One of the reasons I haven't reviewed home-town restaurants is I'm a creature of habit. I always go to the same few places. Since I'm a nice guy, I get to know the people at those places well. So it's hard to review my favorite haunts, and I never go anyplace new.
Well, almost never. Tonight, a friend suggested we try Patrick's Seasonal Cuisine. It's in North Durham: 4201 Roxboro Road, two blocks from the intersection of Duke and Roxboro. Durhamites may shudder when they figure out the location: it's one of those cursed buildings. I can't remember all the restaurants that have been through there. The earliest place I remember was Ole NC BBQ after they moved out of North Duke Mall (a.k.a. The Mall That Time Forgot [Thanks, Rob!]). Ole NC died after they moved (they later reincarnated back in the mall), and a succession of failing restaurants followed. Patrick's is the current tenant.
Patrick's was described to me as "Southern fusion." I think neo-Southern might be a better description, as fusion cooking makes me think of Asian influences and the U.S. West coast, but whatever. Patrick's definitely has Southern roots. The interior made me think of places I've visited in New Orleans, but the building hasn't been extensively remodeled. It's pleasant inside, with a welcoming foyer and bar. The large space is split up into more intimate rooms.
The menu brought out the restaurant's Southern roots, with items like a fried green tomato appetizer, fried chicken on mashed potatoes and gravy, and "My Favorite Dish (a.k.a. shrimp and grits)". Thank god they had sweetened iced tea: I don't think I could have stood a restaurant claiming Southern roots if they didn't have sweetened iced tea. Patrick's has a good wine selection, with many wines available by the glass. We had the pulled pork spring rolls (ok, maybe this is fusion cooking) with a peach dipping sauce. When I hear "pulled pork" around these parts, I expect something at least a little spicy. The rolls were adequate, but they needed some heat. I think the dipping sauce would have worked better against a spicier roll. But not bad, overall.
Second course: I had a Caesar salad. If the salad had been dressed more evenly and the croutons better, this would have been excellent. But the croutons were soft, anonymous, and slightly burned. The dressing was slight on the top of the salad, with too much at the bottom. I liked it at first, but tired of it and didn't finish it. My friend was happy with his potato soup with bacon and gorgonzola.
My friend had a jones for steak, so he ordered filet. The steak sub-menu lists an amusingly large number of ways to get potatoes with your steak: 10 or 12 variations, including mashed or french-fried sweet potatoes. The mashed potato mixture with horseradish was a good foil for the steak. The steak itself was juicy and tasty, and cooked as ordered -- a pleasant surprise. ;) The anonymous vegetable medley was unremarkable. Patrick's calls itself "seasonal cuisine," which I assume means some dishes, especially vegetables, will rotate according to local availability. I hope future vegetable sides can measure up.
My entree was the shrimp and grits. This was an ambitious Mexican-infused attempt: the traditional bacon was replaced with chorizo, the accompanying sauce was a "chipotle demi-glace," and there were small tomato chunks (tomato? WTF?). It worked pretty well, but not perfectly. I would leave out the tomato and crumble the sausage amongst the rest of the dish. But the sausage was flavorful and moist, the shrimp were properly cooked (not overdone), the grits were much better than run-of-the-mill, the mushrooms were substantial and tasty, and the chipotle sauce set things off well. I was happy overall.
Patrick's menu lists a number of desserts, including several sorbets. My friend was happy with his lemon sorbet. However, my strawberry shortcake didn't quite work. It was a standard assemblage of split biscuit, strawberries and whipped cream inside and around, topped with a bit of powdered sugar -- a classic, likeable dish. In this case, the berries weren't quite up to snuff: they were more white than red. The biscuit tasted fine at the start, but a chemical taste (leavening?) built up on the tongue -- not good. The whipped cream was the best part: although it tasted slightly different from what I'm used to, it still tasted good. The serving size was pretty large -- actually, that was the case with everything we ordered. The menu actually doesn't list strawberry shortcake per se; they indicate a seasonal shortcake, with the fruit changing according to availability. With a better biscuit and ripe fruit in season, I'd eat this all day. But I didn't finish this either.
Service was pleasant and attentive, with no gaffes or errors. We had a question about a sauce: it turned out to be the wrong thing due to a kitchen mistake, but it was only uncovered because the waitperson pursued the issue with more diligence than most waitstaff. She also offered to comp the errant sauce.
