foodieinraleigh's Profile
Gonza Tacos n Tequila - Best New Real Mexican Food in Raleigh
No tripe or goat. Menu contains delicious options though not what would be typically classified as authentic 'taqueria'.
Menu posted on website: http://www.gonzatacosytequila.com
North Carolina BBQ TOUR
It was around 1:30PM on Sat when we were at Route 1. There were 4-5 tables of diners when we arrived and 2 large parties came while we were eating. It is a small, relatively intimate, cheerful and clean dining room. So couldn't miss hearing the praise coming from the other tables, so we were not alone in our compliments. It is a weird parking lot so may be hard to judge number of cars at a quick glance.
Holden's is good - other options though if going to drive.
Gonza Tacos n Tequila - Best New Real Mexican Food in Raleigh
In the past we have been great fans of Dos Taquitos for the best Mexican / South American food. However, last night at the recommendation of a friend we went to dinner at Gonza Tacos n Tequila (7713 Lead Mine Rd - Greystone Village Shopping Center). Let's just say, that we were very pleasantly surprised. Although the dining room is still the layout from Fins and Savoy, the restaurant has been transformed into a mexican delight. Understated, but much better lighting than Dos Taquitos. The food was great from one course to another. The standard chip sauce was fresh tasting with a real kick. I started off with a "habanero" draft beer (from Durham - possibly from Triangle Brewing Company - "Habanero Pale") and my wife had a house margarita, which was made from scratch with lime juice. Both were great, especially the house margarita. She also tried the "orange juice" based margarita - but we thought it was a bit sweet. Much sweeter than Alton Brown's version.
But the star of the show was the food from the "ghost menu." Mexican Flag which is a dish with 3 enchiladas with beef, chicken and pinto beans. The tomatilo sauce and pico de gallo sauce was very unique and had just the right of spice. The other entree was a "loaded cactus" special. I am not a real fan of cactus, but this dish made me a convert. It was layered with many textures of smoky veggies and cactus. Reminds us of the old great specials from Dos Taquitos.
I am intrigued by a taco entitled, Mero-Mexican. The waiter said it was made with beef tongue.
For desert we shared a "Talega de Platano." This pastry with mango was lightly dusted with cinnamon and served with vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of caramel sauce. It was a great ending of a memorable meal.
If you are craving the "old" Dos Taquitos, be sure to check this place out. You won't regret the trip.
North Carolina BBQ TOUR
I would agree that The Pit should be taken off list. Since Big Ed has left, we think the quality has gone down. Has he opened a new place? I haven't seen anything. Sure do miss his que.
That said, we were pleasantly surprised last weekend when we visited, Route 1 Capital BBQ in North Raleigh / Wake Forest (10012 Capital Blvd). Wow... we were blown away with the NC "classic" BBQ and the Beef Brisket. The pork was not technically NC eastern style BBQ, but it had a lot of bark and was very tasty. This is now our favorite BBQ in the Raleigh area. We have always like the brisket at the Q Shack, but this reminded me of the brisket at City Market in Luling Texas. Vernon Griffin is a great pit master. Worth checking out.
Our favorite in the Triangle continues to be The Pig in Chapel Hill on Weaver Dairy Road. If you get tired of the BBQ, The Pig always have great tamales....
Coming to Indy for Women's Final Four in April. What is the best you got?
We watch the game from our hotel room, since we could not get some of our guests out to have mussels at Brugge Brasserie.
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Brugge Brasserie
1011 E Westfield Blvd, Indianapolis, IN 46220
Coming to Indy for Women's Final Four in April. What is the best you got?
We were pleasantly surprised by the food we had in Indy. The best by far was the meal we had at RBistro and the worst was Mo's a Place to Eat Steak. The food, wine and atmosphere at RBistro was outstanding - especially the pork belly entree. The sides at Mo's were great, especially the cream spinach. Our steak was "ok". A local grass fed steak from home cooked on the grill surpasses the steak we had. Other places that we visited and would return to included: Tata Cuban Cafe for lunch - the ropa vieja habenera rivals as one of the best versions we have ever had; Adobo Grill on Washington Street had a great pre-fixed menu for dinner on Sunday evening; Shapiro's Deli for a Reuben; 3 Sisters and Creation for lunch, Finally breakfast at Cafe Patachou. Thanks for your suggestions.
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Cafe Patachou
4733 E 126th St, Carmel, IN 46033
3 Sisters Cafe
6360 Guilford Ave Ste X, Indianapolis, IN 46220
Washington Street
14801 Washington St Ste B, Woodstock, IL 60098
Tata Cuban Cafe
137 W Market St, Indianapolis, IN 46204
Coming to Indy for Women's Final Four in April. What is the best you got?
It does not have to be downtown. I did not know Scotty and Mo's were chains.
Must-Have Asheville Reservations?
