Fries and Flowers in Fearrington Village

I spent the weekend in Chapel Hill, North Carolina this past weekend, and it was a beautiful one to do it!  The weather was perfect: in the low 70s with low humidity.  My friend is wrapping up grad school there and I owed her a visit, so we explored Chapel Hill and the surrounding area.

We decided to grab some brunch at Fearrington Village which is outside of Chapel Hill.  It’s a cute little enclave with shops, restaurant, gardens, and wildlife.  There were a few food options, but we chose the Old Granary for brunch.  My friend ordered the humongous chopped salad, and I got the BLT with avocado added.  It was one of the best BLTs I’ve had.  The bread was thick enough to soak up the juice and grease without being too much.  Add some hickory smoked bacon, super fresh tomatoes and lettuce, and a tomato jam that really added that little bit of kick to bring it to the next level.  Tack on a cone of neon orange sweet potato fries, and it was a classic southern dish.  The fries were particularly great because they weren’t too sweet or too salty.  Sometimes, chefs play up the sweetness to the point of making them dessert-like.  Or they add so much savory to counterbalance that it loses any hint of sweetness.  These were perfection.  Plus we got a basket of fluffy biscuits to snack on before we ordered.  I miss biscuits.  Nashville doesn’t have a ton of biscuit places like Atlanta did, but I digress…

After stuffing ourselves silly, we took in the grounds.  The little gardens were full of bright flowers.  Lots of purples and pinks predominated such as pansies.  It was refreshing to see gardens with a variety of flowers since azalea bushes seem to be the go-to in the South.  Maybe it’s been the mild temperatures and tons of rain, but these little gardens looked so pretty!

Overall, Fearrington Village is a nice little place to walk around, shop a bit, take in the scenery, and grab a bite to eat or a drink.  I can see why it is a popular choice for events in the area.