Top Points of Interest - American

The PIT - Raleigh

nospam@example.com (Ray) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:18:17 -0600

Recently, there has been a lot of press (including national) about The Pit in Raleigh. Given the excitement, it obviously has been high on our list of places to try.

The restaurant seems to be divided into a few major sections - one fancier appearing dining room which could be out of any nice restaurant, the rest more run of the mill. It was clean and comfortable; hard to say for most barbecue places.

The menu is extensive, but doesn't necessarily read as anything unique in itself - just fairly standard southern fare. Thankfully, the menu doesn't do the food justice. We ordered the baby back ribs and pimento burger, as well as the jalapeno corn bread for an appetizer.

The baby back smoked ribs were simply incredible - the sauce, a lightly spicy, mostly sweet (maple syrup) was delicious, but wholly finger licking good, wish I could eat the bones too.

We will be back...!

328 West Davie St
Raleigh, NC 27601
(919) 890-4500

JJ Fish - best fried gizzards in town?

nospam@example.com (Ray) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:45:00 -0600

Fried gizzards - move on if you don't like them or are unwilling to try them. I grew to love fried gizzards at a place across the street from a lab I used to work in Kansas City, Go Chicken Go. While obviously not the healthiest of snacks, the hot sauce at that place was delicious... and it goes perfectly with fried gizzards. I don't try them every place I go, but seeing that JJ Fish had them, I had to try them.

Fried "fresh" and served hot, the gizzards are a great; their hot sauce is more run of the mill Tabasco type sauce. Their fried fish is solid, but we generally go there just for the gizzards.

JJ Fish.
2726 Guess Rd
Durham NC
(919) 471-9400

Terra Nova & Maximillian's ... off the beaten path in Cary?

nospam@example.com (Ray) — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 22:42:00 -0500

Quick - Name three locations where you can easily find good restaurants close together in the Triangle area. Let's see... Glenwood... Franklin St... Chapel Hill Rd. in Cary?

We had heard of Maximillian's - apparently fresh seafood, creative chef. While on our way to our ol' standby sushi place, Little Tokyo, we noticed a lot of nice cars in a lot along Chapel Hill Rd in Cary. Strange, as most of that area looks like little industrial companies. Past the trees, we realized that we had finally gotten around to bumping into Maximillian's. Not quite dressed for the former, we swung around back to Terra Nova, an apparent sister restaurant that was originally billed as a tapas place.

A restaurant so far off the beaten path, packed with people inside - we were definitely excited to try Terra Nova. The hostess/waitress filled us in that both restaurants were owned by the same person, and that the original tapas theme had gradually transformed into a tapas + other entrees. As such, we are guessing that the two restaurants are similar, but with Terra Nova a bit more casual than the more upscale appearing Maximillian's.

The pizza was recommended to us; it's always hard to resist lamb chops, and we just had to try the pecan crusted sea bass. The pizza was good, though it is still hard to go to a nice restaurant to order pizza. Brixx is probably a more satisfying pizza experience. The lamb chops were delightful - cooked perfectly medium, but not quite the experience we had at Parizade's. The pecan crusted sea bass was also wonderful, with a not-overdone texture combined with the pecan crust that only served to accent (and not hide) the wonderful flavor of the sea bass. Wow! Definitely worth going back to... and we can't wait to try Maximillian's. We'd probably stick to the seafood, however.

Terranova
8306 Chapel Hill Rd
Cary, NC 27513
(919) 461-3882

Mimi's Cafe - muffins and home cooking goodness

nospam@example.com (Ray) — Mon, 14 May 2007 18:52:42 -0500

I seldom ever speak of national chains - cookie cutter restaurants that grow like invasive kudzu displacing local gems.

However, when a unique national chain enters the area ... one has to take a bit of notice... especially for the muffins?

Mimis Cafe is famous for its yummy muffins and hearty home style meals... and it is now in Raleigh, across Capital Boulevard from the Triangle Town Center area. Located in a brand new shopping area (most of the other stores are still empty!), its a bit of a hike, depending on where you live, but well worth the trip.

Famous for their muffins - banana chocolate chip, honey oat bran, carrot raisin nut, buttermilk spice, and low fat blueberry - all the flavors are deliciously moist and tasty. The rest of their food - we had the lamb shank and jazz fest appetizer (fried zucchini, spinach artichoke dip and chicken tenders) - are just as good. Very down to earth, home cooking flavors and solid portions. The chicken pot pie could easily feed two, for example. Prices are also very reasonable.

