Pop's by day

In my (now half-hearted because I lack time, money, and noms companionship) quest to eat my way through Durham, I usually overlook those restaurants that elegantly feed people by day (or evening) before becoming the playground for drunk college students by night (or middle of the night).  Tell me it's not appealing to be cutting into your steak and potatoes or rolling your sushi in soy sauce while thinking about the number of kids who must have simulated sex here just last night.  So maybe it wasn't on this table, but it was this general area of land... unless you are sitting in a booth, in which case it very well could have been on this table.  Yeah, you're right... it's not very appealing.

Okay, fine.. but then I realize pretty much every nice restaurant in Durham is willing to convert their space into an event venue and I hear raving reviews of how great that nice restaurant is... and I want to eat at it anyways because I always want to eat anyways.

The only time I had set foot into Pop's - and by set foot into, I really mean shoved into by a mob of impatient party-goers, narrowly avoiding having to pay cover, cool - was during it's "club" form.  Hard to remember much when it's dark and crowded and I'm a little inebriated.

But in it's restaurant form, it's a really warm&cozy place.  It made me feel like I was in a cabin up in the mountains (we did have to climb some stairs) what with it's open kitchen giving me a clear view of their wood-burning oven and the color scheme... and the massive wall of alcohol.

Why not go for a $10 pizza at a pizza place?  Salted egg with prosciutto, olives, and (my favorite) cloves of roasted garlic.

I can't say I wasn't underwhelmed by the size of the egg... or the fact that there was only one.  In an ideal world, maybe a little less prosciutto and three more eggs.  Still no stopping my attacking this thing with my hands (because the knife wasn't sharp enough).  Such a great pizza that I slowly devoured through chatting with the girls and being half distracted watching Les Miserables (because I had no knife).

Alicia's pasta dish.  I have no comments except that the sight of corn was very appealing to me.  All she had to say was that it was small.

The dish that intrigued us all was the chicken under a brick.

"I think the chicken is cooked under a brick."

"Does it have a brick flavor?"

I would include the picture but it was not very pretty from Alicia's angle.  The memory I have of it in my head is beautiful though.

Gihan said it was good and filling... in the end that's all I really ask of a meal.

Dessert for me was a lemon buttermilk sorbet palette cleanser... it was tart... too tart for my likings.  Should have gone with the apple crisp.  Always go with the apple crisp.
Dessert on my mind and spring break on the horizon.