The Bean and Barrel

While I have loved my move to Durham, I still definitely miss living in Chapel Hill.  Being closer to work, going out more often on Franklin St, proximity to my sister, and my old apartment.  It was up Mt. Carmel Church Rd. across the street from The Governor’s Club.  Seeing deer in the trees as I drove to work in the morning, watching the sun rise or set over Jordan Lake, leaving the door unlocked, being able to walk to the grocery store; all of the those things were great.  Another great thing about that area was The Bean and Barrel.  It is a coffee and wine shop that was a block from my apartment complex.  I often walked over there to grab a coffee on a Saturday morning, or to use their free wireless when I was too cheap to get the internet after the guy in the apartment next to me moved and I had no one to pirate it from. 

Right before I left, they got their liquor license.  Now they have a full bar, and the well drinks are mid-shelf, it is awesome.  It was bittersweet to learn that right after I moved they put up the only thing missing in my neighborhood, a bar I could walk to, with top shelf liquor.  They also serve pretty good food at the B and B, it is just a nice place to grab a drink, beer, glass of wine or a sandwich.  Last weekend my sister and I needed to burn some time while my car was getting an oil change, so we decided to go back to a place where we have had many a lunch after a day at the pool.  I got a turkey Reuben and the sweet corn and crab chowder.  It was a nice Reuben with plenty of sauerkraut and a rich, creamy, spicy chowder with an overriding, deep flavor of crab.  All in all, a great lunch for a cold day.  Jordan got a turkey sandwich and a mocha frap, The B and B has her favorite mocha fraps, and I think she has tried them at everywhere in a 30 mile radius. 

It was a nostalgic trip to a place that is a nice piece of the community in the Chatham County part of Chapel Hill, at a spot that is getting better and better all the time.