Uncover hidden delights within Durham’s dining scene, from brunches to late-night dishes to a well-stocked sundries shop
BY LEAH BERRY | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN MICHAEL SIMPSON
You let us know how much you adore Fullsteam’s brews, Press Coffee, Crepes & Cocktails for its breakfast and brunch, Rose’s Noodles, Dumplings & Sweets’ desserts, Cheeni Durham for its Indian fare and LocoPops’ frozen treats, but there’s much more to love about these gems of our dining scene; next time you visit, give these equally excellent features a try!
𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞-𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
Cheeni Durham burst onto our dining scene to much fanfare in November 2023, and readers of our magazine agree that it’s tops when it comes to authentic Indian meals. Less than a year in, and Cheeni continues to fire on all cylinders, adding brunch to its offerings in March and, as of press time, hanging on the precipice of launching a late-night menu.
Chef and owner Preeti Waas opened Cheeni’s first location in Raleigh in 2022, though it recently closed its doors on April 22. “Cheeni came to life in the kiosk of the downtown [Raleigh] YMCA to emulate the corner chai, coffee and tiffin shops of India,” Preeti says. “Over time, it evolved into the first brick-andmortar in North Raleigh to incorporate all of my loves – cooking classes, baking, pop-ups and a bazaar.
“When the space at the Unscripted [Durham] hotel unexpectedly became available,” Preeti continues, “the introduction to the Durham market felt very natural, as so many of our [current] guests were making the drive to North Raleigh several times a week.”
Preeti believes the honesty of the restaurant’s ingredients and the boldness to provide and promote the regional cuisine that she and so many Indians grew up eating is what sets her business apart. “It is home-cooked food, using fine ingredients and presented beautifully,” she says.
Patrons rave about the muttakos medallions – melty, crispy cabbage steaks with mustard seed and coconut, served with lime pickle dahi sauce – and the fish moilee, with coconut milk gravy and melt-in-your-mouth barramundi. Or try the pork aam kasundi – a local heritage pork chop prepared with green mango and mustard sauce.
“And of course, the chocolate chip cookies!” Preeti says, not wanting new guests to miss out on the simple goodness of Cheeni’s take on the classic dessert.
The eatery began its brunch service in early spring, a decision guided by “our inclination to do what nobody else is doing,” Preeti says. A few months in, and “the dosa waffle with Chettinad chicken, breakfast sandwich and mimosa flight with fresh-squeezed orange juice are clear favorites.”
And every single thing is made from scratch, down to the rolls, sauces and chutneys. “You’re just going to have to try it for yourself, at least once,” Preeti says.
Cheeni’s most recent venture is its bar space, Beej – tucked behind the kitchen where The Colonel’s Daughter bar was formerly located – which expands the existing menu with late-night dishes and more cocktail options. Beej will be open past dinner hours, and Preeti says to expect bar bites like Amritsari fish – a popular Indian appetizer made with fish steaks or bite-size pieces coated in a spicy masala – plus masala fries, beef boti kebabs and occasional specials. “In other words, real food, with real punchy flavors,” Preeti says.
The owner encourages folks to continue following Cheeni’s journey – @cheenidurham on Instagram is a good place to keep up with the restaurant’s latest news – to see what comes next. “While we do enjoy planning, we also like to go with the flow; sometimes you just don’t know what will spark an idea,” Preeti says. “We’re excited to launch pop-up markets with more Indian-centric products and hope to continue with those. As for the future, we’re always open to possibilities that might unfold.”
𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞
European-inspired cafe Press Coffee, Crepes & Cocktails exudes an elegant yet welcoming atmosphere, perfect for breakfast, brunch or an afternoon pick-me-up in the form of coffee or a cocktail.
Founders Jason Cox and Brett DeVries launched the restaurant at American Tobacco Campus in 2020, but the first location opened in downtown Graham in 2016. Jason says the eatery is very much a “choose your own adventure” experience. “If you’re coming in for a quick coffee and a pastry to-go on Tuesday, you can do that,” he says. “If you’re coming in for a coffee and to sit and read a book or converse with a friend – that’s what we’re here for.”
Press regularly updates its menu with seasonal changes and specials across most items. It earned a Best of Durham nod for its breakfast and brunch, and it’s clear why – it’s often bustling with patrons during these hours. Crepes are by far the top-selling item – from sweet creations with strawberries and Nutella to savory fillings like country hash or carne asada. The Crepe ’B – one of the first dishes that Brett, the culinary mind behind the partnership, created – remains a fan favorite, Jason says. The crepe is filled with your choice of smoked bacon, sausage, country ham or turkey bacon, plus Swiss cheese, over-easy eggs, goat cheese and hollandaise sauce – a perfect amalgamation of European influence with a Carolina touch. “We’re not overly pretentious … cheese and country ham show up on our menu,” Jason says. The cafe’s weekend brunch features more unique items like hashbrown waffles, a crowd pleaser. “Those are very popular,” Jason says. “It’s like carb heaven.”
