Durham's award-winning restaurant Saltbox doesn' t disappoint - Axios RaleighLog InLog InAxios Raleigh is an Axios company.

Saltbox doesn' t disappoint

, author of We ate a lot. Photo: Emma Way/Axios Hey, y'all. Southern bureau chief Michael Graff here, to talk about fish. It's dangerous to meet the things you dream about, so I was a little nervous walking into .Wait, you ask, you dream about seafood? Well, yes I do. Context: My father was a Chesapeake Bay waterman, and I grew up working on his boat. When your childhood is filled with fresh fish, and you wind up living four hours from the coast in a city like Charlotte, you grow weary with restaurants' attempts to church up seafood.So on our team's visit with Lucille and Zach last week, we hopped off the Amtrak in Durham and hustled over to the spot that made . Dear Triangle readers, I must say, you are among the luckiest people in this "" state. Why it matters: Award-winning restaurants can feel trite. How many old-fashioneds and appetizers with endless names can you share?But Saltbox delivers a rare combination of all-star food in a simple setting. It reminded me of the countless meals I'd eaten fresh off the boat. We ordered everything we could — rolls and plates, flounder and shrimp, and of course some of Moore's famous hush honeys, or honey hush puppies.Frying fish can truly damn the taste of it but Moore's version is lightly breaded and generously seasoned in a way that lets the fish remain the main character.My favorite was the bluefish roll, which the server told us was too "fishy" for him, but came out just right for me, a grown-up boy who suffered many a bite from the sharp teeth of a blue. The bottom line: The joy of Saltbox is that we could sit as friends for an hour at a picnic table, and know that we were eating at the classiest joint in the state. Get more local stories in your inbox with .Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.

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