Fried apples, local cheddar cheese, and an egg on a pretzel roll — that’s all I have to say for this lede. For your sake, I would urge you to continue reading.
Fridays are the home stretch — that last gasp of work and stress before the oncoming weekend, and it’s only fit to start them with a bang.
Ergo, I decided to adopt a new ritual of waking up a little earlier on Friday mornings and then setting out to find new and interesting places to munch for breakfast. This lasted for two weeks, and then a chance find changed that.
Chance perhaps isn’t the correct word. Many people around me had been raving about Neal’s Deli in Carrboro, and I just recently decided to try it with a friend of mine. Holy hell, what a good call.
I got the delicious concoction depicted at the beginning of this piece, and I can’t even begin to describe its perfection. The sweetness of the apples, the creaminess and well-cooked softness of the eggs, the richness of the cheddar, and the wonderful pillowyness of the locally-baked bread were a perfect combo. My friend Derek got a pimento cheese and bacon biscuit (Neal’s is known for its gloriously flaky and moist made-from-scratch version of this buttery bread) which was so decadently incredible that he insisted Neal’s become our ritual of Friday breakfast.
Bottled sodas were for sale on the counter, coffee was poured straight from a pitcher, and the food was in and out in 5 minutes. That established, I felt pretty freaking blue-collar-esque cool as I sipped my coffee with a tad of cream, ate my breakfast sandwich, and chatted with my pal in the high seats as I gleefully munched at the deli. I’m sure that somewhere, someone from my beloved tried-and-true Northeastern delis is berating me for that comment.
Neal’s does things right, and they do them local. I’ve tried their deli sandwiches as well since, and I must say that the cold turkey sub was just spot on (though my love of spiciness wishes that the peppers would have been a little hotter) as my breakfast sandwich. They source most everything in the store that isn’t made from scratch from nearby farms, bakeries, etc. and you can taste Neal’s care for quality in their choice to utilize these local businesses.
I’m not saying that Neal’s is the greatest breakfast in the area, because I haven’t gotten to try everything — but if you’re feeling a damn good breakfast sandwich and you have time in the morning, choosing Neal’s would be a wise decision.
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