Entrees here run 9 to 15 dollars, except for some of the steaks. There are a selection of pastas and salads for lighter dinner portions, and there's also a lunch menu. Overall I was happy with the experience; I'll probably go back and make very different menu choices. I hope these folks can shake the location's curse.
Did the desert menu have a version of 'naner Pudding? There are a number of restaurants around here that do a fancified bannana pudding with nary a Nilla wafer to be found. I'm particularly fond of the one at Artie's in Fairfax, VA.
Posted by: Eric Akawie | 07 July 2004 at 10:24 PM
I wonder if the tomatoes in the shrimp & grits sauce might also have been a function of "seasonal" vegetables. That really does leap out as weird.
Posted by: Jack F. | 08 July 2004 at 08:58 AM
Nope, no puddin' that I saw.
Posted by: TMC | 08 July 2004 at 09:29 AM
I didn't see any banana pudding either.
Actually, the dessert manu is a little odd: it's too long, not really seasonal, and not Southern. It doesn't look like they pay much attention to desserts, which is the reverse of a lot of restaurants. We'll see what some of the other desserts look like.
The tomatoes could have been "seasonal," but the menu explicitly lists them as part of the dish. Go figure.
Posted by: Joe | 09 July 2004 at 12:20 AM
Hum. My experience with pulled pork is in Cubano food, and generally I find that it is not spiced. I was actually surprised that you EXPECTED it to be spiced!
Unfortunately, I'm now hungry. I need to not read this page unless it's after a meal.
Posted by: Kira | 20 July 2004 at 10:25 PM
Yes, you're part Hispanic and from Florida. I'm a middle-class white boy geek from CA. Wait, I'm an overweight middle-aged Southern pseudo-gentleman, and this is NC, so pulled pork means -- oh, I give up. ;)
Posted by: Joe | 20 July 2004 at 11:58 PM
I hear Patrick's was condemned recently. Friends of mine had reservations last night and found the restaraunt padlocked when they got there.
Posted by: Lauren | 01 May 2005 at 08:57 PM
I haven't been by there lately, but they haven't answered the phone the last two times I've called during what I would assume are normal business hours, so they probably are closed -- too bad. Don't know about the padlocking or condemning though. If I'm out that way I'll swing by and take a look. Or maybe one of our research correspondents can pay a visit. Anyway, thanks for the information.
Posted by: Joe | 05 May 2005 at 06:52 PM
If anyone is interested in accurate information, I happen to be someone on the inside. As a matter of fact, after stumbling upon this review, I believe that I was the "diligent waitress" from the original review.
First of all, the shrimp and grits is an amazing dish and the tomatoes are brilliant in them...fusing with the chipotle veal reduction...yum. I could go for some right now...but unfortunately I can't, because yes, Patrick's has been closed. We, meaning the entire family of staff..including the chef himself, were locked out of the building overnight and left the next morning without jobs or explanation. This is all thanks to the snake of a man that owns the building, (and Ole' NC BBQ) Chester Heath. He gave us no notice, NO REASON, and no way out...or in for that matter..he would not allow Patrick in to even obtain personal belongings and things like employees' paychecks. Thanks a lot. Patrick and his wife seem to have very few legal rights since the business was in transition and paperwork was still unfinished. Chester was originally an investor and became ready to pull out very early in the game, so Pat found a way to keep his business alive on his own, bought Chester out and became a PAYING tenant. (You should not assume the rent check was not written, b/c is was..and Chester refused it).There seems to be no logic behind this man..or spine. But as I said, actual business ownership, leases, etc. still weren't fully processed. So he still managed to get his way by simply changing the locks in our sleep.
I probably shouldn't be going into all this, but as a close friend to Patrick and supporter of the one decent restaurant that north Durham housed; I thought at least a few people should know the truth.
Posted by: Katy | 15 May 2005 at 01:16 PM
Hey, thanks for the information. This beats the hell out of the Herald-Sun article earlier in the week,
I coincidentally drove past the building earlier today, and it definitely did looks like one of those angry landlord situations, with the padlocks on the building and the signs on the door about entry only by permission of the owner. I was wondering who that owner might be, as the situation reminded me of what I've seen played out repeatedly on 9th Street in buildings owned by Bill Fields.
