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Greetings from Carrboro, I’m still an optimist. And for a veteran of the restaurant world that’s saying something. It amplifies the usual glass-half-full analogy to a more robust it-may-be-empty-but-at-least-the-glass-isn’t-broken-yet version. Putting nature or nurture aside, I clearly recognize my rampant optimism as some crazy home-brew of naiveté, furious ambition, and stubbornness. And, well, a healthy […]

October 26th, 2018 Greetings from Carrboro, Perched on the couch I always think it’s silly. Someone is handed an Oscar or Emmy and then tries to thank a million different people before the get-the-hell-off-the-stage music starts. Can’t they just thank everyone succinctly and generically? Come on, does their middle-school drama teacher really need a shout-out? […]

Greetings from Carrboro, I just got a whiff yesterday. A little hint of what’s to come. The wind changed and brittle leaves rattled down the street. The sky was a deep, Carolina blue. You know, that all-too-familiar mantle of fall. And so, for me, a season began – not the one marked by dates on […]

Greetings from Carrboro, The pilgrims would assuredly cringe. And then probably do something Puritan-esque, like throw holy water on me and run willy-nilly out of the Acme kitchen and hide behind the bar. Oh, it wouldn’t be the turkey or the green beans or the sweet potato part of this modern-day Thanksgiving tableau that would evoke […]

Greetings from Carrboro, Personally, I avoid clowns. Not the metaphorical version. No. No. The ones with the very large shoes. And ‘avoid’ is a generous description of my aversion. Sort of like saying that wildebeest avoid lions. Or that the citizens of Tokyo avoid Godzilla. One glimpse and some deep part of me wants to […]

Greetings from Carrboro, October always feels – I don’t know – sane, for lack of a better word. Somehow less harnessed to the dramatic frenzy that runs rough-shod over so much of the year. If life is a relentless game of tag then October is base. So, remember to take a deep breath and enjoy […]

Greetings from Carrboro, Ahhh, America. That bountiful land of mom and apple pie and baseball. And, well, zinfandel. No, really. (The red wine – not the awkward pink sheep in the family). Here me out. Because if Uncle Sam had to hoist a glass to toast this great country it would undoubtedly be zin. Not champagne or […]

Greetings from Carrboro, They’re endless. Or seem to be. These clever lists of simple tricks to make life easier/better/fabulous-er. You know, life hacks. My absolute favorites are the hacks that utilize a common household item in some unforeseen way – “use dryer sheets and canned pinto beans to learn mandarin in a weekend!” That sort […]

Greetings from Carrboro, Bibs are definitely out of fashion. No question. Even the ad hoc version of tucking a napkin into the collar of your shirt before eating has lost its mojo. At least in public. It no longer projects a jovial air of culinary bravado and anticipatory gastronomic pleasure. Far from it. Now squeamish parents […]

Greetings from Carrboro, My aunt spent most of that summer day a good 8 feet up a tree. Please note: this was not some Gwyneth Paltrow-esque plan to connect with nature. She certainly was not the type to search for her inner wood nymph in a copse of scrub oak in hot, central Texas. It was, instead, […]