The Independent Weekly recently put together their 2008 Best of the Triangle issue.  Once again several WRAL-TV personalities and CBC entities made the list.

WRAL-TV swept the Best Local Television Personality category.  WRAL-TV Chief Meteorologist Greg Fishel won top honors, and WRAL-TV Anchors/Reporters David Crabtree & Pam Saulsby came in as finalists.

The Durham Bulls and American Tobacco both got nods in the issue’s article “Best Places to Go with Your Kids – And Your Parents.” 

Here’s what writer Fiona Morgan had to say about the Bulls:

Every ballpark should be as fun, as inexpensive and as pleasant as the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.  The stadium, which opened in 1998, is clean and beautifully designed, with good sightlines even in the grassy outfield. And while the AAA minor league Bulls team—affiliated with the current first-place Tampa Rays—play a serious game that's fun to watch, there are lots of fun in-between-innings entertainment for kids who might not be all that interested in the game.

The organizers go out of their way to make the Bulls fun for 5-year-olds. (I'm still waiting for mascot Wool E. Bull to beat one of the kids around the bases.) Even the concessions are relatively cheap and healthy—though rest assured you can get beer and cheese fries. Clean, spacious bathrooms and a shaded break area make this an accessible place for everyone. Several nighttime games include fireworks—which send some small kids into fits of terror, so check the schedule.

Two of American Tobacco’s restaurants got high votes in the Indy Week Best of issue.  Tyler’s Taproom ranked as a finalist in Best Bar Staff in Durham County, Best Fries, Best Bar Food in Durham County and Best Draft Beer Selection.  The Mellow Mushroom ranked as a finalist for Best Pizza.

And American Tobacco itself got mention in the same article that celebrated the Bulls.

Morgan wrote:

This massive renovation of the old American Tobacco Campus transformed a complex of empty tobacco buildings into a destination that shows off Durham's historic skyline. There's a little touch of Epcot in the form of a "river," the water feature that flows down from the old railroad tracks through islands of concrete.

The Music on the Lawn concert series, co-sponsored by North Carolina Public Radio WUNC's Back Porch Music, offers free outdoor entertainment (bring chairs or blankets) and a place for kids to run around in the grass. There are two family-friendly restaurants with some outdoor seating Tyler's Taproom (burgers, pub grub and lots of great beer choices for parents) and the Mellow Mushroom (with a mushroom-shaped booth, if you're lucky enough to get it, and a baseball theme to honor the Durham Bull's ballpark across the street). If your family has a more adventurous palate, try the noodles or sushi at Cafe Zen.