Press goes several steps beyond breakfast foods. “We are a coffeeshop, and we are a restaurant, and we are a cocktail bar,” Jason says.
Sip on a freshly brewed Counter Culture Coffee latte, cortado, tea or anything else your heart desires from the full espresso bar – maybe a seasonal peach latte, a salted pistachio mocha or an iced strawberry matcha – but don’t sleep on the adult bevvies.
“We are brunch heavy, so we sell a lot of mimosas and bloody marys,” Jason says. “But our rotating espresso martini – [both] the standard and the seasonal (like orange vanilla-flavored) one – I would say nine times out of 10, that’s my go-to drink if I’m having a cocktail at brunch.”
Other drink options of note include the raspberry gin sour, which features Weldon Mills gin, raspberry syrup (all of Press’ drink flavors are made in-house) and lemon juice; a charred lemon margarita; or a hibiscus strawberry spritzer, in addition to a variety of mocktails, beers and wines.
Press continues to expand, with a third location set to open in Raleigh in late May, as of press time. “The Raleigh [location is] going to look very different, because I’m adamant that [these restaurants] need to look like the community,” Jason says. “We were [part] of the first wave of new restaurants to open in American Tobacco. Durham was our chance to find out, ‘Are we this weird, crazy place in Graham that somehow works? Or is this something that other people want in other places?’” The verdict, at least for Best of Durham voters, strongly points to the latter.
𝐀 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐲
You’ve tried the cookies, ice cream and macarons at Rose’s Noodles, Dumplings & Sweets, but we all know the magic of adding a touch of savory to sweet indulgences.
Husband-and-wife co-owners Justin Meddis and Katie Meddis opened Rose’s in 2013 as a full-animal butcher and pastry shop. “Justin and I wanted to do something together,” Katie, Rose’s pastry chef, says, “and that highlighted both of the things that we enjoyed doing, also with a mission to make local, pasture-raised meats available beyond just a farmers market … so that was the start of it.”
The pair transitioned the business into an East Asian-inspired eatery in 2017, and today serve a concise yet diverse menu of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, brunch items and more, in addition to their signature, Best of Durham award-winning pastries. The shop’s bestselling desserts are the house-made ice-cream sandwiches, with new flavors – Katie’s personal fave flavor is burnt honey honeycomb – regularly introduced to align with the seasons. “We’re about to go into strawberry season,” Katie says, “and we have a strong strawberry ice-cream sandwich.”
Any of the French macaron options – take your pick of strawberry jam, espresso caramel, chocolate black currant tea or creme brulee – is also going to be a guaranteed hit. “I’ll eat one of those every night,” Katie says of her own macaron cravings.
Rose’s food menu showcases a selection of thoughtfully prepared East Asian-inspired dishes. “We always have two different kinds of steamed buns – pork-based and vegetarian,” Katie says. The restaurant also rotates its selection of dumplings, focusing on one flavor at a time, and the pork katsu sandwich – a panko-breaded fried pork cutlet with sweet mayo and cabbage on house-made bread – is a perennial favorite.
“The belt noodles have a strong following, too,” Katie says. “It’s an extra-wide, chewy noodle, and we do two different types – meat-based and a vegetarian version. Those are very good … almost more popular than the ramen sometimes.”
Ramen became a staple at Rose’s as a creative way to use the leftover bones during its butcher shop days. “Every Wednesday, we would make a giant batch of ramen and sell 100 bowls of it at lunchtime,” Katie says. “It was all to-go, so people would take it to the parking lot to eat it … it was really fun.
“Justin puts a ton of work into the ramen,” she continues. “The broth has local pork and chicken bones, and it simmers overnight …there’s just extra care and thought that goes into [it] and makes it extra special.” Weekend visitors can also indulge in the brunch menu, which consists of meals such as hot and sour sweet potato noodles, rice porridge and Thai rice soup.
Katie, looking ahead, says she doesn’t foresee major changes at the restaurant, but mentioned that she and Justin began selling their house-made chili oil, a beloved ingredient in many of their dishes, this spring. Swing by for a bowl of ramen, cool down with an ice-cream sandwich, and don’t forget to pick up a bottle of chili oil to bring home with you!
𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩
LocoPops is famed for its frozen treats, specifically its Mexican-style popsicles. The name doesn’t tell the full story, however – there’s more than just ice pops at this Old West Durham standby.
