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Carolina Crossroads 211 Pittsboro Street (919) 933-2001
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Winter 2002
By Lisa Lewis

Dining at the Carolina Crossroads restaurant, located in the Carolina Inn on the UNC Chapel Hill campus, is a unique experience. Imagine sinking into a soft easy chair in a warm and welcoming place, where all of your food and drink-related wishes come true. Now you are starting to picture the ambiance of Carolina Crossroads, which is both elegant and comfortable with unsurpassed service. Best of all, the food is truly outstanding. Chef Brian Stapleton and his team consistently create interesting and delicious dishes - so reliably that Carolina Crossroads was recently awarded four stars by Mobil for the second year in a row.

On our last visit, my companion and I explored the Winter Menu, which stays constant for the season, and the Tasting Menu, which changes every Thursday. The greatest difficulty was choosing from the many wonderfully described choices. We sipped complimentary hot cider with spiced apples as we considered the menu, which includes game, seafood, vegetarian selections and classic (though anything but traditionally-prepared) meat and potatoes. We started with Yukon Gold Potato Chowder - a comfort food classic taken to a new level with a tender, lean duck confit and a sweet, chewy, unusual dried beet garnish.

We had to try the Corn Meal Fried Oyster Caeser Salad after chef de cuisine Todd Dumke told us he'd been eating the accompanying Chipotle Ranch dressing "on everything". He was right - the dressing was outstanding, but equally special were the sweet and crunchy cornbread croutons and the tender, juicy fried oysters with their delicate taste of the sea. Like all great dishes, the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.

Another must-try appetizer is the N.C. Quail filled with Butternut Squash. Tender, savory, not at all gamey quail with a smoky country ham and focaccia base for the squash stuffing delighted our taste buds. The accompanying winter vegetable slaw was a tad on the oily side, but an excellent textural contrast to the quail without a strong competing flavor.

After a sorbet intermezzo (lemon, served on raspberry puree) our palates were clear to experience the entrees. The Buttermilk Marinated Crisp Rabbit Leg, served with a mushroom barley risotto was another example of game perfectly cooked and delicately flavored. The Oven Roasted Free Range Chicken was firm, with a "real" chicken flavor that I realized is missing from most supermarket chicken. The chicken was served with a savory and intense combination of wild mushrooms, yellow hominy and a rosemary-scented sauce that was a little saltier than necessary.

Other entrees we tried were a striped bass served in a deeply flavorful merlot reduction, accompanied by cheesy orzo, spinach greens and glazed morels, and an outstanding Muscovy duck breast, cooked medium rare and served with a smoky, perfectly done cassoulet and "mom's collard greens".

Assuming you are able to make a decision on what food to order, your next challenge may be selecting a wine. Fortunately for us, wine steward Thomas Thorne was available to guide us through the extensive wine list. Carolina Crossroads offers many wines from smaller vineyards, many unknown and unavailable to the retail customer. Our Hongell Grenache, a 1999 from Biscay Vineyards of the Barossa Valley, was unusual and versatile, and worked well with the varied foods we tasted.

Finally, if you are a person who checks the dessert menu first to decide how much (or little) to eat at dinner, you will definitely want to pace yourself and save room for one of the Carolina Crossroads homemade desserts, ice creams or sorbets. The Blackstrap Molasses Pecan Pie was heaven on a plate, with homemade pralines and caramel sauce. You can also indulge in an after dinner drink or cheese sampler.

The hospitality and traditions of the south meet with creativity and inspired cooking at the Carolina Crossroads.


Carolina CrossRoads Restaurant is very pleased to announce that they have received the prestigious Mobil Four-Star Award for 2001. This recognition has been awarded only to an elite group of 248 restaurants in the United States including just four in all of North Carolina. The Mobil Travel Guide is one of the most respected guides to fine dining. The Guide's independent experts judge restaurants on the basis of service, food quality, decor and ambiance.
Braised Veal Shortribs, Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Corn and Braised Collards, Red Pepper Spaetzle, Natural Jus; just one of the many incredible plates that Executive Chef Brian Stapleton and Chef De Cuisine Todd Dumke have created.