Around Town: One Garners Spot in Top 100

Posted on July 21, 2015

Meadowmont eatery One Restaurant, a top favorite of many Chapel Hill-area diners, has made a national top-100 favorites list. Approximately 4,500 dining aficionados submitted more than 160,000 reviews to the Opinionated About Dining website, placing One in spot 79. Among the raves, a description accompanying the ranking said One’s “menu features the best ingredients the region has to offer.”

Shane Ingram opened One in 2010, and since 2013, chefs Kim Floresca and Daniel Ryan have been creating dishes in the style of New American cuisine, often using local ingredients on items such as pork belly with boiled peanut and turnip slaw, pasta with octopus and a fennel and hazelnut sauce, and lemongrass custard with chiffon and salted cucumber sherbet. The wine menu is extensive, with selections from around the world.

Hours are 5:30 p.m. to close, Tuesday- Saturday.

One Restaurant, 100 Meadowmont Village Circle, Chapel Hill, 919-537-8207

Soup-and-Sandwich Shop Expands to Carrboro

You can always tell the first-timer diners, said Tom + Chee manager Jordan Moretz. They spend five minutes looking in the window, five minutes standing in line thinking and another 10 minutes at the register, deciding whether to go with a selection from the menu or build their own sandwich from available breads, cheeses, meats and veggies.

Tom + Chee owners Trew Quackenbush and Corey Ward started their soup and grilled-sandwich shop in Cincinnati in 2009, and after winning funding in 2013 from the TV show Shark Tank, they decided to expand to college towns across the country. They began in Carrboro, snagging a spot in a new building that arose from the renovation of the Carrboro Arts Center plaza. The store opened graduation weekend in May.

Menu favorites include the Flying Pig (gouda, bacon and turkey on white bread), Swiss & ’Shroom (a vegetarian sandwich of Swiss cheese, mushrooms and onions on rye) and the S’more (a sliced doughnut filled with graham cracker, chocolate and marshmallow mascarpone).

Hours at present are 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Monday-Saturday, and until 9 p.m. on Sunday. That might change once Tom + Chee receives its license to sell wine and beer.

Tom + Chee, 370 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-869-7228

Egg & I Serves Up Many Options

Egg lovers have a new dining option: The Egg & I opened in East 54 in December and serves egg dishes for breakfast, brunch and lunch. Cole and Stephanie Harris, along with Stan and Teresa Pace, own the American home-style diner, an independent outlet of a national franchise.

Diners can have eggs cooked any way they want, served indoors or on the patio. Crowd favorites include the Vera Cruz chicken and avocado omelet, crab cake Benedict, Colorado Jack Scrambler (eggs scrambled with ham, pepper jack cheese, peppers, tomatoes and onions) and a Greek frittata. On the sweet side are sourdough French toast, the Patriot Waffle (topped with raspberries, blueberries and powdered sugar) and whole-wheat pancakes.

Hours: 6 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays and 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on weekends.

The Egg & I, 1101 Environ Way, Chapel Hill, 919-537-8488

Trolly Stop Arrives in Chapel Hill

Coinciding with the opening of baseball season, Trolly Stop Hot Dogs opened for business on West Franklin Street after gutting the former Great Clips space and rebuilding it from the studs in.

Rusty Carter ’71 started the original Trolly Stop in Wrightsville Beach in 1976. He sold an independent franchise to his former classmate Rick Coombs ’73, who knew from his student days that downtown Chapel Hill could use another option for inexpensive, late-night noshing. Coombs’ Trolly is the fifth in North Carolina.

Customers order from the counter, selecting from among six types of dogs — all beef, beef and pork, sausage, turkey, soy and — hedging a bit here — hamburger in the shape of a hot dog. Toppings range from the traditional mustard, chili, slaw and onions to melted cheddar, bacon bits, chopped tomato, cucumber, jalapenos and sauerkraut. Side dishes include homemade baked beans and kosher dill pickles; for dessert, there’s Hershey’s ice cream and locally baked cookies. The Trolly also offers gluten-free options.

The Trolly opens at 11 a.m. for lunch, and Thursday through Saturday serves until 3 a.m.

Trolly Stop Hot Dogs, 306-B W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-240-4206

Meetings by Day, Meet-Ups by Night

The 5,000 square feet one flight up from Sutton’s is an event space during daylight hours. But once the sun sets, it transforms into a bar, and later still, the DJ comes in and the dance floor comes alive.

Welcome to The Strowd, the creation of business partners Michael Rosenbacher ’88 and George Draper. They renovated the space to its brick walls and exposed ceiling beams. Abstract paintings, leather couches, chrome tables and modernist bar chairs give the place an urban atmosphere.

Lacking a kitchen, The Strowd works with a caterer to host business gatherings (imagine PowerPoint slides on two 100-inch HD projectors), receptions and other events for up to 360 guests. It has a full bar serving cocktails and 16 craft beers on tap.

The Strowd is a members-only venue; a short application form is available online at thestrowd.com. The bar opens at 5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and at 8 p.m. on Saturday. Closing time all days is 2 a.m.

The Strowd, 159½ East Franklin St., Chapel Hill, 919-929-0101

— Nancy E. Oates