We consulted all the guides we could get our hands on, we consulted our friends, but there were few encouraging words about dining in Durham. None of  us [3 vegetarians, one of whom does not eat vegetables, and one meat eater] could face the prospect of bangers and mash or steak and kidney pie. "Good" English cooking was out.

So, we did a lot of Italian. There seemed to be even more pizza per square foot than in Iowa City, where pizza is a standard part of the student diet. The high concentration of pizza is surely the influence of the local university students. Whatever the origin of the many, many Italian restaurants, Italian was pretty much our diet. One or two Italian restaurants were appealing. One or two have served us a good meal. But you would not go out of your way to get Durham pizza and pasta.

We did find one tall food [upscale] restaurant. It is Chadwicks, which was just down the hill from the university and cathedral. During the not meal hours it was a hangout for students who wanted to have conversation and a drink while they watched their fellow students walk by on the street. During meal times the smoking section was less crowded and the back [not smoking] "became" a restaurant doing a rather brisk business. They did serve tall food, as is the current continental swagger. Lamb piled on top of vegetables or salad piled up instead of out. Whatever the stacking they had lettuces that were not white and food that was tasty as well as tastefully displayed. Chadwicks was a real find and we ate there three times while in Durham four days.

A good cup of coffee is hard to find in Durham except at Caffe Nero. It was down the main drag about six blocks, but we walked past it several times a day. It was on the way to everywhere, and we engineered our timing to pass at an optimum time for coffee. John Robert had espresso. I had Americano. Anna had a muffin and Snapple. The last night in town we stopped after dinner and Anna and John Robert danced to the music coming over the sound system -- they were whirling dervishes.

Durham dining would be incomplete without a reference to breakfast at the bed and breakfast. The dining was in a glassed-in enclosure in the courtyard. The courtyard had plants and a goldfish pond, which Anna loved. Each day we were there it was bright and cheerful. It was one of the very nice features of the Georgian Town House. The menu was quite extensive for bed and breakfasts of our experience. One could have a full English breakfast, which includes both sausage and bacon [which is ham sliced thinly and fried], eggs, tomato, what they called baked beans, a potato, mushrooms and toast. It is substantial. Or you could have a poached egg with black pudding. Or you could have a boiled egg with marmite. Or you could have croissants -- plain and chocolate. In addition, you can have orange juice or grapefruit or yogurt and three versions of cereal.

I worked my way down the menu trying everything. I was not favorably impressed by the black pudding, and I did not want to know what it was made of for fear that I would regret having eaten it. The marmite was a bit better -- though not something I would walk across the street for. The croissants were okay -- though not up to the European [or even American] standard. Tomorrow I am going to give the muslie a try. It looks pretty good. But the orange juice tastes like synthetic orange juice. The grapefruit comes straight from a can.

The ambience is great; the food is not up to the ambience. Welcome to Durham dining.