Category: Raleigh Restaurants

Okay, I know I recently wrote about Crawford and Son, but this is seriously my most favorite restaurant ever……I mean ever…..that includes back at home in San Diego where there are also a ton of amazing restaurants.  In fact, I travel all over and this is my favorite anywhere. Also, can you not get over the fact of what a freaking stand-up guy Chef Scott is and his family…..so damn adorable!!!!!?????

Okay, starting to sound less obsessed and more stalkerish, so I shall move on.  We are going again tomorrow night and I realize I did not post the pictures from the last time when we were there and shame on me for that as it is was just as amazing as before.  Chef changes his menu quite often and I am always trying new things, so I will continue to share my loves (some are ones that do not seem to leave the menu……thank….such as the Yellowtail Crudo).

Another fun and great night that started off with a cocktail and a bottle of wine and ended with a cocktail at the bar.  I have to share the Yellowtail Crudo again because it is THAT good.  Someone asked me what Crudo meant, so I shall clarify….RAW.  So, when you order something that has crudo in the name, don’t be upset it is cold!!!  Yes, that has happened, but Chef does a great job with his menu and he clearly labels all of the raw items in a separate area (I often use his menu as a guidance to other restaurants for layout, amount of details, etc. when asked for examples of good).  This dish is so delicious with all of the various components he is able to pack in there  and it just makes me tingle with each bite.  We have miso in here, fermented peppers, seaweed, etc.  The Yellowtail is so fresh and is just absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!!!!

My husband (Matt) was super excited to go as we had seen Chef post this dish on Instagram (if you do not follow him or his restaurant….you better get on that as you are missing out on special menu items that you will want to run….not walk….to get there to consume immediately if not sooner).  This is called Crab Porridge and has brown butter, parmesan and is topped with sunchoke chips.  Matt absolutely devoured and LOVED this dish.  I liked it a lot, but I think I had different expectations, which is kind of silly since it is called porridge.  For some reason, I had expected chunks of crab, which is does not have.   However, that does not mean you do not taste the crab, which is important, but I would have liked a few chunks in there.  Again, another win by Chef, but if you did not get it while it was there, it is now gone…..for at least the time being.

I always get so full and this is literally the one and only place I seem to always intentionally save room for dessert (or just make room), which is funny because when I read his desserts they are not usually what I would be drawn to, but I have absolutely loved all of them.  But before I get to that I have to tell you about this main entree we got that was literally mind blowing, cream your pants good!!!!!!!

It was the Braised Pork Cheeks….holy freaking hell was this good.  The Pork literally just fell apart to the touch of a fork it was so moist (hehehe….yes…I am immature) and juicy and was served over absolutely the most amazingly perfect consistency and taste of parmesan grits!!  I never had grits until I moved to Raleigh from San Diego, but I am a damn sucker for good grits.  It also included butter cabbage (whoa…..surprising slamming taste) and leeks and whey.  This might be one of my favorite main courses I have had there so far…..Chef….you are making it hard on me!!!!  I will admit I cheated on this picture (thank you Anthony for being my back-up) as I get so giddy and excited I dig in too soon, so they snapped this one before going out to another table.  I want to make sure I give the proper photo creds!

I decided to try something different for dessert and went with the Olive Oil Cake (with lemon mousse, caramel popcorn and milk jam).  I have to admit I was drawn to it because of the caramel popcorn (I LOVE popcorn) and was slightly worried as I usually am when ordering desserts here as they usually always include citrus components that I am not typically a fan of, but as usual…..YUM!!  Chef does such a great job of making those citrus components very subtle and refreshing rather than the main taste that takes over the dessert.  This cake was so moist and when you paired all of the components together….it was like nothing I have ever had before.  BTW, the caramel popcorn was nice and salty too……hhmmmm……yes.

We decided we had held up our table for long enough and saw some seats open up at the bar so moved on over and I asked for a surprise cocktail.  I cannot for the life of me remember exactly what was in this drink even though she told me, but my guess is mezcal (if you have not had this, it is a smoky tequila and is very unique and special tasting) and possibly Frangelico or something similar (hazelnut flavored liquor).  It was delicious and a very nice end to our evening.

SO EXCITED TO GO TOMORROW NIGHT!!!  Chef’s new spring menu is out and I am definitely going to be trying the Asparagus Salad and the Wagyu Beef Shortrib!!!

#raleighfoodwhore #crawfordandson #scottcrawford #raleighrestaurants #downtownraleigh #bestraleighrestaurant

When I heard about a French-American bistro opening up in Moore Square I was intrigued, but honestly did not rush to get there as I am often disappointed in these restaurants as the ones I have been to in Raleigh area have been way off base.  Well, I heard a few positive comments, so I knew I had to get in there.  One of my husband’s co-workers from out of town (Seattle) was visiting and wanted to go to a restaurant of my choice due to reading my blog, so I decided it was time to take the chance.

I walked into the restaurant and was already pleasantly surprised to how awesome the music was and couple that with the decor and feel of the restaurant and you have a an amazing setting.  Good start!!  The restaurant is small and quaint and I love how untouched it is with exposed walls, etc.  I did not get to sit at the bar, but looks nice, so will try that out during my next visit.  Here are some initial pictures I took:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had made my reservation through Instagram (very easy and I was surprised by how quickly they responded) and was seated immediately when I arrived (an earlier dinner hour likely helps).  Our server came over and greeted me immediately, offered menus and water while I was waiting for the rest of my guests to arrive.  Once they came, we ordered a bottle of wine and decided to start off with the TARTE FLAMBÉ, which consisted of fromage blanc, bacon, red onions and olive oil.  IT WAS SO FREAKING GOOD that I almost shouted!!!  We ALL loved it and the crust was absolutely perfectly cooked (so nice and crispy, but not burned whatsoever)!!!  Also, I have to say it was the exact right amount of each ingredient as I was not left wishing there was more or less of anything.

