在DURHAM北端COSTCO方向，坐落着一家低调经营的餐厅——龙门客栈 DRAGON INN。
老板在90年代因访学杜克，留在了DURHAM，少了一些商人气质，在文人和老板之间游刃行走，在工作与休闲之中取舍有序，坚持着周日闭店享受生活。
说起餐厅的经营，文化人也并不甘拜下风，老板以科研的精神研发每一道招牌菜，力求将最纯正的中国味道摆上餐桌。营业多年却从未进行过硬广推广，光临的客人也是口口相传而至。“酒香不怕巷子深”，这家真诚礼待顾客的餐厅，究竟以何种招式，照料着三角区食神吃客的思乡之情？
龙门客栈招牌之——
麻辣香锅：
龙门客栈的秘密招数之一，老板用十几味香料入味，调至了龙门客栈的独家味道，卖相也是“极好的”，每每上桌，食客们都忍不住先拍为快，以吃到正宗的香锅而向国内的亲朋好友炫耀一番——“我们村里也是应有尽有！”香锅的配菜也是精彩丰盈，豆皮年糕小玉米，牛肚鸭掌鹌鹑蛋……爱吃到的，难吃到的，全都包裹在秘制调料之中；热油高火一锅出，口口留香，回味悠长！
煎饼馃子：
不知几何，天津煎饼网络爆红，随着《舌尖上的中国》的推广，“煎饼馃子来一套！”的口号，“精武精神”般威震四方！作为土生土长的天津人，老板当然要把这种天津美味腾上龙门客栈的招牌菜单。在中国，只有身在天津才能尝到的网红小吃，在龙门客栈就可以轻松拍照分享品尝！柔软的煎饼蛋皮，夹上酥脆的炸果子，“咔嚓”一口，瞬间穿越天津的街头巷口。
天津炸糕：
其实在天津，煎饼馃子并未勇冠三军，夺得“天津三绝”名号的，其实是“狗不理包子”，“十八街麻花”及“耳朵眼炸糕”。天津小吃的命名也是妥妥的相声味儿，就像成长生活在“哏儿都”的大哥哥小姐姐，自带幽默感。今天，耳朵眼胡同已经随着改革的春风一去不复，小城岁月流逝，人间美味却代代相传。龙门客栈神还原天津炸糕原味，软滑的糯米外皮炸制金黄，粗犷的外表下有着一颗温柔甘甜的豆沙心。作为老少皆宜的中式甜点，糯米豆沙的传统搭配，以弹弹粘粘的特质及不甜不腻的中庸之道，完胜一切西式甜品。
脆皮韭菜盒子：
韭菜、鸡蛋、粉丝、木耳……盒子作为中国北方的主打风味，也转到了龙门客栈的厨房中。经过老板的悉心改良，传统美食被赋予了新欣味道，以往厚重的饼皮被脆皮所替代，阴柔有劲，自成一派。比例完美的混合馅料，白黄绿黑，圆满的诠释了中国美食的色香味俱全。
除了以上几大招式，龙门客栈的菜单上还陈列着桂花紫米红豆粥、砂锅豆腐、地三鲜、炸酱面等北方味道。
想要在北卡品尝到独特的天津风味，一定要亲自探店龙门客栈。来自南方的英雄，不会失望于对华北佳肴的探索；来自北方的好汉，不用再为怀念儿时的滋味一筹莫展。
来自天津的小伙伴，您“吃了吗？”
龙苑（龙门客栈，Dragon Inn）有一份真正的中国菜单
《新闻与观察家》2016年5月26日在美食专栏刊发的匿名品尝评鉴
位于达勒姆北部这家开了二三十年的老中国餐馆。
3年前，当龙门客栈易手时，回来的常客无疑对没有改变的东西感到放心。
当然，新主人用一层用中国漆红色镶边的乳白色油漆把这个地方装饰一新。但传统的装饰——纸灯笼、水墨画、镶嵌着珍珠贝母人物像的华丽屏风——保留了一个存在了20多年的地方的感觉。即使是在小街购物中心餐厅工作多年、有一定年纪、举止端庄的服务员，依然在门口迎接你。
华丽屏风上，珍珠贝母人物造型描摹出中国文化中的天宫仙境。
收银台边装饰的这块圆形木刻，勾画的仿佛是人间美景。
中国剪纸福字迎宾。
你还可以买到猪肉炒饭，或者左宗棠鸡，或者蒙古牛肉，或者龙华饭店菜单上列出的其他几十种美国华人最喜欢的菜肴。
约50年前当他还是个小男孩时就在家做饭的David，而今是这家餐厅的老板兼大厨。他上世纪90年代以访问学者的身份来到美国，在杜克大学(Duke)学习，因为非常喜欢这个地方就留了下来。除了普通的菜单外，他还专门准备了一份菜单。正是这份菜单，将龙门客栈从一个普通的社区餐馆提升到一个值得驱车前往北达勒姆的目的地。
