(LANTERN EXCERPTS)
Top 25 Great Restaurants from the Triangle to the Coast
By Moreton Neal
Lantern
423 Franklin Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Sometimes mistaken for “Asian fusion,” Lantern might be more accurately
described as Pan Asian—different countries are represented, but never
on the same plate. This bustling Franklin Street spot fills a niche in
Chapel Hill for experienced diners a little jaded with American
regional cuisine. If the dining room feels acoustically challenged,
head for the tiny black and red bar in back, one of the great public
rooms in town.
by Moreton Neal
Andrea Reusing
After Andrea arrived in Chapel
Hill from New York in 1996, what she missed most was dining in
Chinatown. A self-taught cook, she tried food writing and catering
before joining Louis Cherry and Chrish Peel to help open Enoteca Vin.
Her original menu there won raves, but she still longed for a place
where Asian food made with top-quality ingredients could be obtained
without spending a week’s paycheck. Lantern is the realization of that
dream. With this unique restaurant, Andrea has proven herself to be one
of the most original chefs in the region. She unfailingly shares the
credit for Lantern’s tantalizing menu with her partner Brendan Reusing,
and Sylvia Pahola, and a loyal staff.
By Barbara Ensrud
As a wine enthusiast I often peruse the wine list before I look at
the menu. If there is something I particularly want to taste, then the
food I order depends on what will work best with the wine.
Here are the things I look for in a good wine list:
a) Breadth. The list doesn’t have to be huge, but I like to see a
number of choices and more than one style of a particular wine—not just
one Sauvignon Blanc, for instance, but a couple, such as one from
California or Bordeaux perhaps, and one from the Loire Valley or New
Zealand. I also like to see interesting and thoughtful choices beyond
the usual Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Happily, we’re
seeing more of this in many local restaurants.
b) Wine and food compatibility. How the wines complement the kinds
of food the restaurant serves. An excellent list in this regard is at
the Lantern in Chapel Hill. The wines are clearly selected to work with
the restaurant’s Asian/Fusion dishes and their exotic flavors, some
with a slightly sweet accent. Another is at Magnolia Grill, where
chef/owner Ben Barker personally oversees the wine list. “We’re as
focused on wine here as we are on food,” he says. “One enhances the
other.”
c) Value. I don’t like to be gouged by wine pricing in restaurants.
Making a profit is one thing, but when a single glass of wine costs as
much as the restaurant paid for the bottle—that’s gouging. Wines by the
glass have gotten way overpriced in many restaurants, and it’s short
sighted. The fact is when wine prices are reasonable and fair, the
restaurant sells more wine.
d) Depth. This is not a requisite for what I consider a good wine
list, but it’s always interesting for wine buffs to muse over a list
knee-deep in Bordeaux, California Cabs and Italian or Rhône-style reds.
There are two things I would like to see on Triangle wine lists:
moderate by-the-glass prices and, please, a dry rosé or two by the
glass, especially during the warmer months. We might have to expand the
list in the future— North Carolina wine lists are getting better. But
below are a dozen of my current picks for best wine lists from the
Triangle to the Coast—in alphabetical order.
Lantern
423 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill 27514
Ph. 919-969-8846
Nifty choices that nicely complement pan-Asian flavors—lots of
Rieslings, but I do wish there were a dry Alsace Riesling among them.
Good values
The Triangle
abounds in good bars, and most folks have their favorites. The best
bars offer great drink variety–classic cocktails as well as special
martinis, exotic tropicals, single malts, excellent brews, and
after-dinner specialties such as sweet wines, Port, Madeira and
brandies—but ambience is also important, whether the atmosphere is
lively or a little more sedate for quiet rendezvous.
Here are ten to check out:
