Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
grass and mint. Similarly, a sweet-hot chili
sauce puts the fire in a robust pork terrine
that uses a head-to-tail sampling of parts
from Fickle Creek Farm hogs (how thor-
oughly Chinese it is to use up all the “icky
bits”). Pork is always popular, of course, in
this great barbecue-centric state, but at
Lantern you'll get a coconut-braised Niman
Ranch shank, so tender it falls off the
bone. Want a little seafood? Try Reusing's
salt-and-pepper shrimp with fried jalape-
ños and coriander, or locally caught fried
flounder with garlic, chilies, tamarind,
fresh lime leaf, carrot salad, and jasmine
rice. Her drunken chicken uses top-quality
Rainbow Meadow Farm chicken, mari-
nated in ginger, black vinegar, and sherry
with a garden-fresh side of local greens
and cucumbers. One of Reusing's signa-
ture dishes, her “tea and spice” smoked
chicken with yang chow pork and shrimp
fried rice, combines a whole host of North
Carolina ingredients in new ways.
Don't worry about making your reser-
vations in advance—they're not accepted.
You'll just have to wait for a table like
everybody else.
Lantern, Andrea Reusing's fusion cuisine restau-
rant in Chapel Hill.
L
$$$
The Carolina Inn,
211 Pitts-
boro St. (
&
800/962-8519
or 919/933-
2001; www.carolinainn.com). $$$
Siena
Hotel,
1505 E. Franklin St. (
&
800/223-
7393
or 919/929-4000; www.sienahotel.
com).
423 West Franklin Rd. (
&
919/969-
8846;
http://lanternrestaurant.com).
(
Raleigh-Durham (18 miles/29km).
American Regional Stars
155
Lilly's
God Bless Our Local Farmers
Louisville, Kentucky
When Kathy Cary first opened her gourmet
takeout shop and catering business in
1979, the idea of celebrating local farmers,
fishermen, and food artisans was some-
thing you rarely heard in the middle of the
U.S. In 1988, when she turned the catering
business into a full-fledged restaurant, it
was still a fresh concept here in Bluegrass
Country.
But in Kathy Cary's kitchen, honoring
farm produce and southern food was more
than just a fad. Like the West Coast's Alice
Waters, Cary gradually built a team of sup-
pliers, encouraging them to pursue their