Since I wrote the original review, I've talked to some other people who were really hoping that, in Patrick's, North Durham would get a fine dining place that deserved the name and would stay. I hate it that that hasn't happened. I used to live in the area, and coming downtown to eat gets to be a bit of a trek.
So... what's the problem? Can North Durham not support a fine dining spot? Is it the location in particular? Was this failure just happenstance? I'd really like to know. I mean, I like Bojangle's and Le Coco as much as anyone, but I'd really like to see fine dining make it north of 85 in Durham.
Posted by: Joe | 15 May 2005 at 04:08 PM
I live in the general area surrounding Patrick's, and grew to love the restaurant. I've watched business after business die in that building (including the original Darryl's) and it was great to have a place close to home for good food and good service. I've posted a few positive reviews elsewhere, as a matter of fact.
Those of us who like Patrick's are deeply disappointed at its closure. I know North Durham has enough citizens interested in decent cuisine at a decent price to support a place like Patrick's, and he always seemed to attract a decent crowd.
If there is any way for my words of encouragement to make their way out of the blogosphere to the Cowdens, I'd like them to know how much we customers enjoyed their restaurant. Please, if you can find a location, stay in or near North Durham.
And if there is any way for Chester Heath to find out what we think of him, so much the better. Ole NC BBQ has OK pork (if you like electric-cooked) and sides that $uck beyond belief. I haven't been back in over 5 years. If you want pig, go to Bullock's, Q Shack, or Allen & Sons on 86.
I guess the fact that he prefers an empty building and pi$$ed-off clientele to a bustling business on his property gives us a feel for Mr. Heath's acumen. Maybe he enjoys being a graveyard tender. Maybe he preferred that atrocious bright yellow and black Humdingers (no alcohol!) and resented the Cowdens success where he couldn't survive.
Posted by: Ron | 20 May 2005 at 12:41 PM
I just moved in 6 months ago (yes, from California!), literally about a minute from Patrick's. My wife and I loved it, and were so happy to see it become a bustling popular spot within months of opening.
It was almost like a movie set when I drove up to it last week and found these melodramatic signs on the door.
What is Heath's side of the story? That is, why does HE say he did this? Unless he is absolutely mad, he must have some business logic rolling around in his head, some perceived slight from Patrick. What's going on?
Maybe I'll call the number on the melodramatic signs and see what happens on the other end. I'll let you all know what happens!
Posted by: Eric | 05 June 2005 at 01:25 AM
Eric, if you talk to anyone, please let us know the details.
This may be wavering off-topic, but does anyone know if there's any publicly-available fine dining around Treyburn? I guess that qualifies as North Durham, or maybe Way-North Durham. :) You'd think with the money neded to live there, there might be some nice restaurants. That might also affect the ability of other places north of 85 to succeed.
Posted by: Joe | 05 June 2005 at 02:23 PM
Patrick's is gone. The signs were in the dumpster yesterday, replaced with a new set of signs. Very sad. I asked a waiter and he said they opened yesterday, and will be like a cross between OUtback Steak House and Chili's. He said a group of "local investors" bought it. Hmmm. Could it be that greed drove this to happen to poor Patrick?
I will check out the new place. Most restaurants have the best quality their opening month.
Posted by: Eric | 15 June 2005 at 06:10 PM
Damn. Just what we need -- another "Golden Outhouse" or whatever they'll call themselves. They'll probably have mediocre steak and pre-prepared appetizers that'll suck, and they'll probably do well. Argh.
Posted by: Joe | 18 June 2005 at 06:42 PM
Actually, there are no fine dining restaurants in Northern Durham. I have lived here now for about 26 years and was so excited about Patrick's. It was as good as it gets anywhere. The new people that have opened in Patrick's old location are the family that owned the Heartland Steakhouse in Hillsborough, which was upscale. This is also the restaurant that burned 18 months ago. Their food should be good, but I miss Patrick! Fran
Posted by: Fran | 19 June 2005 at 07:48 PM
Review of Rhino's. Grade: D
I went with my wife to the Patrick's replacement, Rhino's. It is doing very well, I think: the parking lot is usually full. The atmospher is similar to Patrick's, though a bit more casual, which we liked.