Then Chef Jeff was kind enough to send out some oysters for us to enjoy (two different preparations).  One of the oysters was baked with roasted garlic, Gruyere and fennel and the oyster was fried and topped with an Aoili of sorts along with chopped cornichon on top.  Okay, the based oyster was literally an explosion of amazingness in my mouth, which resulted in a shout or two!!  I want to go back and have about 100 of those immediately if not sooner.  Not only was the oyster cooked to perfection, but each of the components coupled together so well and delighted my taste buds!!!  The fried oyster was also fantastic – not too much breading, not too fried, not too much sauce and the chopped cornichon was such a surprise touch!  Holy moly my mouth is watering as I write this.

For my main meal, I was really struggling between the Royale Burger and the Steak Frites and decided to go with the Steak because if you cannot get that right at a French bistro you might as well pack it on up.  I tried to talk one of my companions to order the damn burger, but no…..hubby was not super hungry and decided to order the Asian wings special they had for the upcoming dinner to celebrate the Chinese New Year.  His co-worker (Kitson) was torn between a few items as well and ended up going with their pasta special (chicken, mushrooms, tomato ragu and I am sure I am missing an ingredient or five).

My steak came out and was cooked absolutely exactly how I asked for it (I ordered it med-rare and if you eat any steak cooked more than that….you are ruining it).  I was worried about the frites at first because in my mind they were going to be thin and these are the opposite of that.  Oh, and holy crap it is served with a generous helping of Au Poivre sauce (a really intense sauce to make consisting of housemade demi glaze, caramel, red wine gastrique, green and black peppercorns and brandy).  Chef Jeff is not fucking around with this sauce and my understanding is that it takes him days to make it.  Thank you sir!!!!  I was anything but disappointed with the frites and am quite ashamed of how quickly I judged them before tasting them.  Shame on me and so sorry potato friend.  Here is my defense – typically wedge type of potatoes are not overly flavorful and they are difficult to get right from a crispness perspective without the inside ending up like mush.  These were so right!!!  Check this dish out!!!!

Matt’s wings were so damn good – quite spicy….not for you wimps out there!  But they were also so meaty and flavorful!  I am not the biggest wing person because I feel like they are so much work for such little reward, but not these!  I actually could use a knife and fork with these as they had enough meat on them, but if I had been eating more, they were digging into and getting my hands and face a mess.

Kitson liked her pasta, but she was not wowed by it.  I ended up taking the rest home and ate it for lunch the next day.  I figured out her issue with it as she was disappointed she was not tasting the ragu as much as she would have thought.  Well, it needed to be stirred as it was towards the bottom of the dish.  Once I did that, it was so flavorful, the chicken was very moist, the mushrooms were cooked so well and I loved the choice of pasta type.  I would stir it next time you order it before eating it and then you will not have this issue!!  You can tell by the picture that you do not immediately see the ragu much, but the breadcrumbs on top were so crunchy delicious!

Now here is how great our server was – she must have let Chef know that I was trying to convince everyone at the table to get the burger so I could try it, so he sent one out cut into three pieces so we could each try it.  Holy freaking burger batman!!!  It was one of the best burgers I have had in a really long time.  It is served with Gruyere cheese (and they are not stingy with that cheese…..thank you, thank you) and a choice of the Bearnaise or the Au Poivre sauce, but Chef gave us both to try.  The Bearnaise has housemade taragon vinegar, whole  butter, egg yolks and salt.  The bread (it is actually an english muffin) that they used was so soft and was perfect!!!  They have a woman who makes them fresh for them….she rocks!!  My only feedback here is on the Bearnaise sauce as it was very watery and too thin to even really pour onto the plate and dip it.  Also, you would think that you should definitely go with the Au Poivre sauce with this one, but if the Bearnaise was the right consistency, it would have been my choice as the flavor was so unique and complemented the burger extremely well.  I WILL DEFINITELY be coming back for just that burger as soon as I can!!!

I was so full at this point and had to run out and leave, so we were not ordering dessert, but Chef sent one out anyway, so I had a quick taste before I fled the scene.  It seemed to be homemade peanut butter ice cream with chunks of chocolate brownie or cake with sprinkles and peanuts.  As soon as you tasted the ice cream it was so clear it was homemade as there is no other taste quite like it!!!!  I am not a huge sweets person, but am a sucker for really good ice cream and they make many flavors…….dangerous!!!

I will absolutely be back to Royale very soon and will have tough choices to make as that burger is just something I think I cannot go without, but the steak frites was also so good (had the leftovers for dinner the next night and it was so good reheated even) and I also want to go on Thursday to try the Lamb Shank.  Chef Jeff and team – thank you so much for such a fun night with great food, great service and fun atmosphere!  Here is a pic of the team I stole from their Facebook site (Chef is in the middle)!!

#raleighfoodwhore #downtownraleigh #royaleraleigh #frenchamericanbistro #raleighrestaurants

Holy crapola I knew it had been some time since I blogged, but did not realize it was this long…..you all should have really bent me over your damn knees.  I am embarrassed and not thrilled with myself.  For those of you that know me though, you will likely understand that I had been in a job I was miserable in and then lost that same job and I did not handle any of that extremely well.  I am in a much better place now, so thank you to all of my friends and family who put up with me during that time…..I love you all so much.

