Slice, sip and shop at these outposts just outside the city.
Dino’s Pizza DURHAM Searching for a slice of New York without the plane ride? Two of the Triangle’s culinary vets, Matt Kelly (of Mateo, Vin Rouge, and Mothers & Son fame) and Tom Cuomo (of Raleigh’s now-closed Papa Shogun), have joined forces to debut this cheesy casual neighborhood affair that harkens back to the pizza spots of your youth. Combining Italian American classics and New York/New Jersey favorites, the nostalgic experience is worth sinking your teeth into—and making the drive to Bull City for. Round out your meal with the zingy Caesar salad, hearty chicken Parm and finger-licking cannolis that’ll have the whole famiglia obsessed. @dinospizza_durham
Madison Fann
Fable Books & Cafe HOLLY SPRINGS Cozy season is so back—time to flip open a new book and embark on a different kind of adventure through words. And with its selection of over a million books (!)—carefully curated and leaving no genre untouched and no reader unsatisfied—this bookstore and cafe is just the spot to scavenge for a good read while enjoying a warm cup of coffee. Born from the love of bookworms and the dreams of writers, the contemporary book nook brings a little bit of everything to the table—whether you’re in search of a riveting romance novel, mind-bending social science fiction or anything in between. So go ahead, get lost in the pages—and your cup. fablebooksandcafe.comv
Narrative Coffee Company DURHAM Skip the Starbs for a local brand writing a new narrative. Originally started as a humble mobile trailer (which you can still spot throughout the Triangle), the specialty coffee concept has officially opened its very first brick-and-mortar. Pouring up a cup of ambition, Narrative’s high-quality coffee is made from 100% Arabica specialty coffee beans from local vendors, furthering its tagline of “seed to cup.” Caffeinated ops range from a traditional Americano and cortado to house cold brew and cappuccinos, plus an assortment of lattes upping the sweet factor—think the Butter Beer with toffee nut and butterscotch, or the fan-fave Cookie Butter Oat feat. Speculoos and dulce de leche. And for a Zenned-out morning, there’s brewed teas, matcha and chai—because after all, there’s more than one way to sip away the bad vibes. narrativecoffeecompany.com
Wedgewood Cheese Bar CARRBORO Cheese lovers, prepare to feel like a kid in a candy store. The Triangle’s first standalone cheese bar is ripe and apt for slicing, inspired by Euro haunts, quirky cheese bars and intimate wine bars the world over. Taking your classic cheese and wine outing to the next level, the chef- and cheesemonger-led concept serves up an extensive menu of cheese boards (build your own or spring for the cheesemonger’s choice, aka “Omaqueso”), sandwiches, salads, and other bits and bobs served across its daytime and lunch menus—as well as a sprawling cheese case where you can get your wedges wrapped-to-order. And, naturally, wine is a borderline necessary pairing, expertly picked and partnered for your cheese of choice. wedgewoodcheesebar.com
The Bowerbird Agency
North Left Mercantile APEX Apex’s one-stop shop for all your wants and needs, this modern mercantile has everything and then some for everyday living. Whether you’re in search of custom goods, a new set of silverware or just window shopping for your next visit (we all do it), North Left has got you covered. The expansive collection leaves nothing to be desired, with an inventory ranging from handcrafted heirloom-worthy gifts to gourmet provisions and all-natural bath & body products—plus apparel, jewelry and unique finds from across the country. Founded by two Pacific Northwesterners, the store serves as an homage to the majestic North and their new home in the South, boasting a charmingly inviting atmosphere welcoming all to find their next best treasure. northleftmercantile.com
It’s a passion that the owner and chef of newly opened Papa Shogun has been exercising since he was a student at the Institute of Culinary Education. It’s a philosophy he carried with him to wd~50, a haven for molecular gastronomy in Manhattan that closed in 2014. And it’s one that started long before, in the kitchen of the New Jersey native’s Italian-American mother, cooking pasta with her near daily, plus a meat-and-tomato special sauce—or gravy—that was reserved exclusively for Sundays.
Dinners were always served with the whole family, Cuomo recalls.
“The dinner table is where everybody comes together. It’s amazing how central food can become, as opposed to just viewing it as basic sustenance,” he says.
Even when he was very young, when most children would get stuck home with a babysitter, Cuomo regularly dined out with his parents, experiences he says broadened his exposure to good food and a wide range of cooking styles.
It wasn’t until after college, though, that Cuomo got seriously involved in the restaurant industry. While studying archaeology at New York University—“I wanted to be Indiana Jones,” he recalls—he cooked on and off at various restaurants, taking kitchen gigs during the summer. Following a short stint as a teacher in New Jersey, Cuomo realized his true passion for food at Vetri Cucina, an upscale restaurant in Philadelphia, where he learned about mixing different flavor profiles together to create the perfect bite.
“Prior to that, food was central to my life, but there were moments during this meal where it was like, ‘Wow, this is incredible,’” Cuomo says. “It hit me that, yeah, you can do this kind of stuff with food.” So he moved to New York City to study at the Institute of Culinary Education.
Kombu Gnocchi
During the yearlong culinary program, molecular gastronomy sparked Cuomo’s interest. He aspired to work with the innovative chef Wylie Dufresne and was soon hired as a prep cook at wd~50, where he learned new techniques and had opportunities to experiment. Dufresne encouraged Cuomo and the other chefs to play with their food as if they were kids, to branch out with different flavors and ingredients.
“We really pushed the envelope with techniques and added special elements to make the dishes better when they came out,” Cuomo says of his time working under Dufresne. “He really pushed us to think more about food.”
As Cuomo worked his way up through various back-of-the-house positions at wd~50, he created his own dishes using Japanese cooking techniques and different Asian ingredients. He naturally began to see throughlines between Japanese and Italian cooking and cuisine and his concept for a Japanese-Italian fusion restaurant began to take shape.
Last November, that concept—Papa Shogun in Raleigh’s Seaboard Station—became a reality.
“I was always amazed there weren’t more people doing it, because it just seemed so logical to me,” Cuomo says of Japanese-Italian fusion cooking. “The flavors, the techniques, just seem to go together so seamlessly. When you strip away the differences of ingredients, the cuisines are very similar.”
Now, Cuomo has free range to do whatever he wants with his food. Italian and Japanese cuisine come together in dishes such as Kombu Gnocchi, Chicken Parm Ramen and Giardinara Giapponese, which change seasonally based on availability of fresh ingredients.
Cuomo hopes his diners will be inspired to experiment with their own fusion cooking at home, and that they will enjoy creating and trying dishes together, with their families, as his did.
“I want people to eat these dishes and realize that seemingly disparate things can be put together on a plate,” Cuomo says. “Hopefully, by the fact that we’re doing something cool and interesting, we can get conversations started and make food central to people’s lives again.”
