Late Night Franklin Street and Its Varied Culinary Offerings.

Before I came to Chapel Hill, I lived far away in a small town named Raleigh, North Carolina.  You've probably never heard of it; I usually just say I live "a couple of miles outside of Apex." Raleigh is a nice enough place, and

I've enjoyed spending 18 years of my life there, but one serious problem has become apparent to me in my time there.

Imagine that you're living in the northern region of Raleigh, and it's just a little after midnight on a Saturday night.  Suddenly, you a feel a stab of hunger in your gut, and you get the urge to find a delicious midnight snack.  What do you do?

Well obviously you can't just get some chips and some dip out of the pantry, that'd be taking the unsatisfying easy way out.  Therefore, you must go out; fast food is the only option that remains.  This brings us to the problem.  Where can you go?  There are no independent delis or grills within a reasonable distance that stay open late, and almost all of the fast food that you would expect to remain open has closed.  McDonalds, Wendys, Taco Bell: all closed.  The only choice still available?  Cookout.  Now don't get me wrong, as Cookout is incredibly delicious. 
I'd go so far as to say that the only thing wrong with Franklin Street or possibly Chapel Hill as a whole is the absence of a Cookout.  The inspirational and reasonably priced milkshakes of so many different flavors, the revolutionary working man's combo: the Cookout tray, Cookout has it all.

I love Cookout, and I love that it is open until 3 AM in Raleigh, but I also love variety.  Unless I want to drive for more time than I could possibly spend eating, Cookout is the only option. 

Now this is where Franklin Street shines; after midnight, there are still a huge variety of delicious foods available.  I still haven't had the opportunity to try every single one, but I'd like to discuss several important ones.

• Bskis: put simply: simply fantastic.  Only once have I tried their namesake food item, the "ski", but it was extremely tasty.  What I really love about this place is the side items though.  The chicken strips, the huge bag of fries, the cookies and the fresh fruit.  This is all I want when I go to Bskis.  The worst feeling is when you get a craving for Bskis on monday nights, as this is the one night where they close before the AM.
• Cosmic Cantina:  As soon as I got to UNC, I began to hear amazing things about Cosmic's burritos.  The restaurant itself is a little seedy, but this only adds to the experience when you're rushing there at 2:57, to get in before they supposedly close at 3 (don't worry,they stay open as long as there's people there, and there always are).
• Jimmy Johns: A good sub is always delicious, especially late at night, and Jimmy Johns is just a classic.
• Gumby's pizza:  Enjoying amazingly delicious pokey stix and a pizza late at night with good friends: probably less than 10 dollars.  Getting late night delivery from Gumby's pizza: priceless.     Wait I think I did that wrong?
• I Love New York Pizza: greasy and delicious 
• Time Out Cafe (24 HOURS!): supposedly very greasy, and very delicious.
• Qdoba: only open late on weekends.
• Buns: because burgers are a necessity for late night dining in a college town.

That's all for this week, and now there's no reason to be scared when you get hungry at 1:45 in the morning!

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