You had me at Guasaca!!

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

Author: JennJohnson

I am a born and raised Southern CA girl living in Raleigh with a passion for family, friends, good food and great drinks! I worked in the restaurant industry for about ten years (a long time ago), which is likely where I started to develop and harness my love for food and good service! View all posts by JennJohnson