So, this restaurant inspired me to get back to my blog and my passion……great food….great service…..great atmosphere…..great experience……great local owners…..I can go on, but you get the jist.

First of all, I have to give a shout out to Alicia Belle and Scott Jernigan for getting me into the restaurant on opening night!!!  Alicia was my partner in crime for the night and I was ready as the hubby was out of town on his annual boy’s baseball trip, so I was solo and kids were at sleepovers!!

Okay, we started off with a cocktail and I absolutely cannot remember the amazing cocktail I had, but I literally drank it possibly 2 sips…..okay, may 3-4 tops.  Let me back up a minute here and talk about the overall vibe when you walk in.  You immediately feel warm and cozy (absolutely love that it is not a giant space).  If I had one piece of feedback for you all….it would be to get some very chill artwork up on that brick (nothing crazy).

Before I get to the food, I want to talk about the service here.  Okay, you all know I spent over 10 years in the restaurant industry.  That makes me a very sympathetic and understanding patron (there are limits though), but it also makes it tough to really wow me.  I was a damn great hostess, expediter, cocktail server, food server, bartender and manager.  Yes, I have done it all.  This was the best service I have had in a very long time.  The staff was not only incredibly attentive, but they were fun and playful where it fit and disappeared when it made sense.  Also, I want to say it is VERY difficult to pull off incredible service along with having zero hitches on opening night and there literally were none.  Nothing I hate more than untrained servers who don’t know the menu, ingredients, etc.  There was not one person who came to the table to either take an order or deliver something that was not incredibly knowledgeable on it all.  I was at a restaurant recently (a newer one that I will blog about) and when they brought me the dish I asked what a few things were and the answer was I don’t know.  If you do not know, you should not be on the floor other than seating tables until you do.  Huge shout out to all of you and I look forward to seeing you all soon.  Actually, so soon that I will be there tomorrow night to celebrate my 11th wedding anniversary.  And I think we are going on the 9th for early birthday celebrations (it is my 40th this year and I am not thrilled).

Okay, the food.  Holy mouth orgasms batman!!!!!!!!!!!  Okay, we started out with the Yellow Beet Salad that came with cameo apple, feta and horseradish vinaigrette.  First of all, I like beets OK…..I am not usually in love with them.  I took my first bite and about shouted out too loud how amazing they were.  Then I took a bite that had all of the ingredients in it (the perfect bite) and that is when the mouth orgasm hit me like a freight train and the shouting just happened (I know….not that out of character for me).  This was the most amazing beet salad I have ever experienced and I keep thinking about it since.  Scott is an absolute genius as that perfect bite completely changes the entire dish!  I am all tingly thinking about it now.

The next course we had was the Charred Octopus with fennel, citrus, chorizo and marcona almonds.  First and foremost, all of these ingredients are incredible on their own and the surprising ingredient for me here was the marcona almonds.  Again, I took a small bite of just the octopus, which was amazing on its own and then went for the perfect bite…..and you guessed it…..another freaking mouth orgasm for me!!!!!!  They key for this dish is making sure that the octopus does indeed get charred and crispy in some places without overcooking it resulting in chewy octopus…..ewe….nasty, and this was accomplished flawlessly.  We also had the Raw Flounder with miso, lemon, fermented peppers and seaweed.  When this dish came out I was surprised by how it looked.  I honestly do not even know what I was expecting, but I just was.  Now, this one you have to eat all of the components together to really understand this dish.  Truly phenomenal and also very light, so a great starter when you are afraid to get too full before the main course.  Sadly, I ate it too fast and missed a picture!!!  🙁

Now, I feel it is time to mention the amazing friends we made on each side of our table.  Alicia knew the couple to my right (sorry, but terrible with names) and the two on my left were new to us, but that did not stop me (okay, okay….I may have had two cocktails and a glass of wine at this point).  The two amazing guys to my left are the owners of The Pharmacy Café, which is right next to Crawford and Son (it is a modern take on an old-school counter service café with breakfast, lunch, handcrafted sodas and apparently kickass sandwiches from what I hear).  Well, you would have thought I had known them for years because somehow we were all feeding each other (okay, perhaps Alicia was not participating) and it all seemed right that a guy I did not know was fork feeding me.  🙂  Here they are and I will be there soon and blog ASAP on this one as I have heard amazing things and cannot wait to try it:

I cannot remember all of the amazing items they fed me, but I believe it included the Confit Chicken Legs, Strip Steak and Short Rib, the Sugar Cream Pie (I would have thought I would’ve hated this based upon the description, but Scott just cannot seem to do anything wrong) and the Chocolate Chip Waffle dessert…..they freaking had me at waffle.  I should not leave out that my friends on the right had rolls just sitting there calling me over and they were not even going to finish them, so I helped myself……and I am super happy I did.  I did not have anything go into my mouth that did not taste absolutely amazing (stay clean minded peeps).  Here are the rolls and their desserts I partook in (I totally could have stolen a picture of the rolls off the internet, but I think it was important for you all to see how many they were just leaving there…..it was hurtful:

So, this is by far my new favorite restaurant in Raleigh and I cannot wait to be there tomorrow night to celebrate my anniversary.  I will likely have a follow-up blog as we did not order any entrees while we were there.  We did get the side of Cauliflower with almonds, lemon and chervil.  This reminded me of a similar dish he made at the previous restaurant he was at.  I have never met a cauliflower I hated and this certainly did not disappoint.  Now, if you are not into something super creamy, then this dish is not for you, so keep that in mind.

