Magical Goat Cheese – The Celebrity Dairy in Chatham County

Her dad bought the farm as a speculative investment years ago. When they moved there, they lived in a 10 foot by 30 foot trailer while they renovated the 1830s log cabin. They would need to as it had no indoor plumbing or modern amenities. It was, in essence, a wooden tent.

That was the genesis of the Celebrity Dairy in Chatham County, locally famous for their varieties of goat cheese which sells at area farmers markets and ends up on the menus of hot chefs throughout The Triangle.

Run by Brit and Fleming Pfann (pronounced "Fan"), the Celebrity Farm sprawls over 114 acres and features goats, chickens and even llamas. It all sounds pretty much like the perfect hippie fairy tale. Husband and wife – sick of the corporate rat race – bail out to Green Acres to make artisan goat cheese and live a neo-hippy, oh so happily and very much off the grid, ever after. It would make a great screenplay. And the beautiful thing, that's sort of what happened.

In the late 1970s, Brit was an engineer for Bell Labs working on Defense projects and commuting to Guilford Center. His wife Fleming was an artist working in textiles. He changed jobs, which exacerbated his commute from Guilford County to Research Triangle Park. All that time, he was working on the farm. One day though, there was a rumor that downsizing was coming to the company. He volunteered to be "on the list." As it happened, it worked out.


"Being laid off was great," Brit said. "I was too busy to come to work anymore."


Before the Pfanns took over the farm in the 1960s, the land was a used for subsistence farming, meaning people grow what they will eat. It sounds romantic. The reality is much harder; it's a hardscrabble life. By the 1970s, the farm had been abandoned by the owners who apparently fled to the cities for "real" jobs.

Brit and Fleming moved to the property in the late 1970s and bought goats to help clear the land. Fleming, who has a lifelong allergy to cow's milk, tried drinking goat's milk on the suggestion of a friend.

It worked.

Fleming decided that there could be other uses for Goat's Milk and decided to try her hand at making cheese, although she didn't know how to do it. This being the low tech early 1980s, she decided to do an analog document search the only way it was available: she went to the Siler City Public Library. It didn't exactly work; she was rebuffed.

"She asked the librarian for books on cheese making and was told that they only had 'proper research material' and none of that hippy stuff," Brit said with a laugh. "She was told they had research on 'genealogy'. So she went to the Pittsboro Public Library, where they did have books on cheese making."

Recipes in hand, the Pfanns started to make their now famous goat cheese. But the first forays weren't that – how to put this – tasty.

"The initial batches weren't always edible, so we feed them to the chickens," Brit said.

But perseverance prevailed and now Celebrity Diary Artisan Goat Cheeses are available at two local farmers' markets and all five local Whole Foods Markets. As of today, there are some 80 milking goats making more than 112,000 gallons of milk yearly which yields some 1,200 to 1,400 pounds of Celebrity Goat Cheese. The cheeses comes in multiple flavors, such as dill, apricot and chocolate (editorial comment – it rocks!) There's also a Bed and Breakfast for those seeking a wee bit of the rural lifestyle and a monthly dinner on the third Sunday afternoon of every month.

"It truly is a labor of love," Britt said.

The Celebrity Dairy

114 Celebrity Dairy Way

Siler City, NC 27344

Tel. (919) 742-5176, for toll free reservations call: (877) 742-5176


Cuisine: Eclectic American

Rating: *****

Prices: $$$

Atmosphere: Bucolic

Noise level: Country quiet

Open: Call for details

Reservations: Oh yeah. You can't just show up.

Other: This is a working farm, not a tourist destination. Their cheese is available at The Durham Farmer's Market, The Carrboro Farmer's Market, and all five Whole Foods locations in The Triangle.

We rank restaurants in five categories: Extraordinary***** Excellent**** Above average*** Average** Fair*


 

A certain timelessness – Old Havana Sandwich Shop

Back in Hoboken, Her Imperial Majesty and I used to frequent a Cuban restaurant called La Isla. It is now internationally famous for winning a throwdown against celebrity chef Bobby Flay in a stuffed French toast war.

But we never went there for breakfast.

No, we went later in the day for what was usually a late lunch. There, we'd while away the afternoon, sitting in a sunny window, sipping on Cokes with limes and munching on Cuban Sandwiches.

