My favorite Triangle restaurants and things

It is hard to believe I have been in the Triangle for over 9 years now (3 in North Raleigh, 4 at NCSU, and 2 in Durham). In that time, I have found lots of delightful places. Below are some of my favorites. These are the places I would take an out of town visitor, but I hope locals will get some utility from this list, too, as many of the places are not well known.

Restaurants

• Mami Nora's Peruvian Rotisserie - NE Durham
• India Palace (lunch buffet) - Chapel Hill
• Tower Indian Restaurant - Morrisville
• A Gracious Plenty - Durham, Near RTP
• Big Ed's (breakfast) - Downtown Raleigh
• Taqueria El Paraiso - East of Downtown Durham
• Mitch's Tavern (chili and limeade) - Raleigh, by NCSU
• Dain's Place - Durham, near Duke
• Bella Italia - Wake Forest, near Wakefield
• Hog Heaven - NW Durham
• Sitar India Palace - West Durham
  
• Cosmic Cantina - Durham, near Duke
  

Other Sites

• Sarah P. Duke Gardens - Durham
• Outdoor Movies at the NC Museum of Art - Raleigh
• Pullen Park - Raleigh, near NCSU
  
• Raleigh Little Theatre and Rose Gardens - Raleigh, by NCSU
  
• Movies at the Carolina Theatre - Downtown Durham
• Reynold's Coliseum - NCSU
• Wandering around between Hillsborough St. and Wade Ave. - Raleigh
• Maple View Farm Country Ice Cream Store - Technically Hillsborough, actually boonies
• Cameron Indoor Stadium - Duke
• Duke's Nasher Museum of Art - Duke
• Kiefer Garden Center & Nursery - Durham
• Durham Bulls and the American Tobacco Campus - Downtown Durham
• Bike trails near Lassiter Mill Rd. - Raleigh
• Greenway trail from NC Museum of Art to bridge over I-40 - Raleigh
• Eno River trail - Durham
• NCSU's observatory - Raleigh, in a horse farm between the RBC center and an apartment complex
• Flea Market at the NC State Fairgrounds - Raleigh every weekend
  
• Tobacco Trail south of I-40 - Durham
• Cornwallis Rd. Park Frisbee Golf Course - Durham
  
• Morehead Planetarium - Chapel Hill
  

There are probably some places within Umstead Park worth seeing, but it's so enormous I have only seen small pieces of it. Hillsborough is a nice place to spend an afternoon and see some old homes, but I cannot think of any places in particular worth visiting. I have not found a lot worth visiting in Apex, Cary, or Knightdale. Carrboro is "cute," but this and this hurt its likability.

Maybe one day I will add descriptions to this list with explanations of what makes each place special. Until then, here is where you can find them:


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Final count
Durham 16
Raleigh 11

Chapel Hill 2
Morrisville 1
Wake Forest 1
Hillsborough 1

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Related:
Directory of Indian buffets in the Triangle

William Dunk, founder of a local management consulting firm, created a comprehensive, in depth Best of Triangle list which includes recommendations of basic services like barbers and auto mechanics in addition to the regular tourist-worthy stuff. Recommended.

For advice on how to pick restaurants, pick up a copy of Tyler Cowen's Discover Your Inner Economist which has a section explaining the economic rules influencing where the best restaurants are located. His famous ethnic dining guide (DC area restaurants only, unfortunately) explains the economic rules influencing what to order at a restaurant, which is arguably more important than which restaurant you choose.