Owner – and self-proclaimed “chief loco” – Summer Bicknell opened LocoPops in 2005. “Desperation inspired it,” Summer says. “I was trying to get out of corporate America and stumbled upon a popsicle shop in Nashville, [Tennessee], where I was living.” Encouraged by a friend, she learned the art of making popsicles, or paletas, in Mexico and decided to make it her business.
A serendipitous stop at a Durham gas station during the road trip to find a home for her new venture sparked the idea for the Bull City shop. “I thought, ‘Why don’t I do it here?’” Summer recalls. And so, the journey began.
“One thing that separates us from others is simplicity and value, ”Summer says of her Best of Durham award-winning frozen treats. “It’s a pop on a stick … there’s not a lot of fancying it up. We really focus on quality and making great flavors.”
The shop keeps kid-friendly flavors like chocolate brownie and cookies and cream on its menu while also featuring options like Mexican chocolate, lemon curd and nondairy mojito pops for those with more adventurous taste buds.
“We’ve done 300-400 flavors over time,” Summer says. “We’re never running out of inspiration … there’s always something to try.
“But the downside to naming the place LocoPops is that it’s a little bit limited,” Summer says. “We’ve added a whole lot more.”
The shop expanded its dessert repertoire to include scooped ice cream – recent highlights included tahini raspberry rose swirl and Earl Grey with limoncello biscotti – and a recently hired baker focuses on treats from limoncello cream pie with a wildberry crumble to a strawberry rhubarb pie.
Summer further evolved the shop by adding “The Local Corner” section to her store in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, which expanded into a full sundries shop in January 2021. “It started off as a ‘local corner’ full of [products from merchants] like Bright Black and Lo & Behold,” Summer says. The shop originally put an emphasis on groceries, but as people have reverted back to their normal shopping channels, Summer stocks specialty food items over staples as well as fresh bread, spices, tea, coffee, pasture-raised meats from Firsthand Foods and grab-and-go meals from places like Melina’s Fresh Pasta, Raleigh Tamales and more. “A lot of it has been listening to people’s comments and seeking out great partnerships,” Summer says, adding that the focus is on primarily local products, so long as they meet her high standards.
Summer wants folks to know that LocoPops does more than, well, pops. In fact, she’s leaning toward a name change in the near future. “Not away from LocoPops, but we’d like to change it to something broader, ”Summer says. “Hopefully, by the end of the year, we’ve landed on that.”
𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬
Fullsteam, the Bull City brewery celebrating North Carolina’s farm and food traditions with its Best of Durham award-winning beer, boasts two locations – downtown and at Boxyard RTP. Its brews certainly take on main character energy, but the food offerings are equally impressive.
“We started with a mission to make distinctly Southern beer using local ingredients,” says Sean Lilly Wilson, Fullsteam’s self-identifying chief executive optimist, “and explore what it means to be a Southern brewery.”
You might be familiar with Fullsteam’s Southern Basil – a top summer seller crafted with North Carolina-grown wheat and basil – or perhaps its special Moravian dark lager, Bethania, along with year-round staples like its Rocket Science IPA and Paycheck pilsner.
Those favorites pair exceptionally well with the taproom’s fare. The brewery originally manned a food truck that accompanied the beer and installed a full kitchen seven years ago, serving up a menu that ranges from sides of tater tots to pulled pork sandwiches.
The downtown brewery’s $5 community burger – “a quarter-pound single patty, but [with] all local ingredients,” Sean explains – features meat from Firsthand Foods, Ashe County Cheese cheddar, griddled beer onions and sauce, topped with a Union Special bun. “It’s simple, but it’s really good,” Sean says. Or you can opt for the classic – and bigger – smash burger, which also has a vegan option.
Sean recommends trying the Crystal Coast shrimp burger; the “Shroom-B-Q” with smoked Fox Farm & Forage mushrooms, done up Eastern North Carolina-style; or the collard kimchi grilled cheese with kimchi sourced from The Spicy Hermit.
“We want to do things that are just a little curious enough but still feel like they belong in a casual, come-as-you-are brewery,” Sean says. “Breweries are known for being a community gathering spot – a welcoming and inclusive environment – and we’re no different. I think we reflect Durham’s diversity and its heartbeat and its progressive spirit … and then we layer in the passion for local agriculture.”
The brewery recently announced an eventual relocation and reconfiguration of the space at 726 Rigsbee and that it would close down its taproom kitchen July 31 with a final day open to the public on Oct. 31, noting it would host a Halloween-themed trivia and party. “In August, September and October, we’ll be going back to our roots: Bring in outside food!” Sean wrote in a social media post. “Bring your (well-behaved) dog! Come remember, re-experience and support this amazing space until the end of October. We’d love … we need … your support.”
