Cover Story, Indy Week

Bar Lusconi: downtown Durham's new hotspot

Victoria Bouloubasis — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Chemistry beakers as a décor focal point can be easy to miss in the dark, until you spot a meandering white lab coat behind the bar. by Victoria Bouloubasis There is no flashy neon sign glowing over Bar Lusconi. There is barely any light.…

Ponysaurus: a brewery in the making

Emily Wallace — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0400

A nanobrewery with big plans for the Bull City, the Ponysaurus comes out of the barn in September. by Emily Wallace Not 24 hours after Keil Jansen finished his last day as a special education teacher at Central Park School in Durham, he sat next door at Cocoa Cinnamon with two collaborators in his new venture, Ponysaurus Brewing Co. It sounds like the title of a children's book, but Ponysaurus is a nanobrewery—smaller than a microbrewery—with big plans for the Bull City. "I was having a hard time deciding whether the totem should be a pony or a dinosaur," Jansen says of the name.…

Entrepreneur Scott Maitland toasts Chapel Hill with TOPO spirits

Jill Warren Lucas — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Maitland and business partner Esteban McMahan are determined to source nearly all ingredients within 100 miles to produce TOPO vodka, whiskey and gin by Jill Warren Lucas In 1994 as a UNC law student, Scott Maitland heard that a chain restaurant was on the verge of inking a deal to open in one of the prime spots on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. The idea of a corporate logo crowning the top of the hill in his adopted hometown was more than Maitland could stand.…

Raleigh Brewing Co.'s bold vision

Grayson Currin — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Tucked into a 19,000-square-foot warehouse along Hillsborough Street, Raleigh Brewing is more like an old familiar haunt than a room that's only been open for three months. by Grayson Currin Tucked into a 19,000-square-foot warehouse along Hillsborough Street, near the front gate of Meredith College, Raleigh Brewing Co. is comfortably worn and welcoming, more like an old familiar haunt than a room that's only been open for three months. Outside, a banner advertising the bar's companion business, Atlantic Brew Supply, hangs from a black safety railing, its bottom badly tattered and faded.…

Toast the Triangle: New brewpubs, distilleries and bars

Lisa Sorg — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Talented local beer artisans and distillers craft the elixir that, as country star Webb Pierce used to sing, stands in your glass and settles your mind. by Lisa Sorg There stands the glass Before we get into INDY Week's celebration of the Triangle's new watering holes, I'll tell you a short and true story about a odd bar and a human foot.…

Steel String Craft Brewery and taproom aims to capitalize on Carrboro's local spirit

Brian Howe — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0400

"We're as craft as craft gets: Four guys who started a bar in our hometown. We make enough beer to support our brewery, and it only travels 20 yards its whole life before it hits your glass." by Brian Howe On a recent Wednesday evening at Steel String, a craft brewery and taproom in Carrboro, people and dogs press around outdoor tables, while inside, conversations ricochet off distressed brick walls. Nearby in a glass room, several large, silver-colored tanks brew beer destined for Steel String taps.…

Bottle shops

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Where to get the goods Raleigh Bottlemixx 8111 Creedmoor Road, Suite 153, 919-615-1703, www.bottlemixx.com…

Trophy Brewing & Pizza: Three barrels and a dream

Curt Fields — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Although brewing comes before pizza in Trophy's name, one bite of their specialty pies is testament that food is not an afterthought. by Curt Fields If you happen to take your dirty clothing to the laundromat, I've found the perfect spot. It's on West Morgan Street in Raleigh.…

Mixologists demystify the craft bar experience

Jill Warren Lucas — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0400

"It's like the first time you go to Char-Grill and try to order a hamburger. You feel like you don't know what you're doing, but the next time you feel initiated." — Will Alphin, Foundation by Jill Warren Lucas Have you heard the one about the guy who walks into a bar and is so blown away by the range of booze that all he can think to order is a 7&7? It's a lot like the one about the blonde bachelorette party that can't count how many gins are on the list so they stick with Cosmopolitans.…

A good death: Like Sue Otterbourg, more people are taking control of the end

Barry Yeoman — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Terminally ill, Sue Otterbourg declined treatment so she could spend her last months living fully. by Barry Yeoman The first time I met Sue Otterbourg, she greeted me at her front door in Durham's Forest Hills neighborhood dressed as anyone would for a business meeting: earrings, wristwatch, lipstick, stylish glasses. She led me into her living room, where two armchairs flanked a fireplace, and handed me a résumé that chronicled her impressive career as an educator.…

Best of the Triangle 2013: Voters' comments

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Shout-outs for your favorite local businesses AREA modern home is a welcome addition to downtown Durham. Atomic Empire—It's more than just an awesome comic shop, more than a great place to get local beer on tap, more than a place to hang out and game with friends—it's all of those things and more in one place!…

Best of the Triangle 2013: Best Ideas of the Triangle

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0400

What would make the Triangle more culturally vibrant and politically progressive? It's Wednesday morning, and throughout the Triangle people are reading INDY Week while drinking their coffee. Suddenly, a round of spit-takes, followed by tweets:…

Best of the Triangle 2013: Readers' Choice poll winners and finalists

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Congratulations to this year's winners and finalists! And thank you to everyone who voted in this year's poll. Congratulations to this year's winners and finalists! (Finalists are listed in alphabetical order.)…

Best of the Triangle 2013: Introduction

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Your 2013 winners and finalists; June 15 party info; our cover dogs; voters' comments; the Best Ideas of the Triangle Readers' Choice poll winners and finalists Congratulations to this year's winners and finalists!…

Will the ELF, from Durham-based Organic Transit, save the planet?

