It’s crazy to think that Meredith and I spent four school years in a town renown for its culinary offerings, but because of our stereotypical college food budgets (read: none) and even more stereotypical college food tastes (read: burritos and pizza), we hardly scratched the surface of all the amazing cuisine Chapel Hill had to offer. Over time however, we’re slowly remedying this oversight with each trip back to our alma mater, and for Meredith’s birthday we were fortunate enough to pack two amazing meals into one afternoon – Durham’s Mateo Tapas and Chapel Hill’s Lantern.

Lantern is a restaurant that needs little introduction. It’s consistently on any must-try list for North Carolina and the southeast. It’s chef and owner, Andrea Reusing, was the 2011 James Beard winner for the Southeast’s Best Chef and is a powerful advocate for sustainable agriculture practices. Her farm-to-table menus are packed with the freshest of seasonal ingredients and Meredith has been dying to try some of the recipes from her book, Cooking in the Moment.

Our meal on Meredith’s birthday was simply unbelievable, and we can’t wait to revisit Lantern the next time we’re in town.