Asheville is one our favorite cities to visit because of all the great restaurants. We agree that Admiral has the best food in Asheville, we were blown away when we were there last October. If you like indian food, I would check out Mela on Lexington Ave, vegetarian - Laughing Seed (also an alternative for breakfast); Tupelo Honey Cafe, and Rezaz Mediterranian. We have not been impressed with the food at Grove Park Inn.
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Tupelo Honey Cafe
12 College St, Asheville, NC 28801
Laughing Seed Cafe
40 Wall St, Asheville, NC 28801
Coming to Indy for Women's Final Four in April. What is the best you got?
Thanks for the pointer about Mo's. We are not following any particular team, so we are not necessarily looking for the bars designated for the teams. A couple of downtown pubs look interesting: Tavern on South, Scotty's Pub and Slippery Noodle. Suggestions? We've read that Indy is really a sports town, so there have to be more options to watch the game and get something decent to eat.
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Scotty's Pub
519 1st Ave NE, Staples, MN 56479
Coming to Indy for Women's Final Four in April. What is the best you got?
Here are our current thoughts for evening dining in Indy during the Final Four: Euphoria, R Bistro and Mo's A Place for Steaks. Does anyone have a suggestion for a bar downtown where we can watch the Men's Final Four on Saturday and Monday that also has decent food?
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R Bistro
888 Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46204
Final Four
128 N 1st St, Sherman, IL 62684
Coming to Indy for Women's Final Four in April. What is the best you got?
Forgot to add, that I have a severe allergy to national food chain restaurants.. I rather eat great food at a dive or a hidden away place then eat at a chain. The only chain that meets our list is Starbucks, but great local roasters are high on our list. Key factor... local, local, local!
Coming to Indy for Women's Final Four in April. What is the best you got?
A little more info. We are arriving in Indy on Friday evening and will be there until Wednesday morning. A far amount of time to explore the culinary breadth of Indianapolis. We enjoy all ethnic food from Ethiopian to sushi, including a broad range of BBQ, Can't say I have ever heard of any particular BBQ type that is home to Indy. Here in North Carolina folks have huge debates between Lexington and Eastern North Carolina style. That said, last year we really enjoy the Texas brisket at City Market in Luling Tx.... 75 miles from San Antonio. It was worth the trip. Looking at some of the menus and the fact that we will be dining several nights with non-foodies, we are probably looking for food with entrees no more than the upper teen to low twenties. We will probably hit one of the more high end places on Friday evening.
Coming to Indy for Women's Final Four in April. What is the best you got?
Yes, we will be driving to Indy and have a fair amount a flexibility to venture out from the downtown area. Someone has said that Indy has a reasonable Greek population. Thoughts?
Coming to Indy for Women's Final Four in April. What is the best you got?
We will be in Indy for 5 days in April for the Women's Final Four BB tournament. We are looking for the best in ethnic and non-chain food that Indy has to offer. Recommendations for breakfast, lunch and dinner are welcomed. Some suggestions for late night dining downtown for Sunday and Tuesday evenings would be great. No restrictions, just looking for the best that Indy has to offer from hole in the walls to great dining experiences. Haven't seen a lot of recent posts, so your help is most appreciated.
Raleigh: Michael Deans closing/changing
Glad to hear Michael Dean's is closing. Not sure we need another upscale bar in North Raleigh. Does Tribeca have anything unique on their menu?
Need hounds help with dinner near Sheraton RTP late Feb
I would second the trip to Dim Sum House. I would also recommend going into Durham and trying out Watts Grocery for great local food. If you are interested in barbeque, you might cosider heading to downtown Raleigh to The Pit. The variety of the sides available at the Pit are outstanding and they have a good selection of beers. For Indian in the RTP area, check out Saffron in Morrisville.
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Watts Grocery
1116 Broad Street, Durham, NC 27705
Dim Sum House
100 Jerusalem Dr, Morrisville, NC 27560
Best Indian in the Triangle - Vimala's Curry Blossom Cafe
Glad to see our original post generated a lot of energy around Vimala's. We had a chance to revisit Saffron in Morrisville after a hiatus. The food was outstanding and far superior to Royal India and Azitra. Can't wait to get back to Chapel Hill.
Best Indian in the Triangle - Vimala's Curry Blossom Cafe
Udipi is great for vegetarian buffet. We live close to Falls Lake, so we do not get to Cary unless we are in the area and then it is usually for lunch. We have not been to Tower or Spice and Curry.
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Udipi Cafe
3300 Peachtree Industrial Blvd Ste J, Duluth, GA 30096
Best Indian in the Triangle - Vimala's Curry Blossom Cafe
Vimala is not higher end. It is very reasonably priced. Most of the entrees on the dinner menu run $8-$14. It is quite small and you may need to wait for a table if you have a party of more than 2 people.
Best Indian in the Triangle - Vimala's Curry Blossom Cafe
Up to a couple of month's ago, I would have said Royal India, but that quality of the food has gone down recently to the point that Saffron and Azitra are back on the list of favorites.
