W H AT WE’RE EATING NEWS FROM OUR RESTAURANT COMMUNITY, PLUS A DISH WE LOVE
NEWS BITES Big Spoon Roasters won a 2024 Good Food Award for its Lum Lum Thai Curry Peanut & Cashew Butter. The Hillsborough-based company was among 215 winners announced on April 29. This is the second year in a row that Big Spoon Roasters won in the annual contest’s pantry category. Dingo Dog Brewing Company’s Suzie’s Strawberry Cider was named the best-in-show cider and received a gold medal at the 2024 North Carolina Mead & Cider Competition while its Suzie’s White Tea Peony Mead took home a silver medal. Village Diner owners Sarah Bohlin and Joel Bohlin opened the doors of West Hillsborough Pizzeria located in the adjacent dining room on March 19 at 600 W. King St. Guests can enjoy pizza, burgers, wings, salads and a full bar with 10 beers on draft and TVs.
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Breadman’s hen you walk into the 261 S. Elliott Rd., Chapel Hill “new” Breadman’s, you breadmens.com get the same nostalgic feeling that you did at the former location on Rosemary Street – the same wooden chairs, the same black tables with plaques commemorating customers and employees alike, and of course, UNC sports posters plastered on every inch of the walls. Even the menu is almost identical to the one that former co-owners Bill Piscitello and Roy Piscitello crafted in 1974. And the current owner, Omar Castro, wouldn’t dare to change it – especially not as the restaurant celebrates its 50th anniversary this fall (with an event to mark the big occasion currently in the works for July). “I’m only 34, so when I think about 50 years, it’s a long, long time,” Omar says, though he himself has a long history at the restaurant having started working there in high school. “I’m just trying to keep the tradition going.” t r fo m o and C What that tradition entails? Largely, classic breakfast options, Breakfast n Cuisine er with a menu that spans multiple pages. But their lunch is just as Food/South good, as Omar is quick to point out. And his favorite – the Reuben – is just as decadent as it looks. But grab some napkins because this saucy, layered sandwich is melty, gooey, and as he likes to put it: “pretty straightforward.” Pair it with the crispy, hand-battered onion rings, and you’ll get a taste of the restaurant’s longstanding legacy. – By Hannah Lee 26
chapelhillmagazine.com
July/August 2024
Carolina Brewery announced in April that its Sky Peach Kölsch will be available this summer. The brew is a sweetened version of its awardwinning Sky Blue Kölsch, made with real peach. Find the beer on tap and in stores. Southern Village New American restaurant Market and Moss announced the hiring of two new executive chefs to lead its kitchen in April. Chefs Danny Vacca and Chuck Jones bring experience in industry-leading restaurants across the country and will cocreate menus together. Hillsborough sports bar Hot Tin Roof closed on April 30 after 11 years. “Thank you to all the regulars, the ‘this is our first time in’ customers, our past employees, all of our current employees and everyone who has made an impact on what The Hot Tin Roof ends as,” the business said via a social media post. The Chapel Hill location of Great Harvest Bread Co. closed on April 19 after more than two decades in town. A social media post from the location’s leadership duo Amy Kelley and Brandy Corbett said the decision was the result of “long discussions with franchise headquarters.” – Compiled by Leah Berry CHM