October 27, 2026 — Tuesday Edition

Happy Tuesday, Durham. Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, which means the whole week bends toward it: a 21-and-up night at the Museum Thursday, a ten-day arts festival that starts Friday in downtown's storefronts and alleys, a Broadway nanny at DPAC, and trick-or-treating in what the forecast calls mid-70s and partly sunny. Then Sunday we all get an hour back. Tonight there's Beck next door to a brand-new brisket place, which is where we're starting. Let's get into it.

American Tobacco has plenty of places to eat before a DPAC show. Until this fall, it didn't have one that would sell you a breakfast taco at 8:30 on a Tuesday morning and a brisket plate at 8:30 that night.

East of Texas opened in the Reed Building, by the Lucky Strike water tower, at the end of the summer: a soft opening, then a four-day grand opening over Labor Day weekend. It's the second location of a Winston-Salem restaurant from Claire Calvin, a sixth-generation Texan from Houston and a James Beard Foundation Fellow. She moved to North Carolina in 2007, started a Tex-Mex meal-delivery business called Dinners on the Porch in 2010, opened The Porch in 2014, and launched East of Texas in 2023. Durham is the expansion, and by her own account it's going well: "We love it here!"

The concept is two Texas traditions in one kitchen: Central Texas-style barbecue, smoked low and slow, and scratch-made Tex-Mex. Start with the Texas Twinkies — jalapeños stuffed with brisket and cream cheese, wrapped in bacon and smoked — because if you don't, the next table will, and you'll watch. Then the sliced brisket or the lime-glazed pulled pork, or go the taco route: brisket, barbacoa, smoked salmon, or smoked cauliflower for the vegetarian in your group. Flautas, chicken enchiladas, fresh tortillas, guacamole and queso fill out the Tex-Mex side, and there are margaritas, cocktails and craft beer at the bar. One dining guide puts it at about $20 to $30 a person.

The room is big, lively and casual, with indoor seating, a new patio and counter dining. That's built for exactly the crowd ATC draws: families on a Saturday, office lunches on a Wednesday, and people who need to eat fast before an 8 PM curtain.

Pro tip: the move nobody's making yet is breakfast. It runs 8:30 to 11 on weekdays (9 to 11 Saturday), with Sunday brunch 10 to 3, and the campus is quiet at that hour. And tonight, if you have Beck tickets, it's a two-minute walk to DPAC — eat at 6, you'll make the 7:30 start.

📅 318 Blackwell St, Ste 100 (American Tobacco Campus) · Mon–Thu 8:30 AM–9 PM · Fri 8:30 AM–10 PM · Sat 9 AM–10 PM · Sun 10 AM–8 PM · (919) 251-9065 (East of Texas · FSR)

⭐ Michelin likes a Durham sandwich. The 2026 Michelin Guide American South came out last Wednesday in Nashville, and Durham's new honor went to Ideal's, Ian Bracken and Paul Chirico's sandwich shop, which picked up a Bib Gourmand — Michelin's good-food-at-a-fair-price award. Little Bull, Nanas, Nikos and Seraphine stay on the Recommended list. No Durham stars this year (the state's only star is in Charlotte), but a sandwich counter on the same list as the white-tablecloth places feels very Durham. Go get a sandwich before the line finds out. (Raleigh Magazine · Axios)

🥪 A Halloween sandwich drop. Preeti Waas' Super Secret Sandwich pop-up does a "Super Spooky Sandwich" edition on Halloween, noon to 4, with pickup at 202 N. Corcoran St. Ordering opened Saturday on the pop-up's Instagram, and the last one sold out, so if you're reading this at 9 AM, go now. (Super Secret Sandwich · Triangle Food Blog)

🍽️ Chefs for Change, a week from Thursday. The annual gala and auction for Families Moving Forward is Thursday, November 5, at The Cookery, and the lineup is a who's-who of Durham kitchens: Matt Kelly (Nanas Rockwood), Chris Garrett (Seraphine), Aaron Benjamin (Gocciolina), Alex Catotti and Erin Kobler (Restaurant Cornelia) and Chris McLaurin (Lutra). Tickets are on sale; it's a very good dinner for a very good cause. (Triangle Food Blog)

