South Durham is seemingly inundated with chain restaurants, making the lunch choices plentiful, though not local. If you’re looking to switch up your options, add Primal Food & Spirits to your usual rotation. The 100% gluten-free restaurant now offers a lunch menu that ranges from a light kale salad to the comfort of meatloaf. While Primal takes gluten sensitivities seriously and it’s a big part of the restaurant’s identity, “no where does it say gluten-free,” says Chef Tim Lyons, owner of Primal. “It’s more about trying to be a really good restaurant first and appealing to everyone.”
The sandwiches and melts section of the menu certainly delivers that. Take the grilled shrimp, avocado, bacon club. Made-in-house basil aioli and lovely, peppery arugula are added to the sandwich, which, yes, uses sunflower seed bread from Imagine That Gluten Free – trust me, you cannot tell there is no gluten in that bread! It’s served alongside a mixed greens salad dressed in a honey Dijon vinaigrette. “I like to put on the menu what I like to eat,” says Primal Chef Dan Wright.
Like its sister restaurant, blu seafood, Primal offers a daily lunch special for $8.50, including a grilled chicken protein salad on Tuesdays; chicken salad platter on Wednesdays; crab or tuna melt on Thursdays; and meatloaf on Fridays. If you need to get in and get out, a dine-in experience typically lasts about 30 minutes for lunch, Dan says. Or, you can call in a to-go order and pick it up! Learn more at primalfoodandspirits.com or call 919-248-3000.