Scott Crawford – thank you so much for opening this restaurant and for your passion for fresh and amazing food paired with a great dining experience!! xoxo

#Crawfordandson #downtownraleigh #raleighfoodwhore #thepharmacycafe #mouthorgasmsallnight

Driftwood Southern Kitchen is a fairly new restaurant in Raleigh that opened up in Lafayette Village.  I am not typically out this way in Raleigh, but ever since my daughter (Ella) moved to a new gymnastics place, we are up there and always trying to find something decent to eat that is nearby.  I had read the reviews, so definitely felt I needed to get over there and add it to the blog.  First, I just have to say that Lafayette Village is so cute and quaint – wish it was not so far from my house (I live a mile from Cameron Village) as it would be a fun place to hang out on a nice day.

Okay, Matt and I walked in and thought the atmosphere was pretty cool.  They have an open kitchen, but unless you get sat right over there, you cannot see much.  Here are some pictures of the inside.

The menu looked amazing when I pulled it up online and I have to apologize as I wanted to order so much more to give you feedback on, but I really am trying to lose some damn weight (getting old sucks).  I would have ordered a number of dishes and just tried them for the sake of writing about them, but I do not get paid for this and the dishes are not free…….

Their cocktail menu listings have some sort of moonshine as the basis for the drink.  It was $5 cocktail night, so obviously we had to order some.  I went for the Strawberries and Champagne, which was made from Strawberry Moonshine and champagne.  Matt ordered the Cherry Old Fashioned (cherry shine, Jim Beam, muddled orange, sugar and bitters, but Matt asked for no muddled orange).  I could not even drink what I ordered…..that is how bad it was.  I am a freaking lush, so I will usually get it down, but I just could not make it happen.  The sad thing is that I pushed it way away from me so it was obvious that I was not going to drink it and not once did the server ask me if something was wrong with my drink, etc.  I spent over 10 years in the food industry and I would NEVER walk up to a table and see that they were either not drinking or eating something and not ask about it and then offer to replace it.  Nor did he ever ask us if we liked our drinks to give me the opportunity to tell him that I did not like it.  I am not one to complain otherwise, so there the drink sat as Matt could not even drink it.  Matt’s drink was okay, but not mind blowing.  Perhaps the issue is the moonshine as the basis and we should just order our own drinks instead (they do have a full bar).  Here are the pics of our drinks:

Oh, almost forgot to mention that when you sit down, they bring you a paper bag (pretty cute and clever) of pork rinds.  I am not a big pork rind fan, but of course had to try it for you all……not for me and my fat ass.  I was not a huge fan, BUT they do put some sort of seasoning on it (I am thinking some kind of curry powder) and if I got quite a bit of that on a bite, I did not mind it.

We decided to share a few things and went with the Watermelon Gazpacho with crab, the Andouille and Pepper Jack hushpuppies that were served with a smoked pepper aioli and the Ancho and Coffee Braised Short Ribs served over local cheddar grits and asparagus.

Let’s start with the Gazpacho.  I was a bit worried this would be overwhelming with watermelon, but I really wanted to try it.  It was actually pretty fabulous and was a tomato-based gazpacho with just more than a hint of watermelon and a decent amount of crab in it.  We really enjoyed this and I would absolutely get it again.  Sorry, took a number of bites before I remembered to take a picture! 🙂

I was really sad about the hushpuppies as those sounded totally amazing to me and were completely up my alley!!  Unfortunately, they did not have much flavor (you would think it would be really flavorful considering the ingredients), but they did have a little kick in them.  I just did not think they were worth the calories to eat them and have had much better hushpuppies elsewhere.  Also, if you have to dip them in aioli to have any sort of flavor, that is an epic fail.

Okay, now the short ribs.  These were fanfuckingtastic!!  They literally just fell apart when you touched them and had such a great flavor (smoky too).  The cheese grits they were over were nice and thick and went perfectly with the ribs.  They must have grilled the asparagus as they had a smokiness to them as well and were cooked perfectly (not too soft and not too hard…….HA….now I am talking in nursery school stories).  They look slightly limp in the photo, but I assure they were not (now guys…..that excuse will not work for you).  I will absolutely go back for this again!!  Will definitely stick to beer or subbing out some of their cocktails with just liquor.

They had a few other things on the menu I MUST try:  their pork belly appetizer, maybe their ribs (dry rubbed, smoked, then grilled), smoked and grilled meatloaf, Angus Beef Brisket (only served after 4PM) and their mini basket of cinnamon donuts.  If you all go – let me know what you tried and loved!!!

Again, here I am behind in my posts!  I have a few of them in the queue, so I am going to work on Death & Taxes first as people are asking a ton about Ashley’s new place, including how the food is, what to order, the cocktails, service, etc.  I was able to go during the first few weeks they were open, so hopefully this will help everyone for their upcoming visits to the restaurant.

Ashley really seems to hit the nail on the head each and every time with each of her establishments and this one is no exception.  It is amazing how she does this as all of them are so different in concept, the type of food that is served, etc.  Here is a somewhat decent view of the restaurant so that you can get a sense for the atmosphere (sort of reminds me a bit like a French bistro, but different):

Apologies that these pictures are not the best, but you can get a sense for what it looks like.  There is a huge open kitchen with bar type seating where you can watch all of the cooking action up close and personal (very cool).  Now, I did not sit on these barstools, but my one gripe with all of Ashley’s restaurants is that the barstools and chairs are typically very uncomfortable (especially for small people like my self…..I am 5′ 1/2″ and hell yes I am including that 1/2″).  Clearly she is going for style over comfort, but I do wish they were slightly more comfortable.  Perhaps these are, but I did not give them a test run.  I love the lighting in this place (chandelier is my favorite) and there is a tiny bar in the back right hand part of the restaurant that is clearly not made for a large crowd to hang around in.  However, if your table is taking slightly longer than expected, it is a good spot to grab a drink while you wait.

