Toast

I routinely eat at Toast - a hidden gem in Durham. The staff is friendly and the food is great. I love that they use local produce. Whenever anyone from out of town visits me, we go to Toast and everyone leaves happy. more

Toast is simply AMAZING. The prices are great, the food is delicious, the atmosphere is hip. I eat at Toast fairly regularly, at least a couple times a month. The food is always prepared fresh, and I've never been disappointed in anything. The owner is there almost all the time, and she is always very friendly and seems genuinely happy to work there. She seems very proud of the restaurant, and is a pleasure to talk to. I usually get a salad and a couple crostinis ($2 for 2! amazing!). My favorite is the warm goat cheese crostini. I wish I could try everything on the menu, because it is all so good! Gosh I'm making myself hungry with this review... I might just head down there and get lunch! more

We landed at Toast last night due to a fluke, desperate for something to eat before attending an event at DPAC (Toast is within walking distance.). I generally have a ho-hum, ?been there, done that? attitude towards sandwich shops because so few of them do anything inventive. Toast is one of those few. Toast?s seating area is small and very casual, lending itself to a relaxing, informal meal. Ordering from the counter, we tried the grilled chicken panini (with roasted peppers, mozzarella and salsa verde), shrimp and sunchoke salad tramazinni (with watercress) and two daily specials?lentil/sausage soup and a calamari stew. We were astounded with every bite! The grilled chicken panini held generous portions of chicken breast, juxtaposed with ooey gooy cheese and crunchy bread, and was grilled to perfection. The shrimp in the shrimp and sunchoke salad had good flavor and the sunchokes gave, dare I say, *inventive* bites of crunch. Rockyhillguy?a sausage fiend despite my best efforts to keep him healthy?proclaimed the sausage in the lentil sausage soup to be terrific, providing the soup with a wonderful, permeating flavor. Calamari is a dish, usually an appetizer, we routinely order whenever a menu offers it. We?ve had calamari of every stripe, all over the country. We couldn?t believe, and here is that word again, how *inventive* Toast?s calamari stew is! Joined with kale and offered with a couple of slices of toasted, crusty bread for dipping, the calamari stew was exquisite. It?s thick, spicy tomato broth was so excellent that Rockyhillguy and I, who usually differ on whether something is ?too spicy? or ?just right,? wholeheartedly agreed that it was perfect. Not a lot of dining options exist within walking distance of the DPAC, outside of the American Tobacco District?s offerings. We consider our discovery of Toast to be pure serendipity and agreed that, not only is Toast worth another visit before an event, it is a destination worth enjoying in it?s own right. Pros: Inventive Menu, Food Quality Cons: Parking more

I've gone to Toast several times and it was great. It's great for a light dinner or quick lunch. I like to get the side salad to round out my meal, but if I'm feeling especially hungry, I'll get the warm olives. Awesome. This place is great and is bound to become a Durham institution. The food is delicious and the staff really warm and friendly. Pros: Delicious, affordable Cons: sometimes crowded, loud more