The Top Ten Things To Do When Visiting Chapel Hill, North Carolina

1. Eat - Many great options. Here are some of our favorites.

Finer Dining (but not terribly expensive):

• Lantern - Simple, authentic Asian Food, with a concentration on fresh, quality ingredients. Seafood, meat, and vegetarian dishes are all wonderful. One of Gourmet Magazine's Top 50 American Restaurants.
• Crook's Corner - A Chapel Hill institution. Famous for Southern Cooking, most notably Shrimp and Grits. Also try the jalapeño hushpuppies. Also serves Sunday brunch and has been recognized by Gourmet magazine.
  
• Almost forgot...Fearrington House Restaurant. This actually is expensive, even by your big city standards. We recently had a very good meal here. The Granary Restaurant is also good, and much cheaper.
  

More Casual Dining

• Flying Burrito and Pepper's Pizza - Institutions in their own right. Mexican and Pizza, respectively. If you see Pepper, tell him you're in town for Carbone's wedding and he'll tell you a story about this rude thing I did in a soccer game one time. I've probably eaten at these places a million times.

Barbecue

• You probably ought to eat some Carolina pulled pork barbecue when you're in town. Kristin prefers her "pig sandwiches" from Allen and Sons (very, very cheap, btw).

Biscuits

• Definitely find time to get breakfast at Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen. Sausage or country ham biscuits are probably the most typical way to order. I often like the chicken and cheese variety. Kristin prefers plain. Drive thru only. Good sweet tea, too.
  

If you get drunk and have to eat

• Time Out - You'll want a chicken and cheese biscuit.
• If there's still a restaurant there called Hector's, that'll work for this category as well.

Fast Food

• Chick-fil-a - Not open on Sundays.
  

2. Sleep

• We've stayed at the Carolina Inn several times. Rooms can be sorta small, but the public and shared spaces are very nice. Great location. Has an outdoor bluegrass party each Friday. I've heard the restaurant there is pretty good now, too, but have never eaten there.
• We've also stayed at the Siena Hotel. The suites here are nice.
• The Franklin Hotel is new. We've never stayed there, but have heard great things. Also, very great location.
• And, there's also Fearrington House.

3. Drink - I'm not nearly as much of an expert on this subject as I used to be, but here are some suggestions:

• The bar at Lantern is very nice. Separated from the main dining room, with a different interior design. Check it out.
• He's Not Here...is still there. Outdoor drinking. Probably some crappy live music. Warm beer served in giant blue plastic cups. It's a college bar. I assume there are still a lot of college bars on, or near, Franklin Street. If you're staying at the Carolina Inn or The Franklin, you can just walk outside and start drinking.
  
• Orange County Social Club - Smoke-filled, local hipster hangout. Located off the main drag in Carrboro. You need a membership, or a member, to get in, so you'll have to hang around the front door and ask people to sign you in. Ask the bartender for an "Old Well."
• Feel free to crash some frat parties.
  

4. Visit the UNC campus - beautiful campus, great place to do some walking:

• Check out the UNC campus. This is where I got my doctorate in the Internets. Click here for some info about the campus arts scene, including the Museum and Playmakers Theater.
• Sports schedules can be found here. There is apparently NOT a football game the weekend of our wedding.
• This is a decent list of campus attractions; including some background info on The Old Well, Old East, Davie Poplar, The Bell Tower, The Arboretum, etc.
• Did you know...that UNC was the first state university?
• Did you know...that president James Polk attended UNC?

5. See some live music - For decades, Chapel Hill has been known for its great music scene.

• The Cat's Cradle - Speaking of institutions...one of the best-known rock clubs of this size in the country. Regional, national, and local acts.
• Local 506 - Another longstanding rock club. You'll want to be here Friday nite before the wedding for the Pine State reunion show/Kristin and Tony pre-wedding party.

6. Play some golf - In NC, golf's a right, not a privilege.

• I'm pretty sure Finley Golf Course (on campus) is open to the public.
• Twin Lakes Golf Course is the greatest golf course ever made.
• I've never played here.
• Again, the above are just golf courses within the Chapel Hill city limits. Just outside of town there are endless options.
• Pinehurst is about a 90 minute drive from Chapel Hill.

7. Drive out to Clyde Jones' house - Clyde is a pretty well-know folk artist who doesn't sell his work, he only gives it away. And he won't give any of his work to you, but you can still check out his bizarre house, which you sort of have to see to believe.

8. Do some shopping

• A Southern Season is definitely worth a visit, but the adjoining "mall" definitely is not.
  
• Franklin Street isn't what it used to be (it's "gone corporate" for the most part), but it's still worth a stroll, especially if you're looking for UNC related paraphernalia (I like Johnny T-Shirt).
• Good list of Chapel Hill shopping options listed here.
• Carr Mill Mall, in Carrboro, is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, and is something that you might like if you're somebody's mom, or if you're into those new-age toys stores that sell boring toys.

9. Visit Durham, NC - This is the town where Tony grew up.

• Kristin's favorite restaurant in the area is called Fishmonger's, because she's a big fan of their steamed oysters, plentiful and cheap. That's about all we ever get there. They can fry up some seafood there, though. Service usually fluctuates between very bad and get-up-and-walk-out terrible.
• If you like Carr Mill Mall, you will probably love Brightleaf Square, which is located within walking distance of Fishmonger's.
• The restaurant scene in Durham is supposedly changing quite a bit, and for the better. Magnolia Grill, which is listed #11 in Gourmet Magazine's Top 50 Restaurants, is the mainstay. I've not eaten there in years, though.
• Bullock's Barbecue is highly regarded in the area. It's been there forever. Solid pig.
• The Streets of Southpoint, aka "the new mall," is probably your best mall option in the area. Not really that far from the downtown Chapel Hill hotels. It's got a Williams-Sonoma and a Crate and Barrel (for last second wedding gift shopping). I bought an entire seersucker suit on sale at a J Crew there for like 50 bucks. It's also got a Cheesecake Factory, and other restaurants you find at new, big malls.
• The Durham Bulls will only be playing wedding weekend if they are in the playoffs.
• Duke Chapel, Duke Gardens and the Duke Campus all are very nice, especially the gardens.
• We frequently visit the Museum of Life and Science with my nieces and nephews.
  

10. Visit Raleigh, North Carolina - I'm only really adding this so that I can round out this list of ten, and if I can think of something else, I might change it out. But, nonetheless...

• I can't think of the last time I went to Raleigh specifically to visit a certain restaurant, unless it was Enoteca Vin about 10 years ago or Angus Barn for Prom over 20 years ago.
• There are some decent museums in Raleigh. I've always liked the Museum of Art.
  
• Wedding weekend will likely be too early for pre-season Hurricanes hockey.
• The flea market at the state fairgrounds is worth a trip.