![\"Patrick](\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/reliablegeek.jpg\")
<\/a>Owner Patrick Coleff at Reliable Cheese Company in Durham<\/p><\/div>\n
Opened in 2011, Patrick Coleff\u2019s downtown store is Durham\u2019s only artisanal cheese shop, but it more than fills that role. Coleff, formerly of Murray\u2019s and Stinky Bklyn, keeps customers (and a slew of local businesses) in stock with a range of traditionally crafted, cut-to-order cheeses, in addition to leading workshops from his space. For those who don\u2019t want a wedge, Coleff also serves select slices and spreads on a crisp pressed sandwich, making use of an impressive case of charcuterie. Try Johnston County\u2019s country ham with blue cheese and fig jam.<\/p>\n
Reliable Cheese Company<\/a><\/b> 405 East Chapel Hill Street Durham, NC 919.680.3939<\/i><\/p>\n A Southern Season<\/b> A Southern Season<\/a><\/b> 201 South Estes Drive Chapel Hill, NC 877.929.7133<\/i><\/p>\n Weaver Street Market<\/b> Weaver Street Market<\/a><\/b> 101 East Weaver Street Carrboro, NC 919.929.0010<\/i><\/p>\n Whole Foods Market, North Raleigh<\/b> Whole Foods Market, North Raleigh<\/a><\/b> 8710 Six Forks Road Raleigh, NC 919.354.0350<\/i><\/p>\n Inside the dimly lit space of a former piggly Wiggly, the bar’s cheese selection is as well balanced as its crafted cocktails.<\/p><\/div>\n Fox Liquor Bar<\/b> Fox Liquor Bar<\/a><\/b> 237 South Wilmington Street Raleigh, NC 919.322.0128<\/i><\/p>\n Fullsteam <\/b> Fullsteam<\/a><\/b> 726 Rigsbee Avenue Durham, NC 919.682.2337<\/i><\/p>\n Six Plates Wine Bar<\/b> Six Plates Wine Bar<\/a><\/b> 2812 Erwin Road Suite 104 Durham, NC 919.321.0203<\/i><\/p>\n 3CUPS<\/b> 3CUPS<\/a><\/b> 227 South Elliott Road Chapel Hill, NC 919.968.8993<\/i><\/p>\n Wine Authorities<\/b> Wine Authorities<\/a><\/b> 2501 University Drive Durham, NC 919.489.2884<\/i><\/p>\n The Raleigh Wine Shop<\/b><\/p>\n The whitewashed exterior of the Raleigh Wine Shop<\/p><\/div>\n This whitewashed brick market near downtown Raleigh delivers on several levels. For a small fee the Raleigh Wine Shop will bring selections to your door. A small selection of local, handmade meats, crackers, and cheeses\u2014mostly from the Hillsborough Cheese Company\u2014are also available for call-in. And for those who make the trek to town, a tasting corner with 12 wines offered by the ounce provides further reward.<\/p>\n The Raleigh Wine Shop<\/a> 126 Glenwood Avenue Raleigh, NC 919.803.5473<\/i><\/p>\n Crook\u2019s Corner<\/b> Crook\u2019s Corner<\/i><\/b><\/a> 610 West Franklin Street Chapel Hill, NC 919.929.7643<\/p>\n Pulled pork sandwich at the Pit in Raleigh<\/p><\/div>\n The Pit<\/b> The Pit<\/i><\/b><\/a> 328 West Davie Street Raleigh, NC 919.890.4500<\/p>\n Chuck\u2019s<\/b> Chuck\u2019s<\/i><\/b><\/a> 237 S. Wilmington Street Raleigh, NC 919.322.0126<\/p>\n Glasshalfull<\/b> Glasshalfull<\/i><\/b><\/a> 106 South Greensboro Street Carrboro, NC 919.967.9784<\/p>\n Carrboro Farmers\u2019 Market<\/b> Carrboro Farmers\u2019 Market<\/i><\/b><\/a> 301 W. Main Street Carrboro, NC 919.280.3326<\/p>\n Will & Pop\u2019s <\/b> Will & Pop\u2019s<\/i><\/b><\/a> Durham, NC @willandpops <\/a>(Twitter)<\/p>\n American Meltdown Gourmet Melts<\/b> American Meltdown Gourmet Melts<\/i><\/b><\/a> Durham-Raleigh-Carrboro @AmericanMLTDWN<\/a> (Twitter)<\/p>\n [mappress mapid=”15″]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Our love of cheese precedes us. Like most Southerners, those of us in the Triangle\u2014Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill\u2014are known for our allegiance to pimiento cheese: a simple spread of grated cheddar, pimiento peppers, and mayonnaise. The stuff shows up at almost every spot where cheese is sold. In fact, we eat so much of