Tyler's Taproom

Another night of all-American grill & bar food - we decided to venture to Tyler's Taproom, which was listed under Indy's Best of the Triangle 2009 as, essentially, the best bar. Wednesdays are their pint night in Durham, which means that if you buy their featured drink, you keep the glass.

Tonight's featured draft was the Big Boss Bad Penny (a local brewery in Raleigh), which Sid ordered. It arrived in the drink's logo glass, which was pretty cool.

This place's drinks menu is seriously about 10 pages long, and mostly beer - domestic, Belgian, Canadian, British... so if you're looking for drafts that you've never heard of, this is the place for you.

The 1o-page long beer menu... it was incredible. (Sorry, the pictures today aren't in great resolution because I only had my phone camera.)

Anyhow, onto the food. We ordered one of Tyler's specials, the Pulled Pork Sandwich, and an Ultimate Pork Sandwich. The pulled pork was a bit on the dry side, although the flavor was rich but not overwhelmingly sour. (The kaiser roll didn't help with the dryness of the meat; in the end, eating the meat without the bun actually made it much better.)

Pulled pork sandwich with garlic fries. Background: House-made chips and and the Big Boss Bad Penny draft its logo glass.

The Ultimate Pork Sandwich, on the other hand, was very tender, and fried pickles were a great complement to the juicy, crispy meat. Also, the kaiser roll was toasted, so it didn't seem as dry as the pulled pork sandwich. As you can probably tell, this one was the winner of the meal.

Their sides were house-made chips and garlic fries - we tried one of each. Both were delicious, but if you must make a choice, I would go for the fries. The garlic adds a pretty unique taste.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable meal - good food, fun atmosphere. It's definitely a great restaurant if you're catching dinner before a Durham Bulls game. (If you do go on a game night, though, be sure you get there early because they can get pretty full.)

Restaurant: Tyler's Taproom

Price Range: $10-20

- A great restaurant for a fun dinner out or late-night drinks. Worth checking it out!

Carolina Ale House's Jumbo Chicken Wings

I’d had a craving for wings for a few days, so last night at 11:30, we went to Carolina Ale House, whose wings were voted the winner according to Indy Week’s Best of the Triangle (also, every Wednesday, Carolina Ale House has a special of $2.50 for all drafts, which is what caught Sidney’s attention).

We arrived at what I imagined to be a pretty typical bar scene, with (drunk) karaoke on the patio and people shooting pool and generally walking around indoors. The restaurant is quite spacey, so it didn’t feel crowded. We seated ourselves at a corner table to avoid the loud music, but the waiters still found us pretty quickly. We ordered the wings, which they offered in several flavors: teriyaki, honey BBQ, buffalo, honey buffalo, and spicy habanero. The honey buffalo sounded tempting, but I decided to go with the original buffalo.

The big surprise was how large each wing was! On the menu, they were called “Jumbo Chicken Wings,” but I had thought that was just a name. Now I know why they’re “jumbo”!


Upon first bite, I knew why they were voted #1 wings in the Triangle. It was a wonderful blend of crispiness from the fried batter and the tenderness of the meat, and there was just the right amount of buffalo sauce – not too little so that you’re not satisfied, but not too much so as to overwhelm the taste and soak up the “crunch.” (For the same reason, I also don’t dip wings in any dressing. It’ll also save you calories – although I suppose if you’re eating wings, you’re probably not thinking about calories in the first place.)

The wings were completely satisfying – I happily finished my whole tray quickly and licked my fingers at the end. It was an awesome experience, and I’ll definitely be back for more – perhaps to try the honey buffalo next time.

Restaurant: Carolina Ale House (Durham location)
Jumbo Chicken Wings
$7.79 for 10 pieces / $15.29 for 20 pieces / $34.99 for 50 pieces
- Definitely a worthwile appetizer for your meal or a great late-night snack!