Sharing a passion for food

A year ago, Sam Poley, owner and chef at Starlu in Durham, knew he would have to close the restaurant he loved.

Starlu was well-regarded but not in a good location. Poley's money was running out.

Poley thought there was a good story about the death of a restaurant. So he called The News & Observer and spoke with Andrea Weigl.

Weigl was a few months into her new job as our food writer. She had not met Poley but agreed there was a good story there. Poley said he would close Starlu on Dec. 22, 2007. He promised Weigl complete access.

The result was "Starlu goes dark," published Jan. 16. It's about the death of a business but also about the death of a dream.

Weigl told the story so well that it was included in the book, "Best Food Writing 2008," along with pieces from The New Yorker and Bon Appetit.

"Starlu goes dark" explained how difficult it is for restaurants to succeed. Poley hoped the piece would show how he wanted to bring a great dining experience to the public. And it did.

But the story also told of Poley's emotional investment in Starlu. Weigl wrote of Petunia, an ironwork sculpture of a pig. Petunia, nicknamed "Mistress of the Dining Room," hung above the kitchen. On Starlu's last night, Weigl described how Poley first balked at taking down Petunia.

Here's how she closed the story:

"Poley walked to a back hallway. He crouched down for a private moment, his wife beside him. A few minutes later, Sam came back, wiping away tears.

"This time, without hesitation, he walked over and took down Petunia. As he wiped dust off the pig's wings, a couple got up to leave. Putting on their coats, they called out: 'Goodbye, Sam. Goodbye, Starlu.' "

Poley now works for a catering company in Durham and has started a mobile grill in Durham called OnlyBurger.

"What she did with remarkable poignancy and accuracy was show the emotional toll it took on me," Poley said this week. "She was incredibly gracious and caring. ... She was able to communicate this incredibly painful experience in a way that people could relate to."

Weigl, 33, joined The N&O in 2000. She covered courts and was an excellent news reporter. She and another reporter produced a series in 2003 that showed domestic violence often is not prosecuted in North Carolina.

Last year, she did groundbreaking reporting on what role, if any, physicians should play in state executions.

But Weigl has a passion for food. She says she's from "a family of eaters." Her parents, who are visiting her in Raleigh this weekend, are good cooks. As a teen, Weigl made chocolate souffle because it was difficult to make.

So a year and half ago, Weigl became our food writer. She is quickly becoming one of the best in the country. Reporting about food all week hasn't sated her interest in it. Not a bit. She's taking cooking classes and still reads every food magazine she can find.

She often feels an emotional connection to food. She grew up eating German food in Pittsburgh and recently bit into a Polish sausage at a Triangle restaurant.

"I'm not joking," Weigl said. "It brought tears of joy to my eyes."