Pork, Catfish, and Bluegrass in Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina is a beautiful college town and home to the University of North Carolina.  Just as in any good college town there are some great, funky restaurants and many bars playing live music.  Amanda’s aunt and uncle Wes and Tania (and their two kids) who live in Chapel Hill took us to the favorite local restaurant Crook’s Corner.  Afterword, we enjoyed a rollicking bluegrass band in an underground bar called The Cave.

The giant pig on top of Crook’s Corner is a giveaway that delicious pork is to be had here. In addition to pork, Crooks Corner offers an array of southern classics such as hushpuppies catfish almandine, shrimp and grits.

The food at Crooks Corner has the distinct and generous feel of home cooking.  Instead of trying to make their food fancy, they focus on making it delicious, fresh, and wholesome.  The kitchen likes to riff on the southern “standards” that they serve by always including a unique and delicious twist!

Crooks Corner spices up classic sweet southern hushpuppies by adding fresh jalapeno peppers in their appetizer of jalapeno hushpuppies served with cocktail sauce.  The puppies had a steady oniony sweetness, a nice spicy jalapeno kick, a cakey interior and crisp golden crust.  The cocktail sauce backed up the hushpuppies with a bright tomato acid and the pungent kick of horseradish.

The pork comes in the form of juicy North Carolina chopped barbeque which arrived steaming fresh from the pit smoker. The cornbread that accompanied the barbeque was generously portioned and in hulking quarter-wedges of cornbread that were cut from a deep 10 inch cast-iron skillet. Dirty rice and veggies sat in as a wholesome southern addition to this classic dish.

Catfish almandine is a luxurious French preparation usually made with trout.  Crook’s Corner serves an American Creole version of this classic by using less expensive (and astonishingly good) catfish.  The catfish fillets were lightly breaded and sautéed in brown butter.  When the fish was cooked, sliced almonds and chopped parsley were toasted in the butter to make the rich, crunchy topping that was mounded on top of the fish.  This dish became even more southern and delicious with the addition of creamy seared cheese grits and crispy fried okra.

For dessert we all shared excellent banana pudding and chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream.  Afterwords Wes, Amanda, and I walked through downtown Chapel Hill towards the sounds of banjo, mandolin, guitar, stand-up bass, fiddle, and vocal harmonies bounding up the stairs from a small alley and into the bustling street.

We followed the sound of the music down into The Cave–a bar with a subterranean decor where we sat and enjoyed the sounds of Vinegar Creek Constituency bluegrass band, drank local Sky Blue Ale, and enjoyed the funky and diverse southern college town of Chapel Hill.