Triangle Area Real Estate News & Information

3 Cups Buys From Local Farmers In Chapel Hill

My wife and I met with one of our friends on Friday evening at 3 Cups in Chapel Hill. 3 Cups is a small retail store specializing primarily in wine, coffee, tea and chocolate from small farms and producers. Their focus is on taste, quality, intimate knowledge of the source of everything on their shelves and in treating everyone involved in the transaction (the consumer, producer and their staff) fairly. Additionally twice a month they invite local farmers in to offer tasting dinners featuring locally grown foods often prepared by the farmers themselves and with our friend Alessandra's urging we decided to meet there for dinner on Friday.

The main purpose of our getting together with Alessandra was to pick her brain. We're planning a trip to Italy this fall and we wanted her insights for two reasons. The first is she's Italian and while she lives about a mile away from our own home here in Durham NC, she regularly returns to Italy to visit family as well as to study and share her knowledge of cheese making.

We initially met Alessandra about 6 years ago, through other friends Dalia and Fernando (both from Mexico) who were living here at the time getting their PhD's in environmental science at Duke's Universities Nicholas School of the Environment and who are now both working in Europe. A former executive chef and persistent “foodie” once I learned that Alessandra had converted her garage into a licensed cheese manufacturing facility and was producing magnificent Italian style cheeses just down the street from my home our connection was cemented.

So we meet at 3 Cups which she's been promoting to me for some time now and she introduces me to the featured chef/farmer Austin Genke and his wife Dani from BoxCarr Farms in Cedar Grove NC (just outside of Hillsborough NC. Let me start off by saying the meal was awesome, small plates featuring their garden fresh produce as well as pigs, eggs etc all sustainably produced on their 30 acre farm.

Austin is an extremely talented chef, with a deft hand and a real eye for presentation and I predict it won't be long before he opens his own restaurant. Three plates that really stood out that evening were a Smoked Pork Banh Mi with lightly pickled radish and cilantro, Homemade Spaetzle with a light tomato broth, goat cheese and greens, and an Herb Crusted braised Pork Belly with a potato puree, kale and roasted baby carrots. I did not try it but everyone else at the table seemed to like the dessert offering of a simple handmade yellow cake with fresh peaches and cream.

Spending Time With Durham & Chapel Hill Residents

Besides the food, what I enjoyed most about the evening was the eclectic group of people I got to share a meal with. One of the things I most enjoy about selling real estate here in the Chapel Hill/ Durham area is the incredible people I get to meet. Our dinner was a wonderful reminder of the pleasures to be found living in such a vibrant area with two world renown Universities just 7 miles apart (Duke and UNC) These two schools along with the Research Triangle Park (Silicon Valley East to many) and NC State University draw highly educated and fascinating people from all over the world. In addition to Alessandra we were joined by her fellow Gabi, (originally from Lebanon and a long time professor at Duke), his friend and possibly new Duke professor Ina, born in Russia, who grew up on a kibbutz in Israel and who now lives and works in Arizona. Austin's wife Dani also spent part of her childhood growing up on a kibbutz in Israel. This mix made for great conversation and coupled with the fantastic food and excellent wines we indulged in a wonderful night out.

I encourage anyone reading this who lives or is visiting the area to be sure to check out both 3 Cups and to look for and enjoy Austin and Dani's food and to check out their blog at BoxCarr Farms