the well-designed space.  The large table are well spaced to allow guests to have intimate conversations.  The kitchen is viewable from the dining area for those who would like to see the action.

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