it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1592,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"coauthors":[137],"class_list":["post-1487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nHaving grown from a small coffee shop opened in 1975 to a 60,000-square-foot market, A Southern Season has become one of the South\u2019s largest gourmet retailers. Under the direction of Alexander Kast, official cheesemonger for the American Cheese Society\u2019s 2012 Conference in Raleigh, nearly 300 cheeses find a spot at the shop\u2019s sprawling counter. Kast also collaborates with Chef Ryan Payne at the market\u2019s Weathervane Restaurant to provide a rotating plate of seasonally minded selections.<\/p>\n
\nKnown as \u201cCarrboro\u2019s front yard,\u201d the shaded space that stretches out in front of Weaver Street Market is prime for picnicking. Find all the necessary fare inside the community-owned store, from beer, wine, bottle openers and glasses to a cooler brimming with local cheeses. Regional heavy hitters such as Meadow Creek Dairy are here, but what stands out in Weaver Street\u2019s case are the smaller, perhaps lesser-known labels. Not to miss is Black River Farmstead\u2019s ch\u00e8vre.<\/p>\n
\nThe Triangle\u2019s newest Whole Foods Market, which recently celebrated its first anniversary, provides one of the best bets when it comes to cheese buying in Raleigh. Nathan Raskopf, who led the counter at a second Raleigh Whole Foods store for 11 years, keeps almost 250 varieties in his case. Or as Raskopf puts it, from \u201clocal to just about anything.\u201d<\/p>\nBars<\/h2>\n
<\/a>
\nTucked a few steps below street level, Fox Liquor\u2019s blazing green door is a worthy find. Inside the dimly lit space of a former Piggly Wiggly, the bar\u2019s cheese selection is as well balanced as its crafted cocktails. Build a plate from eight, but save room. Upstairs and around the corner, chef and owner Ashley Christensen offers two other excellent options: Beasley\u2019s Chicken + Honey (fried chicken and traditional Southern sides with a twist, including pimiento macaroni and cheese custard) and Chuck\u2019s burgers.<\/p>\n
\nFullsteam is home to Southern beer. The brewery, housed in a brick warehouse on the edge of Durham\u2019s Central Park District, prides itself on a \u201cplow-to-pint\u201d philosophy, making brews from the region\u2019s grown goods. El Toro, a smooth, classic cream ale, is brewed with North Carolina corn grits, while the Carver subtly incorporates the state\u2019s abundance of sweet potatoes. Most evenings Fullsteam finds a mobile grill in front\u2014from the Chirba Chirba Dumpling truck to Farmhand Foods\u2019 Sausage Wagon. The bar also offers a cheese plate curated by Patrick Coleff of Durham\u2019s Reliable Cheese Co.<\/p>\n
\nIt is as its name suggests: six small plates of food plus wine (and lots of it). More than 150 bottles span the clipboard menu at this smart, dark bar, located steps from Duke\u2019s west campus. From expertly paired wines by the glass to a solid sampling of cheese, offerings change weekly, if not more frequently.<\/p>\n
\nNamed for its impressive inventory of single-estate coffees, teas, and wines, 3CUPS prides itself on the transparent relationships it has with many producers, including local food artisans\u2014Portia McKnight and Flo Hawley of Chapel Hill Creamery, for instance, who offer five cheeses to plate or purchase, and April McGreger of Farmer\u2019s Daughter, who sells barrel-fermented pickles and farm-driven jams, considered by many to be a local treasure.<\/p>\n
\nAfter stints at Murray\u2019s Cheese Grand Central and Artisanal Bistro, Kate Elia left New York for her native North Carolina, where she now mans a small but sturdy case of mostly domestic cheeses at Wine Authorities. Offerings lean toward regional standouts, such as Looking Glass Creamery\u2019s ashen Ellington and Meadow Creek Dairy\u2019s pungent and buttery Grayson, for which the store has plenty of pairings to offer with more than 400 bottles of estate-grown wines.<\/p>\n<\/a>Dining Out<\/h2>\n
