No offense to Charlie but it is clear that the success of Bin 54 (which, by the way, is a truly great restaurant) is mostly due to Chef Dale, sous Chef Andrew, Pastry Chef Gwen, General Manager Brett, Captain Doug and the rest of the hardworking staff.
Also, re: Grasshopper - The food has never been better and more reasonably priced then since Chef Matt took over.
Bin 54 is an idea that came from Chef Charlie Deal (detlefchef) and restaurateur Giorgios Bakatsias, one of three restaurants the team has opened in the last several months (click here for a thread regarding these restaurants). Once Bin 54 and Jujube opened, Charlie decided he wanted to focus his efforts on one restaurant, Jujube. So he exchanged his interests in Grasshopper and Bin 54 for a majority stake (no pun intended) in Jujube. As a result, we have three new and noteworthy restaurants in the area. Grasshopper is mostly about the vibe. The food is decent, but based on reports from others, it's up and down. However, it's probably THE place to go right now in Durham.
Jujube, on the other hand, is all about the food according to my friends. Sure, it's a beautiful space and has a very cool bar, but Charlie Deal is there every night, focusing on the quality. Go to Chapel Hill soon and support a fellow eGulleteer!
Bin 54 is doing well, which is not a surprise. Deal actually went to New York to look at what Laurent Tourondel was doing with his BLT Steak. That's the model Deal used, but it is no duplicate. I've heard nothing but great things about the place, and I look forward to a more detailed report from you, Bryan.
Bin 54
in Southeast: Dining
Posted · Edited by vinmike (log)
No offense to Charlie but it is clear that the success of Bin 54 (which, by the way, is a truly great restaurant) is mostly due to Chef Dale, sous Chef Andrew, Pastry Chef Gwen, General Manager Brett, Captain Doug and the rest of the hardworking staff.
Also, re: Grasshopper - The food has never been better and more reasonably priced then since Chef Matt took over.