A Cuban sandwich is a curious thing and for the pork averse, something to be avoided. Her Imperial Majesty and I have no such aversion and readily chowed down on La Isla's signature sandwich: slow roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, a pickle, mustard and the magic mojo sauce. Served Panini style, grilled and pressed, it's a magically crunchy mouthful of happiness that works so beautifully at so many levels.

Sadly – or not – we moved from suburban New York City to points south and lost that slice of culinary culture. The Cuban sandwich was merely a fond foodie memory from one of the epicenters of the Foodie Universe.

So maybe the New York Times was right in naming Durham one of the 41 places in the world everybody needs to visit during 2011. I certainly need to, probably weekly, if only to go to The Old Havana Sandwich shop on East Main.

One recent Saturday found us sitting by a sunny window, breakfasting on Cuban sandwiches and slow roasted plantains, chasing the whole meal with a steaming cup of café con leche.

It was crowded, filled with happy people enjoying the fare. At the Old Havana Sandwich shop, they do serve variants of the traditional Cuban sandwich. We didn't try them but you can. We stuck to the basics: a Cuban sandwich, roasted plantains and for dessert, a guava pastry. Everything was marvelous.

True to the righteous foodie form, they locally source everything. The bread comes from Guglehopf; the pork is locally raised. With a wide open kitchen, what you see is what they serve and what they serve is magical. Everything about it is authentic and real.

Maybe Hoboken is 500 miles away and Cuba is even farther and more problematic. But as long as we have the Old Havana Sandwich Shop, we don't really need either.

Old Havana Sandwich Shop

310 East Main Street

Durham, NC

TEL 919-667-9525


Cuisine: Cuban sandwiches to die for

Rating: *****

Prices: $

Atmosphere: Crowded with local foodies who know

Noise level: Quick service crowded

Open: MON. – FRI 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM; SAT 9 AM – 4PM

Reservations: Nah.

Other: Parking is problematic.

We rank restaurants in five categories: Extraordinary***** Excellent**** Above average*** Average** Fair*




 

North Raleigh and Chubby’s Tacos

North Raleigh, where I live, gets maligned for all the right reasons. It's full of Yankees from places like Long Island and Boston. It's also Generica, with massive Master Planned Developments that truly looks like Stepford America. There are row after row of little (and not so little) houses that seem nearly identical. One could easily say that it's Levittown all over again, only with bigger houses, less land and better weather. Call it McMansions'R'Us writ large.

Culturally, there's not much going on. There are no hot spots where the beautiful people congregate to see and be seen. No, beautiful people hang out inside The Beltline. Or in Durham. Or in Chapel Hill. But not North Raleigh. Much like Cary to the south, North Raleigh is a place to warehouse those people with funny accents and Yankee / Red Sox Nation paraphernalia affixed to their SUVs and mini-vans. And while it might not be as bad as Chernobyl, it's certainly not high on anybody's must visit list.

As far as the culinary scene goes, there really isn't that much going on, either. The Generica that are the Master Planned Developments supports all the usual chain fare. If you can get it anywhere else, you can certainly get it here. Even the independents offer tame menus aimed at either a) empty-nesters looking for an early bird special or b) something kid friendly for the generation with crumb crunchers. In short, if you want fresh and innovative, hop into your SUV or mini-van and hit the trail to points west.

That is, until last week. Chubby's Tacos opened in North Raleigh.

Now, normally, I adhere strictly to Dave's Rules of Restaurants which states that one should never go to a restaurant during its grand opening; that savvy diners wait about a month or to let the kitchen work out the kinks and the servers to master the menu. There is a caveat though: if the new place is a new location not a new restaurant, then you should be cool.

I went, and it was.

We went on a busy Tuesday at lunch, and the line stretched from the counter to the door. "Mr. Chubby" himself was taking orders and coaxing the system along. Her Imperial Majesty had a Chubby Burrito made with Spicy Tinga – chicken with onions and chipotle peppers – and spinach. I had a pair of tacos – one with carnitas – mild, shredded pork, with onions, lime and cilantro – and one with grilled shrimp in a mild chipotle sour cream sauce. I also opted for sides of rice and refried beans.

Her Imperial Majesty made a quick stop at the Salsa bar, where Chubby's offers at least eight different varieties, each with a different level of spiciness. Our favorite was the Chile de Arbol.

