On weekdays Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant serves up typical Chinese-American fare, but on the weekends the dining rooms transform into a bustling dim sum parlor. Diners line up outside to wait for a seat as carts of sui mai, turnip cakes, steam rolls, and other dim sum classics pass from table to table. A cup of piping hot green tea is de rigueur, and the whole experience is best enjoyed with friends or family so everyone gets to try a bit of everything.

Bullock’s has served classic Eastern Carolina barbecue since 1952 and claims to be the longest continuously-running restaurant in Durham. The barbecue is obviously the draw here, but some non-porcine options include the Brunswick stew bread bowl, the Calabash shrimp appetizer with Cajun sauce, or the country style steak with gravy. This is old school Southern comfort food, served the way it’s always been.

Sometimes all life needs is a classic steak frites. Or maybe moules mariniere? Cassoulet? Vin Rouge’s menu reads like a classic French bistro greatest hits list. As the weather warms, a table at weekend brunch in the walled patio is a coveted reservation. The wine list is an oenophilic Francophile’s dream.

With the exception of a year or two, King’s Sandwich Shop has been open since 1942 — long enough that it’s not unusual to find grandparents bringing their grandchildren for the same burgers and hot dogs they enjoyed when they were young. Griddled burgers with King’s sauce, hot dogs with all the toppings, piping hot fries, and ice cold shakes round out the menu. There are often specials, but it’s the classics that have brought people back for decades.

Dame’s started in Greensboro, but gained acclaim in the Triangle when it opened the Durham location. Now situated in the Liberty Warehouse, diners line up almost daily for Dame’s take on this soul food classic. The restaurants has a list of specialties like the Red Crested Rose Comb (two fried chicken legs atop a classic waffle with strawberry schmear and candied pecans) or the Orange Speckled Chabo (a fried chicken cutlet atop a sweet potato waffle with orange-honeycomb schmear and orange dijon sauce). Diners can also create their own chicken and waffles adventure by choosing their preferred type of fried chicken, flavor of waffle, and flavored butter schmear.

Chef Mike Lee has created a mini empire (M-pire?) in Durham (M Kokko, M Tempura, M Pocha), but M Sushi is the original flagship. A few steps down into the semi-subterranean space transports diners to a world of expertly crafted sushi and luxurious Japanese cuisine. The rolls and other items are available a la carte, but the full M Sushi experience is the omakase menu — the smaller version is six courses, while the grand selection is eight.

Wood-fired pizza is hot right now in Durham, with multiple spots opening over the past couple of years, but Pizzeria Toro is the O.G. of wood-fired pies. Chef Gray Brooks (also of Littler and Jack Tar), and his team churn out innovative tweaks on Neapolitan classics, like the prosciutto cotto with green olives, asiago, and rosemary or the North Carolina littleneck clam pie with chilies and pecorino. The Chatham County crispy pigs’ ears appetizer (sliced and fried pigs’ ears with an apricot mostarda) has been a menu staple for years, and Toro backs up the menu with a creative cocktail list and wine list heavy on Italian classics.

Mixologist Shannon Healy teamed up with chef Carrie Schleiffer for a craft cocktail and food combination that is as unique as it is tasty. Healy’s cocktails are legendary and rotate seasonally, while Schleiffer’s menu includes blistered shisitos, cornmeal-fried oysters, and crispy pork belly. The famous Alley burger (a half-pound patty, truffle cheddar, bourbon bacon jam, chipotle aioli, and arugula) is always available, and those in the know ask for it to be foie’d (a generous chunk of foie gras stuffed right in the middle). A selfie with a burger and a cocktail in the actual alley is a downtown Durham bucket list item.

The sister restaurant of the legendary (and now-closed) Nana’s, NanaSteak has charted its own path as Durham’s go-to steakhouse. Traditional steakhouse fare gets a modern facelift with main courses like the charcoal-grilled filet mignon with Wagyu beef fat french fries and roasted Brussels sprouts or the crispy pork ribs with quick kimchi Napa cabbage slaw and a miso-ginger glaze. An extensive wine list and expertly crafted cocktails round out the experience, and the restaurant’s location right next to the Durham Performing Arts Center make it the perfect spot for a dinner-and-a-show date night.

Perhaps nothing represents the inexorable march of development in Durham than the loss of the original Parker & Otis space. Owner Jennings Brody created one of the Bull City’s most beloved eateries (cum-cafe-cum-wine shop-cum-gift shop) in Brightleaf Square and luckily was able to relocate the business to the American Tobacco Campus when a developer bought the original building. The new Parker & Otis is quite a bit smaller but still has all of the expertly hand-selected gifts, books, wines, stationary, and more. Longtime customer favorites like the grilled pimento cheese, turkey and pepper jelly sandwich, and green goddess tuna salad are still available at the deli counter, with the added bonus of now being able to dine al fresco amongst the meandering streams and lawns of American Tobacco.

“Just drive down the road, and look for the cow” is how most people explain how to get to La Vaquita. Arguably the most famous of Durham’s many taquerias, La Vaquita serves a variety of traditional tacos on homemade corn tortillas. Think barbacoa, carnitas, lengua, al pastor, and more. There are platos tradicionales like mole poblano, ceviche, or polla a la crema, as well as tortas.

Head down 15-501 for Guatemalan cuisine like pupusas, grilled meats, and caldos. The cuchitos de pollo are traditional corn flour cakes filled with chicken, and the carne guisada is a beef filet served with special sauce and accompanied by a beet and cabbage salad. Other offerings include ceviche, tamales, and atol de elote, a sweet corn and milk drink commonly sold by street and market vendors in Guatemala. Part of the restaurant is also a market for those looking to stock up on Latin American pantry staples.

One of the few Zimbabwean restaurants in the entire country, Zweli’s has built a loyal following in its few short years of operating. Chef Zwelibanzi (Zwe for short) Williams turned a successful catering operation into a brick and mortar location offering samosas, piri piri chicken, jollof rice, and more. Many diners order a side of chakalaka, a spicy tomato and bean relish that Williams says is one of the most popular items on the menu.