Epicurean for Wednesday, June 20

It's all about comfort food

By Greg Cox, N&O Restaurant Critic and Food Writer

For the better part of two decades, displaced New Yorkers got their corned-beef-on-rye fix at Horwitz's Deli in Cary. Because Horwitz's was the area's only local source for authentic Jewish deli meats, a lot of people were forced to kick the habit -- cold turkey, you might say -- when the restaurant closed in 2004.

Happy days are here again, thanks to Neil Horwitz, the deli's erstwhile owner, and to local caterer Chip McCormick, who recently bought daVinci's Uptown Pasta in North Raleigh's Falls Village. McCormick has changed the name to daVinci's Pasta & Market to reflect the shop's expanded offering. In addition to fresh pastas and homemade sauces, daVinci's now offers an assortment of olive oils, dried pastas and other gourmet dry goods.

More to the point, Horwitz has used his longtime Big Apple connections to help McCormick establish a buying relationship with the renowned Nation's Best Deli in Hunt's Point Market. As a result, daVinci's is now the go-to place for corned beef, pastrami, tongue, turkey and other deli meats, sold by the pound or on sandwiches (takeout only, unless you're lucky enough to snag the sidewalk table on a fair day).

McCormick will also run his catering business, Southern Hospitality Catering, from the shop's kitchen. Horwitz, a longtime friend, notes that he has no financial interest in daVinci's, adding "I just want a good corned beef sandwich."

Also in North Raleigh -- but hundreds of miles away on the American culinary map -- North Carolina native Vernon Griffin has opened Falls River Smokehouse (8320-110 Litchford Road; 954-1190) in Litchford Village. As its name implies, the restaurant specializes in barbecue -- a broad sampling of smoky fare ranging from ribs to chicken. Griffin is especially proud of his Carolina-style pork, which he serves with his own distinctive variation on a Lexington-style sauce.

But the Smokehouse is by no means just another barbecue joint. Griffin couldn't resist including some of his Southwestern and Mexican-accented favorites -- fish tacos, steak burritos and a guajillo-marinated grilled chicken "caliente." The menu also offers an assortment of salads and wraps which, according to Griffin, are proving to be "a big hit with women who come with their husbands and boyfriends." Let's hope he's talking about different women.

Greg's Hot List: I scream, you scream ...

For the scientifically oriented among us, summer officially arrives tomorrow, June 21, 2007, at 2:06 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time in the Northern Hemisphere. For the, shall we say, more poetically minded, the only important fact to know is that summer is the prime season for eating ice cream. You'll find the area's best samplings of that cool, creamy confection at these shops, all of which churn their own.

Bruster's Real Ice Cream, 10450-100 Durant Road, Raleigh; 844-1120.

Francesca's, 706 Ninth St., Durham; 286-4177

Goodberry's, 8 Triangle locations, See www.goodberrys.com or yellow pages for address and phone numbers.

Henry's Gelato, 1063 Darrington Drive, in Preston Walk, Cary; 388-5888.

La Vita Dolce, 610 Market St., in Southern Village, Chapel Hill; 968-1635.

Locopops, 2600 Hillsborough Road, Durham; 431 W. Franklin St., in The Courtyard, Chapel Hill.; 286-3500 (both locations)

Maggie Moo's, 111 Weston Pkwy., in The Arboretum, Cary; 8531-115 Brier Creek Pkwy., in Brier Creek Commons, Raleigh; 678-9666 (Cary); 544-6249 (Raleigh)

Maple View Farm, 3109 Dairyland Rd., Hillsborough; 100 E. Main St., Carrboro; 960-5535 (Hillsborough); 967-6842 (Carrboro)

Greg Cox can be reached at ggcox@bellsouth.net.