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Azitra Restaurant
8411 Brier Creek Pkwy Ste 101, Raleigh, NC 27617
Best Indian in the Triangle - Vimala's Curry Blossom Cafe
We were in Chapel Hill last weekend and went to Vimala's Curry Blossom Cafe on West Franklin Street. Vimala's occupies the old space where Sandwich use to be, so it quaint dining room. We live in Raleigh and have been to a lot of Indian restaurants over the years, so we were really looking forward to eating at Vimala's. Boy, we were not disappointed. Vimala's has skyrocketed to our #1 Indian restaurant in the triangle. We started off with the soup of the day, which was a tamarind and lime in a vegetable base with rice. The soup broth by itself might be overwhelming for some with its bright tamarind overtones, but when eaten with the rice, it was heaven on a cold winter's night. The pakoras were also great. We ordered three entrees: vegetable thali with brown rice, beef curry thali and the Kafta curry. The thalis were very good and served with a season bhaji (cabbage based on this occasion), raita, a spicy chutney, dal, chapati and pappadum. That said, we were blown away by the Kafta curry. The mixed vegetable balls in a savory curry cream sauce was unbelievable. So fresh, but very tasty. No Indian beer, but a very good selection of bottled microbrewery beers. If you are looking for a change from the routine heavy, cooked for hours curry, head to Vimala's. You will not be disappointed. Great reason to make a trip to Chapel Hill from Raleigh.
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Vimala's Curryblossom Cafe
431 W Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Dinner in Charleston WV - 8:30-9pm on a Saturday Night
We will be passing through Charleston tomorrow evening (Saturday-October 16th) and would like to get something for dinner between 8:30-9pm. Great bar food will work, if that is our only option at this time of night. We are very adventersome, so anything of high quality and non-chain would be great. Local source ingredients would be a plus. Anything? HELP!
Saturday Night in Charleston West Virgina - HELP!
We will be passing through Charleston WV tomorrow night (Saturday). We are looking for something outstanding for dinner around 8:30-9:00pm. Any suggestions? Looking for some memorable, after a 10+ hour day of driving.
Bibs - Winston-Salem NC --- A big disappointment
We were in Winston-Salem for the Wake Forest - Georgia Tech football game last night. We were really looking forward to have dinner at Bibs before the game after reading all the comments on Chowhound. Wow, what a disappointment. The best thing on the menu was the draft beer and the white coleslaw. The red coleslaw was very vinegary. The ribs were juicy and very tender but too sweet and salty for our tastes. The beef brisket was also tender and moist, but the combination of spices on the brisket was "ok." The pulled pork was totally uneventful. Seems like they can not decide to do Lexington or eastern NC style. The potential sauces to but on the meat to doctor them up seemed gelatinous in nature. The green beans were out of a can and the mac and cheese was a pile of uninviting mess of over cooked macaroni and who knows what kind of cheese. To say the least, we were disappointed. My son keep saying that our homemade ribs, pulled pork and brisket blows away the meat served here. Oh well, should have gone to Sweet Potatoes.
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Sweet Potatoes
529 N Trade St, Winston Salem, NC 27101
Where do foodies eat in Omaha? No steak houses allowed. Any great ethnic food?
Thanks for all the feedback. We ended up going to The Boiler Room. The food was fantastic. One of our party decided to be adventurous and try the beef checks, since we have heard a lot about how great they were. They were incredible. We will never pass they up on a menu in the future. The pork chop was outstanding. The ceviche appetizer was also quite tasty. The lamb sausage entree was not great, but ok. The deserts did grab anyone, so we skipped. We would definitely go back if we are in Omaha. For breakfast we went to Wheatfield's Express in the Old Market. It was good, but we would not rank it as fabulous. The coffee was top notch. Thanks again
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Boiler Room
1110 Jones St, Omaha, NE 68102
Wheatfield's Express
12th and Howard, Omaha, NE
Where do foodies eat in Omaha? No steak houses allowed. Any great ethnic food?
Glad to see there are more options beyond pizza! I am getting pressured to Italian, since there are so many Italian restaurants in Omaha. What about Vivace, The Boiler Room and Lo Sole Mio? We are staying at a hotel in the Old Market. The Boiler Room looks pretty interesting.
Any thoughts for breakfast?
Where do foodies eat in Omaha? No steak houses allowed. Any great ethnic food?
Pizza - really?
Where do foodies eat in Omaha? No steak houses allowed. Any great ethnic food?
Looking for non-steak house meal in Omaha for foodies? Is there any ethnic food in Omaha besides Italian? We are anticipating at least 2 evening meals with steak or meat and potatoes, so we are really looking for some alternatives.
What is the best, modest price steak restaurant in downtown Omaha?
no more than $25 or so for the steak itself. Total price for 2 of around $100 - 125 with a bottle of wine.
What is the best, modest price steak restaurant in downtown Omaha?
I will be in Omaha for one evening. Looking for the best steak in downtown Omaha. No chains allowed. We will have a car so could drive out as far as 72nd Street. Are some of the older steak houses any good? Gorat's, Anthony's, Cascio's?
