News

November 6th, 2026 Greetings from Carrboro, Three weeks from yesterday. Let that sink in. Thanksgiving 2026. I can promise you that within the week, a person in your orbit will use “gobble, gobble” as a festive greeting. Generally speaking, it’ll be the person in your life who has the immaculately raked yard and the autumn-themed […]

November 2nd, 2026 Greetings from Carrboro, Please, let’s just pump the brakes. I’ve yet to fully enjoy my seasonal fill of Nerds and fun-size Butterfingers, and already the Christmas ads are hitting my inbox. Can Ho-Ho-Ho be Whoa-Whoa-Whoa until, say, the 15th? Or honestly, any date this month that has at least two numbers. Just […]

October 29th, 2026 Greetings from Carrboro, We had flimsy masks with rubber bands attached to keep them on our heads. And a pillowcase and a plastic cape of some sort. Times have, um, changed. Just a smidge. Because this weekend, an entire host of people I know will spend far more time and money on […]

October 23rd, 2026 Greetings from Carrboro, California can run through wineries like they run through celebrities. For a good 20 years, there seemed to be a new “it” winery every couple of months, if not weeks—a new, must-have prestige bottling that captured the imagination of the wine press with 99-point scores and similarly sky-high pricing. […]

October 16th, 2026 Greetings from Carrboro, A little goes a long way. Like hot sauce or relatives or – don’t judge me – the State Fair. Oh, it sounds fun, sure. And, yes, pieces of it can elicit a certain democratic pleasure. But it’s a lot. Parking and walking and dealing with that much humanity […]

October 13th, 2026 Greetings from Carrboro, We all like the temptation of a good shortcut. Just the sheer number of books or gadgets that offer simple paths to a new you – whatever hill-to-climb that may mean for you personally – is evidence enough. I have a decided weakness for anything that confidently promises to […]

October 8th, 2026 Greetings from Carrboro, I counted plates this morning. And ordered six dozen more wine glasses to be safe. The order guide is more or less ready. As is the prep list, though with a few things still not carved in stone – we test recipes on Monday. And I have it on […]

September 28th, 2026 Greetings from Carrboro, Generally, the rule is the third time. You’ve all heard the adage: the third time’s the charm. With restaurants, it’s the moment someone becomes a serious customer. Because who really knows why someone comes in the front door that first time? And the second time is – usually – […]

September 23rd, 2026 Greetings from Carrboro, You have to queue up on the sidewalk next to the restaurant. There’s music from an inoffensive radio station that crackles through a tinny, wall-mounted speaker. Usually, the line moves pretty fast. Once inside, they are strictly business. The 50-something uniformed waitress arrives within 30 seconds to take your […]

September 18th, 2026 Greetings from Carrboro, My parents drank martinis. Due to my mother having lost a decisive battle with gin when I was very young, the martinis were always vodka and always on the rocks with a twist. At 12, my job titles around the house expanded to include bartender, eyeballing the portions of […]