by Harold
My favorite fast-food restaurant in Bethesda is California Tortilla. When people come to visit, I always take them there, and without fail, they are less enthusiastic about it than I am. So now I’m thinking that’s it’s not necessarily the food, but the fact that I have such fond memories of going there for lunch every week in high school, and that makes it seem better. And then I taste the Honey Lime Burrito and realize that, no, the food is incredible and it’s just the people I’m with who are morons.
Anyway, I also have fond memories of the food I ate 10 years ago at Duke. So how does it hold up now? Is the food really that good, or did I just like being at Duke so much that everything seemed better?
Ten years later, Laura and I have revisited some of those places in the first month of our trip back:
Cosmic Cantina — still incredible, great deal, grungy environment only adds authenticity to the experience.
Jimmy Johns — The Hunter’s Club is the Honey Lime Burrito of N.C. for me. I can eat it every time and be happy.
Chick-Fil-A — All you need to know about Chick-Fil-A is that they gave out free sandwiches on Labor Day if you wore your school colors, and I had two. For lunch. And would have gone back for dinner if Laura didn’t veto that plan. (sidenote: predictably I was the only one wearing a Duke shirt in Chapel Hill, surrounded by 100 UNC supporters. But everyone was so happy to be getting free sandwiches no one even said anything to me).
Sitar India — Now here’s my first negative review. It was the highlight of Great Hall (upperclass dining) experience at Duke. Laura and I went to the actual restaurant in Durham, and it was expensive (dinner buffet: $17) and not very satisfying. Tikka Masala was really bland.
Armadillo Grill — Do-it-yourself ordering system, where you write down what you want and hand it to the cashier, is either way ahead of its time or way behind, I’m not sure which. I can’t imagine it’s faster, or more reliable. If it was genius, why is no one else doing it? Regardless, the food was solid.
Bojangles — Made me sick at Duke. Made me sick again last week. The biscuits are incredible though.
So there you have it. For the most part, the food is as good as I remembered from 10 years ago. I’ll add to this list as we go.
Laura
Harold