Duke 19, Virginia 16. That's how you stop a two-game skid: by having the ball for 21 minutes and still winning. Virginia ran 77 plays to Duke's 50 and held it for nearly 39 minutes, and Jekail Middlebrook ran for 117 yards. But Duke made its plays count, at 6.5 yards a snap to UVA's 4.6, with touchdowns from Nate Sheppard on the ground and Brody Keefe through the air, and one fewer turnover. The Blue Devils are 5-2 and host Boston College on Halloween at noon. NCCU opened MEAC play by winning 31-12 at Delaware State, and the Eagles (3-5, 1-0) are home Saturday at 2 against Howard. Men's basketball finished its exhibitions with two statements: 103-64 over No. 8 Tennessee in Cameron, then 90-84 at No. 17 Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse. The real thing starts Monday, November 2, against Army at 6:30 on ESPNU. The women open Tuesday, November 3, against Green Bay at 7. Women's soccer won its Senior Night 1-0 over NC State on Avery Oder's second-half goal, is 9-1-4, plays at Florida State Thursday at 8 (ACCN), and has its home finale November 5 at 6 against Virginia. Volleyball (14-6) lost to No. 15 Stanford, swept Cal, and hosts BC Friday at 6:30 and Syracuse Sunday at 1. (Box score · Duke · NCCU)

The week-ahead version: October keeps showing off. Today: sunny, near 75, with lows in the upper 40s tonight. Wednesday: mostly sunny, near 72, clouds moving in overnight. Thursday: mostly sunny, 74 — a jacket for the walk home from AfterHours, but barely. Friday: sunny and near 78, the pick of the week. Saturday, Halloween: partly sunny, near 76, with an overnight low around 54. That's trick-or-treating weather where, for once, nobody has to wear a coat over the costume. Sunday: partly sunny, near 73, and a 30 percent chance of showers, the first real rain chance in weeks. The lakes would love it. And don't forget: clocks fall back early Sunday morning, so sunset jumps an hour earlier. (NWS)

21:13 — Duke's time of possession at Virginia, in a game it won · 90-84 — Duke over No. 17 Kansas, in Lawrence · 31-12 — NCCU at Delaware State · 10 — days of the Durham FRINGE Festival · 13 — classes of chrysanthemum at the Gardens' mum festival · 36 — percent full, Durham's reservoirs, still in Stage 2 · 76 — the forecast high for Halloween

The 9th Street Journal goes inside Durham's women-, queer- and non-binary-led auto shop. Gemma Tutton visits Fluid Community Garage on Rockway Street in Northeast Durham, which Nikki Bosov and Bear O'Brien opened in May with $22,166 raised on GoFundMe. It takes only five or six cars a day so nobody's rushed. The waiting room has local art and free snacks, the walls have charts explaining what your brake pads are doing, and there's a play car for kids that shows how an engine works. It's booked four to six weeks out and still saving for a tire machine. The whole thing runs on one idea, "There's no stupid questions," and it's a lovely read about a business built on the opposite of the usual auto-shop dread. (9th Street Journal)

There's one night a year when every porch light on the block means the same thing: come on up.

The rest of the year, our front doors are for packages and the occasional canvasser. On Halloween they open every ninety seconds, for a princess, a dinosaur, a kid in a cardboard box who'll explain the costume at length. You meet the family that moved in around the corner in June. You find out the quiet guy across the street does a full fog-machine graveyard. Neighbors who've waved at each other for five years finally stand on the same sidewalk for an hour, holding a bowl and comparing candy strategies.

So this Saturday, turn the light on. Buy the good candy. Sit on the steps instead of waiting by the door. The trick-or-treaters are only half the point.

Much love, Durham. 🐂

— Michael & Anne · Written from Trinity Park ☕

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