\nLook for a pig suspended high like a cross above this shrine to Southern cooking, which turned 30 this year. Crook\u2019s plates many cheeses from the local community. But also of note is its famed shrimp and grits: a dressed-up version of a traditional breakfast for low-country fishermen, which finds plump shrimp, mushrooms, bacon, and scallions on a savory bed of cheese grits.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nIn downtown Raleigh, the Pit offers the real deal: whole-hog, pit-smoked, vinegar-dressed barbecue. Try it, and understand why this style of meat is defended with religious zeal among eastern North Carolinians. For starters sample another sacred Southern dish: pimiento cheese made with peppers
\nand mayonnaise in flaky biscuits topped with lettuce, bacon, and tomato. For something of a holy trinity, order bourbon, too; the Pit shelves about 20 different kinds.<\/p>\n
\nCarolina-style cheeseburgers\u2014a welcome mess of chili, onions, slaw, and mustard\u2014are standard fare at grills, gas stations, and pubs throughout the state. But few boast true Carolina cheese. That\u2019s where Chuck\u2019s gets it right. At Ashley Christensen\u2019s sleek burger joint in downtown Raleigh, a melted slab of Ashe County\u2019s mountain cheddar holds \u201cThe Dirty South\u201d together: cool tomato-spiked slaw, heirloom peas, smoked pork chili, plain old yellow mustard, and thin, crisp fried onions piled on top of 100 percent chuck.<\/p>\n
\nTrue to its uplifting name, this beautiful bar in downtown Carrboro boasts walls of windows, ample outdoor seating, interesting wines by the glass, and seasonal small plates, including a thoughtful selection of cheese. Also, on Mondays many bottles on the restaurant\u2019s lengthy list are available for half price. Not a bad way to start the week.<\/p>\nMarkets & Food Trucks<\/h2>\n
\nNow in its 34th year, Carrboro requires farmers and artisans to sell their own goods. On Saturday mornings that means an opportunity to buy Chapel Hill Creamery\u2019s buttery Carolina Moon\u2014a take on camembert\u2014directly from owners Flo Hawley and Portia McKnight, and Celebrity Dairy\u2019s Silk Hope\u2014 a mold-ripened goat cheese\u2014from Brit and Fleming Pfann. The two sets of cheesemakers are among dozens of vendors at the Carrboro market, which serves as a showcase for the Piedmont\u2019s fertile farmland. All of the market goods are sourced from within a 50-mile radius.<\/p>\n
\nLocal cheese takes a ride with Will and Pop. The father-son duo grills Ashe County\u2019s Habanero Cheddar, Pepper Jack, and Hoop cheese from a truck that makes stops throughout Durham. Go cheese-only with the Primitive, or gussy up a grilled cheese with a smear of pepper jelly, mango chutney, or guacamole. Find Will & Pop\u2019s for Saturday brunch at Fullsteam Brewery, or follow their route on Twitter.<\/p>\n
\nAmerican Meltdown is the Triangle\u2019s only gourmet cheese-melt food truck, recently launched by husband-and-wife duo Paul and Alycia Inserra. Their idea is to serve this muchloved sandwich both classically and creatively, with soups and dips on the side. The truck\u2019s name was inspired by the financial meltdown of 2008, which left both Paul and Alycia, New Yorkers at the time, without jobs but with time to cook up their own ideas, including these signature hot sandwiches: A.M. Patty Melt, Mexi-Melt, Pigs \u2018n\u2019 Figs, Scarborough Fare, Fordham, and the Hangover. Their traveling fare features only North Carolina\u2013baked breads; cheeses vary but there are always local ones on the truck\u2019s changing menu.<\/p>\n