The Carolina Crossroads restaurant is located within the famous Carolina Inn at Chapel Hill, within walking distance of sites such as Memorial Hall on the UNC-CH campus. The Inn was renovated extensively recently, during which time this restaurant was added. Six of us recently dined there before attending a Memorial Hall performance. The details are below. Summary: Slow service, adequate but unexciting food, good wine list, average ambience. Disappointing overall. Reservations: When I called for reservations, they said they were booked for 6:00 PM but could handle us at 5:45. We arrived at 5:45, and found the restaurant contained 1 couple, so we felt free to have a drink at the bar before dining [we politely notified the hostess.] At 6:00 we were seated and the one couple were still the only other patrons, although it did pick up sometime later. Service and Food: When we were being seated, I told the hostess that we had to make an 8:00 show, and also told the waitress when she eventually showed up. Eventually, as in the hostess had to go track her down for us so that we could order. The hostess was courteous and helpful. Despite that delay, the appetizers arrived after a moderate amount of time. The terrine of wild boar was amusing but not great, but the shrimp with morels in a Jack Daniels sauce was reported to be very good. The bread and muffins were served with an herb butter, which was OK, and a butter spiced with balsamic vinegar, which no one liked at all. The wine list was varied and interesting, with prices ranging from the low $20s to the mid-three-digits (Pichon Longueville, at $135, was the most expensive I recall.) The dessert wines were skimpy, with one Sauterne but no Port listed. Following the appetizers, a very long delay ensued. We did not see any waitress, nor was there any mention of when the entrees would arrive. Around 7:15 [we were attending an 8:00 show, remember] I got up and tried to physically locate a server by wandering around the restaurant, at which point the entrees finally arrived. I had the beef tenderloin surrounded by a sauce that sounded just delightful in the menu. The degree of done-ness was exactly what I ordered, but the sauce was just so-so and overall the dish was good but not exciting. The 'breast of pheasant' turned out to be half of a whole small pheasant, and Kathy judged it adequate but not great. The duckling was reported to be a little overdone and bland, although the sweet potato side dish was good. The loin of rabbit was also reported to be bland. Overall the main courses had nothing dramatically wrong with them but did not impress. Thanks to the delays in serving, we had no time for dessert or post-dinner coffee. Someone else picked up the check [thanks, Mark!] but I believe you could plan on $25-40 per person for appetizer and entree, excluding wine. Despite the restaurant's vaunted 4-diamond rating [AAA], I believe there are far better dining establishments in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area, many of them for less money. -- Tim trowles at bellsouth dot net
Raleigh-Durham, NC