Piedmont Story

One of our favorite restaurants is Piedmont in Durham. We were excited about Piedmont before it even opened, and I will never forget that day at the Durham Farmers Market when Mark and I eavesdropped on a conversation between a food vendor and the future owners of Piedmont.

Piedmont was one of the first restaurants that opened in a wave of downtown restaurant openings. The place has a great story -- a young couple partnering with another young chef to open a downtown restaurant that features recipes from Piedmont, Italy and ingredients from the NC Piedmont. The wife, Abby, was a veteran server and bartender in Durham, and her signature clothing and heavy glasses made her easily recognizable in town. Her husband, Andy, was the chef that put Federal's bar menu on the map. Where else could you go for Duck Confit paired with PBR and a smoke? Andy's friend, Drew, came on board as well with experience in a host of fancy places out west. Drew started out as a vegetarian, but when he got into charcuterie he converted.

We were living in Old North Durham at the time, and Piedmont's location was walking distance from the house. We were thrilled to have a great place so close by, and we were eagerly awaiting the opening. It was summer of 2006 and Mark and I were strolling through the Durham Farmer's Market. This was when the market was still up in the parking lot behind it's current location. We happened to be perusing some local cheese at Celebrity Dairy, and Andy and Abby were chatting with the vendor about the opening of Piedmont. We were eavesdropping to find out the opening date and to hear how their preparations were going. Mark picked out a cheese for our dinner, and when we caught the vendor's attention to pay, he waived away our money. "It's on the house," he said. Puzzled, we thanked him and went on our way.

Fast forward about five months later, and we are sitting in the dining room of Piedmont. We were, and still are, thrilled about how the place has turned out. It is a special kind of restaurant where you can get dressed up and experience a chic dining experience, and you can also go in jeans and sit at the bar for a great cocktail and small plate. The food is special and different every time, and it gives you a gourmet experience for a less expensive price. As we were looking at the menu, Abby came up to our table. She didn't know us, but we knew her from Federal. She introduced herself and wanted to tell us a story.

"Do you remember that day at the farmer's market a while back?" she asked. Embarrassed that we were eavesdropping, we sheepishly answered, "yes..." Evidently that vendor had given us the free cheese because he thought we were the investment partner behind Piedmont. "After you walked away," Abby explained, "he said he was happy to have met 'the man' behind Piedmont." Mark laughs because the cheese wasn't the best we had ever had. He always thought the vendor gave him the cheese because it was so close to the expiration date.

Mark and I are great supporters of Piedmont, if not as investors, definitely as consumers. It saddens us that we don't see Abby's face there any more, but we do enjoy the rest of the staff there. They put up with us as outsiders, and they tolerate us even asking for items not on the regular menu. Drew is wonderful to ask Mark about his latest charcuterie endeavors.

No restaurant is perfect, and the funny thing about Piedmont is that the only less-than-great experiences we have had there is when we bring guests from out-of-town. Mostly because we hype up the restaurant so much, expectations run high and sometimes our experience doesn't meet the expectation. I complain that the menu is too advanced for those who don't live to eat. Or those who don't pore over Gourmet and Bon Appetit every month. I find that when we bring guests for dinner, Mark spends the first 15 minutes explaining the menu. Sometimes roast chicken is roast chicken.

Either way, I'm thinking about the arancini right now.