Mimis is a great place to take the family for an easy solid meal; it reminds me of Cheesecake factory, but in a more down to earth style.

Brunch choices - Omelets, French toast and Fish Tacos?

nospam@example.com (Ray) — Sun, 06 May 2007 20:07:29 -0500

Brunch - what a great way to start a weekend day - and there are a fair number of choices in the Triangle area; Mad Hatter's, Briggs, are just a few inexpensive places that come to mind. We have a new one (an old Raleigh favorite) to add to that list.

Porters City Tavern is located directly across the street from the center of NCSU on Hillsborough Rd. Though parking should be straightforward on non-game days on campus; there is extra parking around back. The restaurant opens at 11:30 AM; by 11:20, there were about 10 people waiting for it to open.... definitely a sign of a great place.

They start you off with a couple of their cute blueberry muffins - great tasting too!

Their menu was pretty much a standard brunch menu - with one exception... Fish Tacos? Since we miss San Diego and the Tijuana fish tacos, we are always in search of local Taquiera's that serve them. Unfortunately, most do not even come close to being worth having again. The fist tacos at Porters were made with mahi mahi on about an 8" shell - filled with lightly breaded fish bites; definitely worth having again. In addition, we ordered the Brioche French Toast - two of the three pieces were perfect; the last was unfortunately underbattered and burnt. Overall, however, still worth a trip to Wolfpack land... and worth a trip to try at dinner time.

Carver's Creek Steakhouse - keep on paddling?

nospam@example.com (Ray) — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 23:01:00 -0500

Durgin Park in Boston represents the quintessential prime rib restaurant in the US. Famous for its Durgin cut (bone on, barely fit on the plate portion), it is always on my mind when I head to the northeast. Topped off with a pastry from Mike's Pastry in the North End, and you've just described one of my favorite Boston evenings.

Back to reality however; the bar and experience which Durgin Park sets is difficult to match. Carver Creek in Raleigh (strange location, stuck behind the ice cream shop, right before the beltine off Capital) is a nice home style restaurant which claims to have a great prime rib. They serve a prime rib coated in the herbs it was cooked in, with a great medium to medium rare texture. Overall, the lunch was solid - however, nothing so memorable as to want to return. A great place if you need to have a quick business lunch, but not so inspiring to warrant a drive from Chapel Hill.

The dinner menu may be better... but lunch was not great enough to warrant us trying.

City Beverage

nospam@example.com (Ray) — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 22:22:00 -0500

We've been wanting to swing by the City Beverage for months - though it has a convenient location off of Hope Valley Road in Durham, but we just never had a chance to stop by. We finally did - we were not disappointed in the food - "Lambsicles", shrimp fritters and Beef Satay. The food had a nice spicy kick to it - not overwhelmingly so, however. The price was a bit inflated for the food; the restaurant feels more like a local bar than a fine dining establishment that should be charging $20 or so for entrees.

The dishes were solid, with a good blend (but not boring) flavors. The lamb was well executed, with a perfect medium rare. The appetizers were delightful; a bit pricey at $8 to $10 each. Ingredients were par - not a quality that matches the prices. Drink menu has a nice variety, including plenty of beers on tap. I'd consider the City Beverage worth going to if you don't mind feeling like your dollar just didn't have the right reach. Then again, this is a type of place that I'd like to see stay in business too - so maybe the price is worth it.

City Beverage
4810 Hope Valley Rd
Durham, NC 27707

Five Guys - Five star burgers

nospam@example.com (Ray) — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 12:36:00 -0600

We made a trip to Washington DC a few years ago; along the way, we happened to stop by a random burger place off the beaten path. The place was named Five Guys Famous Burger and Fries. The floor was covered with peanut shells, but the place was otherwise clean. We ordered two burgers and an order of fries. It turns out, that these were some of the best burgers we had ever had. Made fresh, and you choose your toppings.

Fast forward a few years - Five Guys has now been in the Triangle area for a few while - our favorite is going to the actual store; but Streets at Southpoint is convenient for Chapel Hill / Durham residents. We were delighted that Five Guys is now available locally... sorry to the fast food joints; it just doesn't taste the same.