天花板上的龙头装饰和墙壁上的水墨画。
如果你接受了写在门内白板上写着的“请索要我们正宗中国菜单!”的邀请，你会收到两份菜单。那份双语菜单上面有四十多道菜，大部分是四川菜。
如果凉拌牛肉牛肚作为开胃菜听起来有点吓人，那么辣椒油拌鸡肉也能有效地刺激你的味蕾。烹制葱油鸡的火力调小了一些，依然保持了原先的味道。
无论如何，不要忽略了附加在页面底部的“蒸猪肉汉堡”。“中国牛肉饼”可能是这道西安特色菜更准确的名字，它把多汁的五花肉丝包进一个格状的小圆面包里(David妻子的手艺)，其蓬松的内部让人想起点心车上常见的馒头。咬一口，我敢打赌你不会对这个名字吹毛求疵。
来龙门客栈体验两次，虽然我只了解到正宗菜单上丰富的主菜的皮毛，但这足以让我相信，在点餐时，你可以随心所欲。如果你喜欢宫保鸡丁，David的做法和味道会让你耳目一新。我还可以为椒盐鱼担保，这是我们更熟悉的虾类主题的一种变体，用苏瓦伊鱼（swai）鱼片代替贝类，点缀四川青豆和烤红辣椒、大蒜屑末，做成一种淡而脆的面糊。肥牛、萝卜火锅是一笔令人安慰的食物大奖。当天气变热的时候，豆瓣酱面条可能更有诱惑力，也能让人感到舒缓。豆瓣酱面条是一种自己动手做的食物，由小麦面条、浓郁富而富含鲜味的酱汁大豆和黄瓜丝组成，以形成一种凉爽的对比。
这个大菜单足以让龙门客栈成为不可多得的正宗中国菜馆，还有如白菜甜栗子、桂花风味粥等，具有鲜明的异国情调。在前厅服务的David女儿自豪地说，在北卡，还没有中餐馆像她家这样。
麻辣香锅(有时也叫干锅)是与食客充分互动的一道菜，你可以根据自己的口味在菜单上标记你的选择。你可以从13种蔬菜中勾选你喜欢的任何食物，包括肉类和其他蔬菜，指定酱料(胡椒、花生或芝麻)和辣度(1至3个辣椒)。比如，你选择删除卷心菜和蘑菇，代之以大白菜和香菇。加入五花肉、鱿鱼和鹌鹑蛋，选择两个辣度的辣椒酱，大约15分钟后，你的盛宴就会端上来。
《新闻与观察家》美食专栏报道报样。
Dining review: Ask for the authentic Chinese menu at Dragon Inn
By Greg Cox CORRESPONDENT
When Dragon Inn changed hands three years ago, returning regulars were no doubt reassured by what hadn’t changed.
Sure, the new owner had spruced up the place with a fresh coat of ivory paint trimmed in Chinese lacquer red. But the traditional decor – paper lanterns, ink calligraphy paintings, an ornate divider screen inlaid with mother-of-pearl – preserved the feel of a place that had been around for more than two decades. Even the dignified waiter of a certain age who had been working for years at the little strip mall restaurant still greeted you at the door.