As I have always experienced at any of Ashley’s restaurants, the service was fantastic (her sommelier is absolutely amazing here…..and I am bummed I did not grab his name to properly credit him).  We started off with a round of cocktails (they make their own tonic and other mixers in house).  I am super lame as I pretty much only drink vodka and tequila with an occasional gin drink if I am in the mood.  On top of that, my preferred cocktail of choice is simply Tito’s with soda water, cucumber and a lemon.  Sounds boring, but try it…..it tastes like heavenly summer!  Nonetheless, Matt did at least order one of their prepared cocktails and here are the pics of those:

Clearly, I ordered my summer cocktail, but oddly it is colored and not clear as you would expect from a vodka soda.  I was told they make their own soda in house, but I still wonder if they accidentally made this with tonic as it tasted like that, but I put on my big girl pants and drank it anyway!  I believe Matt ordered the Rye Cobbler with Rye Whiskey, blackberries, orange, lemon and mint.  Although, now that I look at it again, it does not look like that, so who knows!  Oops!

We then moved onto a bottle of Rose, which led to another bottle of Rose.  The first we ordered was good, but the second one we ordered at the recommendation of the sommelier was amazing!!  I am hoping he will somehow read this and comment on which one it was!!  🙂  Damn tipsy Jenn is horrible at remembering at times….fine A LOT!!!

Now for the food!!!  We ordered the Oysters, Whole Crab Salad, Softshell Crab, Chicken, Roasted Sweet Corn and Potatoes Aligot.  Here are the pictures of those and I will tell you more as I think you need to see them first:

 

The top left is the chicken (I normally do not order chicken when I go out as I can easily make that at home, but we had one slightly picky eater with us…..sorry Stacey), but it was very delicious!!!  The corn is in the top right (another I would not have ordered….thank you Stacey) and it absolutely blew my mind!!!  It was so freaking good!!!!  It has a char on it and the sauce she puts on top (I think she calls it corn silk butter) is ridiculously amazing.  In the middle, the left hand side is the Whole Crab Salad.  I was expecting something different (not sure what), but it was very good.  The crab was very fresh, the avocados and grilled citrus went so well together (I would definitely order that again as it was such a nice light starter).  The oysters are next to this and I cannot remember if we got their oysters on the half shell or if these are her roasted oysters, but I remember happily eating them and wanting more!  The bottom picture is the softshell crab and if that is ever on the menu someplace I love, I order it without fail as I am a sucker for softshell crab (I wish it was in season more often).  It was so good and I am pretty sure we all fought for the last bites.  I have one more picture, which I want to give its own section to.

This section belongs to the mashed potatoes (otherwise called Potatoes Aligot).  If you have been to Poole’s Diner and have had her macaroni and cheese (absolutely the best macaroni and cheese you will EVER find and I dream about it often), then the best way to describe these potatoes are that they are her version of macaroni and cheese in mashed potato form!  They were SO creamy and delicious and are made with gruyere cheese I believe.  I took a picture of it in the pot and one of Stacey serving it so that you could truly see how creamy they were.  No doubt that these have got to be so bad for you calorie wise, but just like with her macaroni and cheese, I don’t give a shit!!!!!  You can see that they are served bubbling hot and I suggest that you order these when you come or you will be sad.  So, so, so sad.

Since we were gluten for punishment, we indulged in dessert, which I don’t often do.  We got the Blueberry con pone with popcorn ice cream and the Malted Chess Pie with whiskey cream and salted caramel. 

Honestly, they were both ridiculously amazing and I am not a big dessert person, so that means a lot coming from me.  I would have to say the Blueberry con pone was my favorite just because it was so unique and different.  It literally tasted like blueberry corn bread and adding the ice cream was absolutely critical to its success.  Well done, well done!

Therefore, my overall opinion and recommendation is that if you have not gone to Death & Taxes yet in Raleigh, that you do so immediately if not sooner.  Oh, someone must try the dry-aged steak and tell me how it is as I really want to order that next time!!!  Also, plan in advance though as apparently they are now on at least a one month wait for reservations.  This is Ashley’s first restaurant to take reservations, so you cannot complain too much!  When you are there, check out her private event space to think about for a future event (I am spying on this as one of the potential spots to celebrate a big birthday I have coming up next year if I decide to stay in town)!

#AshleyChristensen #deathandtaxes #raleighdowntownisawesome #notsureicanwaitamonthtogoback

 

Wow, I have no idea how I got so far behind in my posts and I am very sorry for doing so as I have about 6-7 posts waiting to be written!!  My visit to Plates in Raleigh this last Sunday for brunch reminded me of why I started this blog (my passion for food, service and drinks) and that I need make this more of a priority for myself.  Steve Day at Plates helped remind me of this during our long discussion of just that…..food and service at various restaurants around Raleigh.  Therefore, I am going to go ahead and write about my visit to Plates, but I have to apologize as I do not have any photos since I was not there with the intent of blogging my visit since I was so far behind.

Any of you who know me, know that I am a huge fan of Plates and go there OFTEN!  However, Steve was kind enough to remind me that the frequency of my visits have dropped off since April and May timeframe, which is also the time these posts have been slowing down.  I did get a new job, so that is likely the largest culprit that is impacting my free time, but I think I also just got busy with life in general (I do have two kiddos who keep me quite busy along with my amazing husband and friends).  Since I don’t have any pictures of the food and Plate’s website does not have any (most likely because their menu options change with what is fresh and in season), I could not steal any from there.  However, I will post a picture of Steve so that when you all go in you can say hello.  I could talk to Steve all day about food and drinks (he is very big into brewing and infusing of flavors too).

