Restaurants and not to be missed sights in Raleigh, NC area.

What's your budget for restaurants, and how long will you be in the area? Where are you staying? Raleigh is actually a good 30-minute drive from Durham or Chapel Hill.

Pepper's Pizza is a good pizza place on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill (they have calzones and a few other things as well). 411 West and Crook's Corner are both good if you want a nicer place. Mama Dip's gets a lot of press; I thought it was good but not amazing, but then again I was comparing it to my grandma's cooking.

Elmo's Diner and Foster's Market both have branches in Chapel Hill and in Durham. Elmo's has breakfast all day along with other things at lunch and dinner (the waffles are great). Foster's is half market and half restaurant - they have sandwiches, pizzas, soups, that sort of thing. Cosmic Cantina has locations in both towns as well; the reviews I'm reading say the quality has declined since I was a student, though, so that may not be the best choice.

http://www.411west.com/
http://www.crookscorner.com/
http://www.mamadips.com/
http://www.elmosdiner.com/
http://www.fostersmarket.com/

Both campuses are beautiful, especially Duke (much as it pains me to say that as a Carolina alum). Duke Gardens is a great place to spend an hour or two, and don't miss the chapel. Try to see the Dean Dome at UNC if you can.

My daughter recently got her master's from UNC, & we really enjoyed visiting her there. The campus is beautiful & we like Chapel Hill. Several times we ate at Crooks Corner in Chapel Hill, southern style cooking. We also like wandering around & shopping in Carrboro. There is an old mill that has been refurbished with small (non-chain) stores. There are also nice casual restaurants in Carrboro but unfortunately I don't remember the names. If you have time, we did enjoy several wineries & wine tastings. Look up the Haw River Trail wineries. My D told us many people make a vacation out of visiting these wineries. We went to the one in Mebane & I forgot the other one. Sorry. We always stayed at the Hampton Inn, either in Chapel Hill or Raleigh.

UNC has a nice art museum and botanical gardens. I wish I could remember more names of restaurants. Hope this helps.

Jent, thank you so much for your thorough info. I was considering Mamma Dip's. I also had read about Kemp's and Big Ed's City Market Restaurant. Any experiences with these? We will only be there for a long weekend, and will definitely take along your suggestions.

Kwoo, thanks to you as well!

I actually haven't been to either of those - I'm not a big seafood eater, and I rarely made it to Raleigh when I was in Chapel Hill. Sounds like I missed out on some good biscuits at Big Ed's, though!

The Chapel Hill branch of Elmo's is actually in the shopping area (Carr Mill Mall) that Kwoo mentioned, along with Panzenella - I never actually tried that restaurant but always wanted to. Weaver Street Market is also there. It's a grocery co-op, but they have a lot of prepared foods if you want to grab and go. Mostly organic, of course, since it is Carrboro. Carrboro and Chapel Hill are (geographically speaking) basically one big town - they're right up against each other.

I was underwhelmed by Mama Dip's when I was there. Her chicken and biscuits weren't nearly as good as my Mom's and Grandma's (and can I say mine? ) Kemp's is very, very good if you like Calabash-style fried seafood; their hushpuppies are wonderful! I was in Big Ed's years ago, and the breakfast was very good ...

Ooops - one spelling mistake: It's Panzanella, not Panzenella. Didn't want to mess up any Googling you might do.

Love the Mediterranean Deli on Franklin for lunch & 411 West anytime.
Also love Nana's in Durham for dinner.

There are many really good places to eat in Chapel Hill and Durham. Some are truly fine dining -- Elaine's and The Lantern in Chapel Hill --- Nana's and Magnolia Grill among others. Reservations are highly recommended. Agree that the Med Deli is good for lunch and centrally located on Franklin St as is Spanky's which is at the corner of Franklin and Columbia -- the "epicenter" of Chapel Hill. Can't recommend spots in Raleigh as I rarely go there. Hope you have a great trip to the "Southern Part of Heaven."

Kemp's is good for seafood. I recall they have ordinary fried seafood as well as calabash-style. Interesting restaurant. You shouldn't need reservations there.

Thanks to all for your input! I must confess, I was not able to get online once we'd left, which is what I had planned to do. That meant I was unable to retrieve all the wonderful suggestions. The only one I could remember was Mamma Dipp's. I must say, having remembered some slightly negative comments, that we were pleased with it. First of all, not being from the south, we enjoyed the southern cooking, and wouldn't have anything 'authentic' to compare it to. The place was cute, with a nice wrap around porch outside, and it was immaculate inside. Our service was a bit slow, but when the waiter was there, he was pleasant and on top of things like refilling the water, for example. I will save the other recommendations for a return trip, which we will absolutely be making.

I was glad to have been able to get to see both Duke and UNC, and loved both campuses. We did see a bit of each area [Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh] but not enough, guaranteeing a return. We really enjoyed the Washington Duke Homestead, Museum and film. It was far better than I had expected, and absolutely worth a visit, in my opinion.

Thanks again to all who offered advice/recommendations.