Unfortunately, we were both extremely disappointed in the quality of the food. I got the fettucini alfredo with chicken, and it was horrible. Instead of creamy cheesy alfredo sauce, it was as if they had simply substituted butter and parmigian cheese to save money. The bottom of the plate wasn't dripping in white alfredo sauce, but a pool of disgusting butter. Also, it tasted like kerosine, perhaps because of the process they used to "grill" the chicken.
The macaroni and cheese sidedish was the same: a large pool of butter with imperceptible cheese. In fact, the two dishes were almost indistinguishable in taste! Even Golden Corral offers better cuisine than this place.
I ate half my dish and brought the rest home, not because I was full, but because it just tasted awful so I thought I'd save it until I was really hungry the next day. I was also thinking about saving room for dessert, but we were so disappointed in the entrees that we just left, not wishing to take a risk.
That said, you'd expect it to be CHEAPER than Patrick's. Nope. Similar prices. Entrees go for around 10-18 bucks.
I give it a D because I liked the atmosphere but hated the food. Overall, a very frustrating and disappointing experience: we live about half a mile from Rhino's and were very sad to have a great affordable restaurant leave North Durham.
Posted by: Eric | 31 July 2005 at 06:43 PM
Move further south boys" we gonna rise agin.
Posted by: willie nelson | 09 August 2005 at 08:26 PM
Wow, everybody stops by. Eric, thanks for the review; Willie, thanks for the advice, but that's hard to take in August. ;)
Posted by: Joe | 09 August 2005 at 11:48 PM
Very interested reading!!!!! I want to thank ALL of y'all for your great thoughts, reviews, and favorable comments about Patrick's. I am indeed Patrick, and have just recently stumbled upon this posting.
The person who posted as Katy on the 15th of May has hit it right on the head. Patrick's was closed due to the landlord locking us out overnight and wrongfully terminating our lease. The restaurant (we feel) had overcome the stigma of that property and was on the right track to becoming something special for the residents of North Durham. There desperately needs to be an upscale casual restaurant that offers GREAT food and service at reasonable prices. Business was great and we would still be there if it had not been for the Heaths decision ton lock us out and bring in other folks that they knew (they are by the way, partners in the new Rhino's as well).
If any of y'all are in the Chapel Hill area please stop by and say hi. I have just recently gotten on board with A Southern Season and am the Executive Chef of the Weathervane.
Thank you again for your thoughts and patronage of Patrick'.
Sincerely
Patrick Cowden
[email protected]
[email protected]
PS at a later date I'll post the reasons behind the inspiration for the shrimp and grits and tomatoes :)
Posted by: Patrick Cowden | 12 November 2005 at 05:57 PM
Patrick, thanks a bunch. I continue to be amazed at the amount of traffic and paticipation this one post has generated. It indicates how much interest there was in your restaurant and what you brought to North Durham. I don't know how long or what it's going to take, but at some point, someone will get a fine dining establishment going in North Durham. When it happens, I hope you're involved.
BTW, I totally fucking love it that a Google search for Rhino's in Durham pulls up a review of Patrick's. ;)
Posted by: Joe | 12 November 2005 at 11:28 PM
Well, it looks like Rhino's croaked: I was by there around the first of the year, and saw a big "For Lease" sign hanging off the building. I was by there again tonight, which reminded me to keep this continuing saga alive on my blog. ;)
Posted by: Joe | 19 January 2006 at 07:35 PM
Hey, check it out: Ole NC BBQ is going back in the Building of Doom.
Posted by: Joe | 02 October 2006 at 04:52 PM
I haven't lived in Durham for 20 years (Used to live off Chalk Line Road) Are all the Darryl's now gone? I am going to Lexington KY soon and there used to be one there.
Posted by: | 05 October 2006 at 04:44 PM
The Darryl's that used to be at 15-501 and Garrett Road has been closed for a few years. I think the building is even gone now. From rooting around on the WWW, it looks like the chain might be owned by Houlihan's, but it's unclear. I can't find a list of Darryl's on the WWW either. However, searching for Darryl's and Lexington KY yielded a location, so it looks like you're in luck (as long as that one hasn't closed).
Posted by: Joe | 05 October 2006 at 05:40 PM
I really liked the new place in Brier Creek called Brasa. I would check that place out.
Posted by: Hudson Burch | 09 July 2007 at 06:21 PM