My tacos were perfect. The carnitas taco was light and fresh with a nice balance of cilantro and lime juice. The shrimp taco was marvelous with the chipotle sour cream adding a nice counterpoint the shrimp and tomatoes. Her Imperial Majesty's burrito was a massively over-stuffed thing that we – meaning both of us – could only manage to finish half. It was delicious with the Spicy Tinga nicely complemented by the crispy lettuce and the just wilted spinach. In retrospect, we probably should have approached it with a knife and fork.

Just like the other locations, the food was well prepared, relatively cheap and quite tasty. Service was swift. Is it an asset to North Raleigh? Yes. Is it a reason to visit North Raleigh? Only if our Chubby's is closer than yours. Will it make North Raleigh fashionable? No, but it's a heck of a start.

Chubby's Tacos Falls River Town Center

10511 Shadowlawn Drive
Suite 119
Raleigh, NC 27614
Tel.: 919-846-7044

chubby@chubbystacos.com

Hours of Operation

Mon-Fri		11:00 am-2:30 pm lunch
Mon-Fri		5:00 pm-10:00 pm dinner
Sat		11:00 am-10:00 pm
Sun		Noon-9:00 pm

Cuisine: Modern taqueria

Rating: ***1/2

Prices: $

Atmosphere: North Raleigh strip mall chic

Noise level: low to moderate to high

Open: Lunch Monday-Friday, dinner Tuesday-Saturday, brunch Sunday (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

Reservations: No

Other: Self service, credit cards okay

We rank restaurants in five categories: Extraordinary***** Excellent**** Above average*** Average** Fair*

The dollar signs defined: $ Entrees average less than $10. $$ Entrees $11 to $16. $$$ Entrees $17 to $25. $$$$ Entrees more than $25.




 

Road Food – Only Burger

Soft unobtrusive music from the overhead speakers. Candles on every table. Waitrons cruising about, dressed in black and white, moving gracefully in their choreographed randomness. The perfectly coiffed hostess showing you and your guest to a table, six inches away from two other tables in the center of the dining room. All the other patrons dressed to eleven. The chinking of glasses and tinkling of silverware right out of a Barry Levinson movie. Polite, politically correct banter floats through the dining room like audio oatmeal. You are seated in the very center of the trendiest restaurant in your 'burb and it took weeks to get a reservation.

In these situations, I usually last about five minutes before informing my server that I simply must adjourn to the bar. I can't take it. It's too much.

In fact, that's why I usually eat at the bar. Fabricated environments bother me to no end. So, eating at the bar equals zero pretension in my book. So when I go to when I go to The Angus Barn in Raleigh, I sit and the bar in The Wild Turkey Lounge with my beloved wife and split a hamburger (medium rare) and a nosh on the warm spinach salad. And it's great. Same is true of Lantern in Chapel Hill. We sit at the bar and order the special, whatever it is. And whatever the special is, it is always brilliant. Heck, I did a $150 lunch at the Gramercy Tavern in New York City for my wife's 40th at the bar.

I detest pretension. I do. When I walk into a restaurant, I can sense the vibe immediately. If a restaurateur wants to sell me on how cool I am for being in his or her joint and how cool it is that I can rub elbows with his or her clientele, I generally head for the door. 

I'm sorry. I don't require self-esteem therapy to be served on the side with my meal. The ambiance thing only goes so far before it negatively impacts the culinary experience.

That's why I'm a sucker for road food. Anybody selling his or her wares out of the side of a truck isn't trying to fool you with soft music and candles on every table. This is the kind of food eaten standing up on the sidewalk or in the front seat of your car. And if the person running the truck has the onions to sell his wares without all the trickery baked into the restaurant business, his food must be pretty damn good. Food without pretension works for me.

And the best in The Triangle for my money is Only Burger. Everything made fresh to order, with toppings that run the gamut from the standard to the over the top. Parked in front of the Durham Farmer's Market one Saturday, Her Imperial Majesty, Her Imperial Majesty Junior and I feasted on burgers for breakfast. Junior had hers with ketchup. Mine was done up Carolina style, with chili, mustard, onions and slaw. My beloved went all out, doing a proper breakfast burger, decked out with a fried green tomato, pimento cheese, and an over easy egg. It sounded ridiculous. It tasted ridiculously good. So good in fact, I went back for my own.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely, if, of course, you can track it down. It is a truck after all and trucks have wheels, so it moves around. The best way to do that is to follow them on twitter. And be prepared for lines ten deep that last for hours. It's that good. 

They have announced that they're opening a brick and mortar location. I just hope it doesn't come with soft music and candles on every table.