Durham Bulls game and new Tobacco Road Sports Cafe review

Just went to my first Bulls game of the season and it was great.  Ok, they did not win, but it was a great day for a ball game.   We sat in the right field cheap seats (everything else was sold out at game time except lawn).  Note: Until the sun goes down, it is straight up in your eyes; bring a hat, it is a necessity.  About the 7th inning we took a walk around to the outfield.  You can still walk completely around the stadium.  The new Tobacco Road Sports Cafe has some area blocked off, but you can still do it.  They have a guy at the gate of the restaurant entrance, so that patrons can't sneak into the game without a ticket. But you can see the game from some of the outside restaurant seats as long as not too many people are standing in front of you.  There is also a green monster picnic area with tables that you have to rent from the ballpark that is roped off.

Ok, on to the Tobacco Road Sports Cafe review. 


Food:  I had the pork BBQ sandwich and cheddar grits as a side.  The black-eyed pea cakes (entree not sandwich) were ordered also.  The Pork sandwich was Ok.  NC is such a picky BBQ place, it all depends how you like it.  It was not very saucy and the bun was ordinary.    Still I ate all the BBQ (skipped the bun and the pickle).   The cheddar grits were chowable and I would recommend them.  The black eyed pea cake was very good (though fried and not baked) and a nice vegetarian option (not low cal as there was a lot of mayo based sauce on it).  The entree came with salad (pea shoots) as opposed to the sandwich which came with a choice of side.  Generally, I would say a cut above your usual sports bar fare.  As a bonus they have a good beer selection, both draft and bottle.  You will not go thirsty.


Service:  I will say that we were there at the 9th inning so it was a bit crowded, not slammed, though. There were still empty tables outside.  You have to hunt out the hostess in the front to get a table outside.  We were seated on the patio and got to see the end of the game.  It took a while to get served.  Our server was very nice, but she was occupied by a large table and left us hanging a bit.  They brought our food with no silverware.  Just details like that.  I would give it a chance again, but I would like to see it improve.  


Atmosphere:  The patio was large with tv's in the covered patio part, an uncovered area, and a good sized covered bar.  Inside there were tv's everywhere and since it was so crowded it was loud from the people.  The lower front row of one end of the floor is lined up with recliners (ya!).  I didn't sit in one, but it appears that you have your own tv to tune.  Pretty cool.  Certainly, on a game day you will find your basic drunk people there.  The large table that was taking up our servers time kept ordering shots and breaking out into song.  On our way out we saw some little alcoves in front that allow the whole table to view a big screen.  Nice!  Overall, a very nice sports bar atmosphere with good access to tv's.


I think this place will go well with Durham and add to the sports bars here nicely.  Even when there is not a game, sitting on the patio  and viewing the ballpark is pretty cool.  I will check out the recliners and the front tables for my favorite sports.  The black eyed pea cakes may help convince your favorite vegetarian to come with you.  (They do have other vegetarian dished marked on the menu.)

rosemary grilled chicken thighs

I have been using organic boneless chicken thighs for this recipe which is very easy and cooks fast since they are boneless.  Very popular and delicious.

Recipe

1  garlic clove, pressed no mincing required
1  tablespoon  olive oil
2  tablespoons  Dijon mustard (a nice robust grainy mustard is great with this)
2  tablespoons  honey
1  teaspoon  salt
1  teaspoon  chopped fresh rosemary (in a pinch you could go with it out of a jar or use whatever fresh herb you have hanging around)
1/2  teaspoon  pepper
1 1/2  pounds boneless chicken thighs
1/2  lemon

1. Combine everything except chicken above in a ziplock, squeezing and needing and pleading with the bag to combine ingredients. Add chicken, continue to plead. Chill 1 to 24 hours.
2. Grill on medium high for 5 minutes a side.  Watch because these boneless thighs can char fast.  I think you really are supposed to add the lemon at the end but I just through it in the beginning.  Also, you can just half the recipe if you are not making very much chicken, no problem.


Sorry the picture is not that great.  The chicken is usually gone before I think to take a picture.  That is a picture of the last bit of it.

Curried Tofu (with fresh pineapple)

Curried Tofu (with fresh pineapple)

2  teaspoons  vegetable oil

1  (15-ounce) extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2  teaspoon  salt

1 can coconut milk

2 teaspoon  curry powder

1  cup  precut matchstick-cut carrots

1/4  teaspoon  crushed red pepper

1-2 cups fresh pineapple

1 sliced red bell pepper

1/2  cup  chopped fresh basil

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu, and sprinkle with salt (pretty sure I forgot that but still it was great). Cook 8 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. (Cooking tofu is not my favorite but if I let it sit with a pan on top of it to get the liquid out for a while it helps.) Remove from pan.

Add coconut milk and curry powder to pan, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add carrots, crushed red pepper, pineapple, and bell pepper; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in tofu. Sprinkle with basil.

Falafel with lots of goodies

I went to Durham's Farmer's Market this morning and got some strawberries and some lettuce.  Suddenly I was craving this great falafel sandwich that we used to get at the Baltimore Farmer's Market (Waverly Farmer's Market).  So I went about trying to recreate it, mostly successfully.  Here is what I did:
Falafel - used that Fantastic Mix and fried them up in patties (not ideal but works in a pinch)
Sauce 
        1 c. plain yogurt
        1/2 cucumber diced small
        1 T lemon juice
        1 T tahini
(you could add some more to it but I wanted to keep it simple.  Tahini is not mandatory if you don't have it.)
Goodies
       Sliced strawberries (so good)
       Bibb lettuce (I can just eat it up plain)
       Frisee lettuce (fancy, tastes good and I love it)
       Matchbook carrots
       Thin sliced mushrooms
       Green onion sliced in sticks


Bread - I just got some whole wheat flat bread, but in the end we were just loading the leftover goodies into the bibb lettuce to finish them off.
A big bite for sure.
Chow.