The Almighty Wisdom of the Green Leaf God

So shock would best describe our reaction to finding The Almighty Wisdom of the Green Leaf God at 4215 University Drive in West Durham. Its former incarnation, Taste of India, was one of N. and J.'s favorites- we actually ended up having dinner after our wedding there because we had been so busy during the day we didn't get a chance to eat! So to pass three months or so between meals here, and find an entirely new restaurant was a bit of a surprise....

We were pretty impressed that they have so much variety in their evening buffets:

• North Indian Tuesday
• Indo-Chinese Wednesday
• Veg Thursday
• South Indian Friday
• Green Leaf Special Saturday

We ended up there on Thursday for Veg night, though I am curious to go back for their Indo-Chinese on Wednesday. We were in a hurry so went straight for buffet, and sampled all of their offerings. They had an eggplant dish that was really delicious, though the name escapes me now, and their Paneer Tikka Masala was an interesting offering. But the sambar and idli left something to be desired....

Overall, the veg night buffet was alright, but not particularly outstanding. My inner Indian food snob does need to mention that the spices were not very well balanced or harmonized in many of the buffet offerings. It was almost as if the measures had gotten out of proportion as they stretched a recipe for a family to a recipe for a buffet. Though after seeing Carpe Durham's follow up post to the AWGLG, N. and I may have to make another trip and actually order from the menu- those chili pakoras look pretty tempting.

The highlight of the buffet though was definitely this little dish: basically kheer (Indian Rice Pudding, standard desert at nearly all Indian Restaurants in the Triangle) but made with vermicelli noodles. I threw the strawberries on this one, and it actually went pretty well. N. was not a big fan of the texture and took just one small exploratory taste. But I thought it was the most appropriately spiced dish of the night. So whatever they did for this dish, keep up the good work!

Parlez-Vous Crepe

So one of the best parts of being in Carrboro is Saturday morning: coffee and crepes courtesy of Johnny's at 901 W. Main St, Carrboro (well, the crepes are from Parlez-Vous Crepe). Johnny's is a great gathering space on Main St. with tables outside, live chickens, a wood stove, and a delicious crepe van on Saturday's from 9-2! Inside you'll find fresh coffee (Johnny's Blend is clearly recommended, though I don't think I've had a coffee there that I didn't like), pastries, and a bunch of other random goods (jarred veggies, beer, wine, eggs, and dairy products).

Back to the main star of the post- the crepes. They have both sweet (3) and savory (4) varieties and are made right in front of you. We've camped out at a table near the van and it seems like the crowds come in waves, but as long as it's not raining out, you should be able to find a seat to enjoy your crepe and coffee.

J. is a big fan of the Gnutella crepes with bananas (or strawberries, if they're in), the Lemon Curd, and Le Bonne Maman (brie, apples, etc.). After we sampled our way through the menu, N. seems to have landed on La Fermiere (egg, spinach, and some other things I can't remember now) as her preferred crepe. Unfortunately we were distracted by how great the crepes were (and how our dog kept looking for chickens to play with), so we forgot to take pictures of the actual crepes! Oh well, I guess we'll have to go back this saturday to get some more photos :-)

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this for your next Saturday morning breakfast run!