I absolutely love that Plates is open for brunch on Saturdays (my usual visits are for dinner and they just recently revamped their brunch menu).  In my opinion, why should one need to wait until 12PM to have a Bloody Mary or Mimosa with their brunch?  I grew up in Southern California, so this concept is very foreign to me and if that pisses any of you off, I will not be apologizing for that.   Saturday brunch provides this opportunity!!

They started out by bringing out no nut banana bread.  I was super excited about the no nuts as most people put walnuts in their banana bread, which I despise…..I think they taste like feet (although their reasoning was for potential allergies).  I eat most anything, but I have a few things that I just don’t like and walnuts is one of them.  The banana bread was so freaking good – super duper moist!!  I pre-ordered by Bloody Mary since we got there at 11:45 and I cannot recall the name of it as there were a few options, but it was essentially the house (they have one with lamb and bacon infused vodka, but I did not get that one).  They offer their house Bloody with either their house mix (includes clam juice….holy yumminess) or Zing Zang mix (definitely a good store bought one to use as a base at home too).  I opted for the house (obviously), changed my vodka to Tito’s and added their house-cured bacon to the drink.  They had several options for additions, including blue cheese stuffed olives, pickled green beans and I cannot remember if there was something else.  The bacon in the drink was so fucking good that I literally kept saying it throughout the meal (I am sure annoying the shit out of everyone I was with), but holy hell it was so damn good.  The Bloody was too, but that damn bacon!!!  Okay, I will stop about the bacon.

For my meal, I ordered the Shakshuka, which is Baked eggs, spicy red pepper and tomato sauce, cilantro, toast.  The spicy red pepper and tomato sauce is spicy, so if you do not like spicy and think they might be kidding about it, I assure you they are not.  I liked my meal, but if I had to think of something that might take it up a level to epic, I would have added fried potatoes (fry prior to putting them in the sauce to ensure they are crispy….essentially papas bravas and Mateo in Durham makes a slamming papa bravas).  There was a lot of sauce, so this would have added a nice additional texture and base to it and maybe I would have topped it off with some crema.  However, it was good and I definitely ate it all.  I loved that it came with a generous amount of cilantro (you could easily take it off if you are not a cilantro fan) as I LOVE cilantro.

Unfortunately, there were four of us and three of us ordered this same dish, so I only have one additional one I can touch on and my friend was nice enough to make me “the perfect bite”.  She ordered the Gravlax Eggs Benedict, which is a Scratch made biscuit, housemade gravlax, poached eggs, crisp asparagus, hollandaise, side salad.  I do not think I have ever had housemade gravlax (at least to my knowledge) and when it came out, I was surprised by the color of it as I was expecting for it to essentially look like typical salmon lox.  It was actually fairly purple (like a beet) and the plate itself was just really lovely looking.  I had this perfect bite (minus the salad) and it was SO fantastic.  The gravlax almost tasted like a better version of really fresh salmon sashimi.  I am ordering this the next time for sure!  However, I did see many people order their Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes, which have three cornmeal pancakes made with locally grown blueberries, served with our blueberry compote and housemade whipped cream.  It looked so amazing and everyone seemed to be wiping their plates clean.

I wish I had a picture of the inside of the restaurant as I just love it.  It is simple, inviting and somewhat modern.  I will post one when I provide a proper blog post for Plates in the near future.  They also added to their outside seating area making it one of the better patio options for those nice days.  When it is nice outside, I often pick where I am going to dine by whose patio I enjoy being at and this is definitely one of my favorites!

Thanks Steve and team – I will be back soon and will hopefully leave room for one of your amazing desserts.  On that note, they have a sticky toffee pudding that I love and my amazing husband was kind enough a few years back to call them and get a large order for us to have at home.  🙂  I am not a huge dessert person, but I have my favorites around town (I will dedicate a blog to just that in the near term).  All of the desserts offered that day looked amazing and I was sad that I was too full to partake.  Definitely next time!!

UPDATE: I completely forgot to mention that each and every time I have been to Plates (too many to count), I have always had such impeccable service from the hosts, to the server assistants, servers, bartenders, etc.  Keep up the amazingly welcoming attitude!!

#fantasticraleighbrunch, #plateskitchen, #mateo, #amazingraleighpatiodining

So, I have a rule that I really try and follow, which is to eat at locally owned restaurants versus chain restaurants.  Ruth Chris is one I very intentionally have allowed as an exception to this rule for several reasons.  First and foremost, I just absolutely love their sizzling delicious steaks and I have not found anything that really compares to it (not to say that there are not other places that serve a steak I enjoy)!!  ALL of the food they have is consistently good (apps, sides, etc.) and their service is always phenomenal.  I absolutely love the ginger and cilantro dip their raw oysters come with, their salads are always fantastic (Caesar and Wedge are my favorites), their bisque is yum, I always go for the filet and get it rare to medium rare (hey…..I like my meat on the rare side and it keeps cooking on your plate, so I don’t want to hear anything about it), and some of my favorite sides are the sautéed mushrooms, creamed spinach and now the sweet potato casserole (you will see below).  Also, I like cheesecake, but I don’t typically order it, but when we come here……I order it every single time.  We ordered it once since someone else wanted it and since then I am sad for all of the times that I went to dinner there and did NOT get the cheesecake.  What a damn shame!!