Marc Maximov — Wed, 29 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Take a spin in the ELF, a category-defying new vehicle built here in Durham, and prepare to have this question shouted at you by passing motorists: "What is that?!" by Marc Maximov "What is that?!" Take a spin in the ELF, a category-defying new vehicle built here in Durham, and prepare to have this question shouted at you by passing motorists.…

An explosion of places to find affordable bicycles in the Triangle

Mary Alta Feddeman — Wed, 29 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Bike shop owners don't seem overly concerned with outcompeting their fellow shops, but instead seem to encourage their work because they share a common goal. by Mary Alta Feddeman Wheels hang from the ceiling in the back corner of Tip-Top Cycles, just above a letter of appreciation, handwritten by a customer and taped to the bright blue wall. The customer thanks the shop for parts, advice and for keeping her rolling.…

2013 Summer Calendar

Wed, 29 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

All the music & movies, theater & dance, special events & more you don't want to miss MUSIC Summer in the Triangle means music in the streets.…

How Carol Peppe Hewitt and Slow Money NC are raising funds for farmers, one loan at a time

David Fellerath — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Farming has many joys, but steady cash flow is not one of them. Slow Money NC's innovative lending system has helped arrange 80 loans to nearly 40 borrowers in North Carolina, including many names you'll recognize. by David Fellerath It's a little after noon on a recent rainy Saturday in Pittsboro, and the Chatham Mills Farmers' Market is winding down. Children are dashing about while a band plays on the porch of the nearby Chatham Marketplace co-op grocery.…

Remembering a time when DIY was not a lifestyle choice

Lisa Sorg — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Dangerous with a needle or stove, I read the new book by Chapel Hill author Emily Matchar, Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing the New Domesticity, with the same fascination as if I were reading about the Lost Tribe of Borneo. by Lisa Sorg I'm such a rotten housekeeper that I had to get a job. Dangerous with a needle or stove, I read the new book by Chapel Hill author Emily Matchar, Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing the New Domesticity, with the same fascination as if I were reading about the Lost Tribe of Borneo.…

An intergenerational discussion about rejecting the workplace for domestic life

Lisa Sorg — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

A round-table conversation on leaving the traditional workplace for a home-centered life of child-rearing, gardening, cooking, sewing and other domestic tasks. by Lisa Sorg INDY Week invited several people to an intergenerational discussion about the "new domesticity"—leaving the traditional workplace for a home-centered life of child-rearing, gardening, cooking, sewing and other domestic tasks. Each participant has a different background.…

Finder: Guide to Durham County

Lisa Sorg — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Durham is a city of things unnoticed. by Lisa Sorg A man strolls down Main Street at lunchtime playing a trumpet. Drumbeats ricochet off the windows in storefront churches downtown, where one Sunday morning a dozen or so congregants stand and sway to the music, their eyes closed, their right hands raised.…

A 278-year-old error over the N.C.–S.C. border is riling residents

Billy Ball — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Unceremoniously marked 278 years ago with a stone here or a notch on a tree there, King George's boundaries leave a portion of Fred Berlinger's Polk County home in South Carolina. by Billy Ball Fred Berlinger has a message for King George II, the long-dead English monarch whose 18th-century vision for the border between North Carolina and South Carolina is wreaking havoc on Berlinger's Polk County home. "Have you ever heard of the Revolutionary War?" says Berlinger, who lives in southwestern North Carolina—or did.…

The Greater Carolina Swap Meet

Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Since we're still bickering about the border between North and South Carolina, INDY Week proposes exchanging these 20 people, places and things from the Old North State with the Palmetto State. Given that we're apparently still bickering about the border between North Carolina and South Carolina, INDY Week proposes the following list of 20 people, places and things from the Old North State to exchange with our neighbors to the south: 1.…

The Southern baptism of Hiss Golden Messenger

Grayson Currin — Wed, 01 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

"The thing is, all of this attention for this record will be gone really soon, in less than a month. I'm glad that I have my family and responsibilities to keep me grounded, because I can see how people just spin off into the ether." — Michael Taylor by Grayson Currin The sun was at least an hour away from the horizon when Michael Taylor sent me a text message on a recent Tuesday morning. Taylor makes what's most readily described as folk-rock under the name Hiss Golden Messenger, and I wanted to ask him some questions about his new record, Haw.…

Gospel singer and pastor Shirley Caesar reflects on her life

Jane Porter — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0400

To hear her tell it, the reigning Queen of Gospel has never experienced adversity: from getting a whipping to being hungry and penniless in a strange town, it's been "a blessing in disguise." by Jane Porter On a Sunday morning in Raleigh, a small woman with a big voice leads dozens of people praying and swaying in a service that is half-spoken, half-sung and goes on well into the afternoon. Pastor Shirley Caesar, the reigning Queen of Gospel, is preaching the Word.…