Alivia's

Nick and I had a very busy Saturday, so we didn't have lunch until 3pm. I made red rice from leftover rice from the fridge and leftover spaghetti sauce, fried some eggs, and threw together a quick salad with carrots, celery, onion, and mushroom and a balsamic vinaigrette.

That night we had dinner at Alivia's in the Brightleaf area of Durham. It's a non-smoking bar/restaurant with what is supposed to be the best patio in Durham. The environmental law clinic was having a fundraiser there for a campaign against a cement plant that is going to be built along the coast of North Carolina.

Nick, Emily, and I shared a table with Emily A. and her parents. It was cool to talk to her parents about blogging and food. I even showed them the pics I took at Mama Dip's the night before.

Nick and I ended up ordering crabcakes and calamari (with pico de gallo and marinara sauce) for appetizers. Apparently calamari with marinara sauce is a regular thing around here. I prefer my calamari with aioli, but that might be a west coast thing. The pico de gallo was extraneous because it never stayed on the calamari. The crabcakes were pretty good and so was the salad that came with them, but they didn't really seem to go together. The slices of bell pepper were a little difficult to eat with the mixed greens because of size.


I got the portabella sandwich with greens and roasted red peppers and a cup of their chicken vegetable soup. The bottom piece of bread was soggy by the time I picked it up to eat my sandwich. Nick got the Alivia's burger with fries. He really likes the crispy fries and he said the burger was pretty good.


We'll probably be back sometime, but it's not on my list of favorites just yet. I liked my lentil burger at the Federal better, but Alivia's is nonsmoking so it might have to trump once in a while.