Okay, we just went recently with some friends of ours for their Caymus Wine Dinner (this is my 3rd wine dinner that I have now attended there and I really enjoy them).  Honestly, they had me at Caymus and the rest of it was just icing on the cake.  The menu that they paired it with had so many of my favorite things on it and I will say it was ALL really well done.

The Ahi Tuna Poke went well with the first pairing, the Lamb Lollipop was fantastic and I snubbed my nose at the sweet potato casserole because I am not a sweet potato fan.  My husband offered to eat mine and I said I would at least try one bite and give it to him.  Ummmm…….not so much!!  It was so freaking fantastic I ate the entire thing (it essentially tastes like butter and sugar).  I have to apologize as I missed a few pictures here of the courses and I am going to blame it on the wine and not the fact that I inhaled each course they brought out immediately!!  However, here is the lamb lollipop course and it had a fantastic blackberry sauce that was such a nice touch and went so well with the lamb.

The filet was fantastic as usual.  Unfortunately, the wine was really starting to kick in and I literally burnt my mouth eating it about six times.  It was served with lobster mac and cheese and broccolini and they were both scrumptious!!!  Here is my plate when I thought to take a picture!

The pieces of lobster were large and not stingy like some other places I have had it.  The lobster along with the creaminess of the mac and cheese was delightful.  The cremini mushrooms that topped the filet were so flavorful and it all paired so nicely together (I would definitely want to replicate this again).

The evening ended with some white chocolate bread pudding that was outstanding and sent me over the edge into “required unbuttoned pants” zone immediately!!!  Literally, I unbuttoned my pants and in typical Jenn style…..I forgot about it and got up to leave with them completely open.  Whoopsie!  Our neighbors at the table we sat with were thankfully quite amused with that along with my potty mouth.  That is certainly a neat part of doing these tastings….getting to meet some other people.  It is also quite risky in the case you get sat with duds.  This has happened to Matt and I before. In fact, our first trip together was on a cruise and they clearly read our backgrounds, and therefore sat us with people in our age group and many of them happened to be accountants (for those that don’t know this….I am a CPA by training).  Well, holy shit these people sucked so bad!!!!!!!  They could NOT have been more boring and when we ordered drinks with dinner (not included on cruises) they looked at us like we must be raging alcoholics to be willing to pay for the bottle of wine.  Matt and I looked at each other and with one look we said….holy mother of god, we need to get our table changed!  Just so you know…this is not really an easy accomplishment.  Nonetheless we were determined and went early to dinner the next night to talk to the maître d’ and had to beg him to please put us elsewhere and we assured him it was an absolute NEED!!  Funny thing was that we had to walk by our old table to get to our new “assigned table” for the week.  All of them were looking at us and we just acted confused and unsure why our table was changed.  We were seated with a table of MUCH older adults who cruise multiple times a year and had an absolute blast with them!  They got a kick out of us having more fun with them than a group of people our age.  🙂  Look, old people drunk are funny as hell!

So, I will just say that I think Ruth Chris always earns my exception to the rule each and every time I go!!!!

#ruthchrisisamazing #holylobstermacandcheese #sizzlingbutterfilet

I just learned that Wicked Taco is going to open up a place in Raleigh off Western Blvd. sometime this spring.  Their menu looks delicious with some really thoughtful combinations.  Coming to Raleigh from San Diego, I am always searching for good Mexican food.  I have yet to find what I am looking for in an enchilada and chile relleno anywhere near here.  I know I was spoiled and it is silly for me to think that someday the kind of Mexican food I got to enjoy in San Diego will arrive in Raleigh, but you can’t blame a girl for hoping!  Just like I still continue to hope that In-N-Out will change their minds and open a place in Raleigh.  I even wrote them when I first moved here and said I would work there (I do have a ton of restaurant experience), and they did write me back, but it was not good news.  They do not intend to move any further west than they are right now.  Sorry for the rant, and back to this new taco joint opening up, you can check out the menu and site out here:  http://www.wickedtaco.com/food/

I am excited to try all of them, but I definitely want the Lemon Trees on Mercy taco, the Roasted Hatch Queso Fundido Dip and it looks like they will be serving craft beers to wash it all down with!!

I really hope that this post of Guasaca is not the first time you are hearing about this place as that would be quite sad.  Last night, I just could not freaking stomach The Oak’s food another time, so opted to get Guasaca (it is in the same center off Lake Boone Trail in Raleigh) for dinner, sit outside and grab a beer next door from Bottle Revolution, so I will tell you about both places and experiences.  I had been to Bottle Revolution before, but it was the first time for the hubby.  I popped in, tasted the beer recommendation based upon what I told them I liked and then ordered one up.  Went to give him my card and he said….are you only having one?  I said…..no…because that would obviously be silly.  So, I said I would just start a tab and get this…..he says…we operate on an honor system!!!  Just saying…..that would NEVER happen in San Diego!!!  I felt like an instant part of the family…like CHEERS where everyone knows your name.  Very cool vibe there both inside and out and the staff is not only very knowledgeable but they also are not snobby or pretentious whatsoever!

So, I get my beer and join my son outside to enjoy the amazing weather and it is buzzing out there with lots of different folks eating food from either Guasaca or Which Which or just drinking beer (families, professionals, runners, etc.).  Dylan has never had Guasaca, so I was explaining the options to him (you either get a bowl, salad or have it on the arepa, which is essentially a corn based flatbread of sorts).  You can create your own ingredients or they have some signature items  you can order directly.