You could still get your pork fried rice fix, too. Or General Tso’s chicken, or Mongolian beef, or any of the scores of other dishes listed on Dragon Inn’s menu of Chinese-American favorites.
But owner/chef David Ren, who has been cooking at home since he was a boy in China some 50 years ago (he came to the States as a visiting scholar at Duke in the ’90s and liked the area so much that he stayed) wants you to know about another menu. It’s this menu that elevates Dragon Inn from an ordinary neighborhood eatery to a destination worth a drive to North Durham.
Actually, if you accept the invitation written on the dry erase board just inside the door (“Ask for our authentic Chinese menu plz!”), you’ll be handed two menus. The larger one is a bilingual list of more than four dozen dishes, mostly Szechwan.
If beef tripe in chili oil, served cold, sounds a little daunting for a starter, chicken in chili oil is just as effective at revving up your taste buds. Chicken in scallion oil dials the heat back a few notches without sacrificing flavor.
By all means, don’t overlook the “steamed pork burger” appended to the bottom of the page. “Chinese sloppy Joe” might be a more accurate name for this Xi’an specialty, which packs juicy shreds of slow-cooked pork belly into a griddled bun (made by Ren’s wife, Jun) whose airy interior evokes the steamed buns familiar from dim sum carts. One bite, and I’m betting you won’t be inclined to quibble about the name.
After two visits to Dragon Inn, I’ve only scratched the surface of the authentic menu’s extensive entree offering, but it’s enough to convince me that you’re probably safe in following your whim when it comes to ordering. If you’re a fan of kung pao chicken, Ren’s authentic streamlined rendition – wok-crisped nuggets tossed with peanuts and red chiles – will spoil you for the bland Chinese-American version.
I can also vouch for salt and pepper fish, a variation on the more familiar shrimp theme that replaces the shellfish with filets of swai in an exemplary light, crisp batter – and for Szechwan green beans, properly wok-blistered and spangled with a confetti of toasted red chiles and garlic.
At the other end of the Scoville spectrum, a hot pot of fatty beef brisket and turnips is a comfort food jackpot. Just as soothing, and probably more tempting when the weather turns hot, are noodles with soybean paste: a toss-it-yourself composition of wheat noodles, soybeans in a thick, dark umami-laden sauce, and julienne cucumbers for cooling contrast.
If the larger menu of authentic fare qualifies Dragon Inn as a rarity in these parts – the list is loaded with exotica such asChinese cabbage with sweet chestnuts, and osmanthus flavor cultured sticky congee – it’s the smaller menu that makes it unique. Rikki Ren, the owner’s daughter who runs the front of the house, will proudly tell you that Dragon Inn is the only restaurant in North Carolina to offer it.
“It” is spicy pot (sometimes called dry hot pot), a single dish with countless variations that you can tailor to your taste by marking your choices on a sushi-style menu. The foundation of the dish consists of 13 default vegetables, any of which you can remove by crossing them off the list. Add whatever you like by checking off your selections on an a la carte list of meats and additional vegetables. Finally, specify a sauce (peppercorn, peanut or sesame) and a degree of spiciness (one to three chiles).
You might, for instance, opt to delete the cabbage and mushroom and replace them with Chinese cabbage and shiitake. Add pork belly, squid and a quail egg. Make the sauce peppercorn, two chiles (they’re fairly conservative with the Szechwan peppercorns here). In 15 minutes or so, your shareable feast will arrive, showered with cilantro (unless you opted out of that one) and accompanied by steamed rice – served, somewhat startlingly, in a large Kellogg’s Corn Flakes bowl.
Then again, maybe the bowl shouldn’t come as a surprise in a restaurant named for the sign of the Chinese zodiac which – as the paper placemat points out – signifies an eccentric personality.
营业时间：周一-周六
订餐电话：919-477-6310
地点：3823 GUESS RD, DURHAM NC 27705
网站：dragoninndurham.com
