Open On Sundays: Pop's

I really must start paying attention to what days restaurants are open. This is the second weekend in a row that I've suggested that my friends meet me at a restaurant that was closed on Sundays. Last week, the plans were postponed for other reasons, but today they weren't.

Fortunately, in the vicinity of Durham's Brightleaf Square, where there is a plethora of dining options, if one's hopes for eating at one restaurant are dashed, one just has to walk around the corner. We went to Pop's, which opened at 5:30pm and was virtually empty, in contrast to Chamas, the Brazillian steakhouse, which was prohibitively packed. Classes start at Duke tomorrow, so there are more parental wallets in the area than usual.

Pop's was once owned by the owner of Nana's, Scott Howell, but it is now owned by John Vandergrift and Chris Stinnent. I hadn't been to Pop's in maybe seven years, but I couldn't discern that much had changed since my last visit. We shared a number of appetizers and a wood fired apple, brie, and ricotta pizza. We dove in quickly, so I neglected to take photographs. The appetizers included mussels, antipasto and calamari. All were excellent.

Unfortunately, we didn't have the time nor the capacity for dessert. They've always had such interesting flavors of sorbetto. There were also several pasta dishes on the menu that I'd love to try, so I'm hoping that it won't be years before I return.