We both opted for the bowl (I have had the arepa before and it is fantastic, so wanted to try something different) and decided to make our own as he is a high maintenance foodie like his mom.  🙂  Dylan got the brown rice, grilled chicken, avocado salsa, caramelized onions, pico de gallo and cheese with the honey mustard sauce on the side.  He absolutely loved it and I tried his honey mustard sauce they make there and it was quite good.  None of us (hubby tried both bowls) were big fans of the onions, but that is really just a preference thing as they were a bit too sweet for our liking (we wanted them to be savory).

Oh, I will say that I was surprised that the grilled chicken is pulled (as shown above) as I guess I expected it to be chopped up grilled chicken, but no complaints here as it was delicious!  I opted for the same chicken, brown rice, black beans, guacamole salsa, cheese and both their cilantro sauce and signature spicy sauce.

We all agreed mine was AMAZING!!!!!  I got really full (thanks to all of the wonderful beers I was drinking), so Dylan had to step in and finish my bowl.  Speaking of beer, let me get back to that for a second.  Hubby came (I guess I should call him by his name, which is Matt) and I explained he should just go in and get whatever beer and told him about this whole honor system thing and he was also surprised and curious.  He came out with a canned beer, which had not even occurred to me to get something other than the draft.  Well, none of their draft beers were exactly what I wanted, so I opted for a bottled beer next (Bad Penny by Big Boss) and it was delightful.  I stood outside in their cool little area covered area outside (oh, we got rained on big time, so had to dart for safety) there were even places to hang my giant purse!  Next beer for me was a can of Fat Tire (one of my favorites).

We accomplished all of that in just about an hour – aren’t we productive!!  🙂  I foresee many future Thursdays repeating this particular evening over again!!

 

#Guasaca #Bottle Revolution #happytummy

First and foremost, the only reason I continue to frequent this place is because it is next door to Ella’s (my 8 1/2 year old) dance studio where she has a 45 minute tap class, which is just enough time for 1-2 drinks or glasses of wine and some snacks.  So, it would be really helpful if this place had great food!  I will say that their bar area is has a nice vibe and the bartenders are extremely nice and remember you over time.  It is a bourbon bar too, so clearly they have a great variety of bourbons (flights are offered as well).  Hubby enjoys this, but I don’t drink bourbon.

The owners of The Oak also own Taste, which is conveniently located to my house, so I really wish these two restaurants rocked.  My gripe with both of them are that the food (especially for the price) is eh…..not great and portions are small.  I don’t mind paying a decent amount for small portions if the food is amazing, but this is sadly not the case.  Therefore, I have resorted to ordering wine or a my standard Tito’s and soda water and a side of fries.  Their fries are quite good and the aioli dipping sauce it comes with makes me tingle inside.  🙂

The first time I went I ordered a salad that was missing at least 3-4 of the ingredients listed on the menu and when I mentioned it to the server, his response was that they must be out of some of them.  WTF!  Therefore, the salad ended up being very plain and the salmon I ordered on it was quite expensive for the very small portion that was provided and was just okay.  The service in general can be somewhat spotty if you are not at the bar (perhaps the stations for each server have too many tables), or they just are not well trained before being put out on the floor.

My son Dylan often comes with us on these mini-dates and all three of us love mussels.  The Oak serves bacon bourbon mussels, which again, are okay, but not great.  Fairly small portion, not enough sauce or flavor, but does come with some grilled bread that is a nice touch.  If you want good mussels, go to Vivace or Coquette (both in North Hills and both owned by Urban Food Group).  I am getting hungry thinking about them!  You will see below the portion and presentation.

They also have these three cheese nachos on the menu – holy shit do I love some good nachos.  Here is the description: slow cooked black-eyed peas, red peppers, cilantro and red cabbage. Served with chipotle sour cream and tomatillo salsa.  Again these are not bad, but not amazing and a very small portion for what it is.  They are literally the chips I buy from Costco or other supermarkets covered in black eyed peas (the texture of refried beans) and I guess they were out of tomatillo salsa because these did not come with it.  I will eat them if they are there as they are decent, but not holy crap amazing and nor would I ever crave them.  This is literally the full portion below for $8.

We went this last week and they had a new menu item of lamb sliders (slow roasted lamb, fennel slaw with a cabernet aioli) for $9.  You will see below this included two small sliders.  I was pretty excited as I am a big fan of lamb and was hopeful there would be an item I really liked here besides fries.  I refuse to order the entrée items because none of them sound that appealing and I know that I will disappointed in the quality and portion size with the price.  Look, I was raised Jewish and I am a CPA by training, but I assure you I am not cheap (I feel like this is sort of reading that way).  Those that know me know that I am willing to spend some big bucks for good food if it is worth it and there are plenty of places in Raleigh and nearby to do that….this is not one of them.  Back to the sliders – the lamb was dry and unless you ate a piece completely separately from the bun and other ingredients, you would not even know it was lamb.  When you eat it separately the flavor is lacking and like I said, it is quite dry (served pulled pork style).

I think this picture makes the sliders look large, but they are indeed small sliders like you would expect.  I guess I should take pictures of other things that people would like to appear larger with this camera.  🙂  Yes, I have a very dirty mind.

So, I continue to go to this place on Thursdays and hope to be able to eat before going and just stop in for drinks as it is a nice place to do that both inside and outside (great outside seating).  I wish the owner would get this place and Taste to a new level….perhaps it is time for a change in talent in the kitchen?  Do go and get some drinks, some bourbon flights or wine, but do eat beforehand if you do not want to end up disappointed.  Guasaca (an arepa and salsa grill is in the same center and is delicious, so grab a quick bite there beforehand.