A little research will go a long way with this request, but here's a few suggestions anyway:

For bbq, definitely Allen & Son's.

For sushi, I don't know personally but people say that Waraji (Raleigh) is one of the best.

For fine dining, I'd go to Panciuto in Hillsborough.

Other good bets: Poole's (Raleigh), Mateo (Durham), Lantern (Chapel Hill), Watts Grocery (Durham), Rue Cler (Durham), Scratch Bakery (Durham), Beasley's (Raleigh), L'Uva (Durham)

Poole's is great, but, like Ronbo said, it can get busy. You might try J Betski's (for upscale German) or Centro (for upscale Mexican).

in Raleigh: Have you been to Poole's Diner? Or maybe Mandolin or Battistella's. Perhaps the newly opened Bida Manda?? Or Centro for upscale Mexican, or Zely & Ritz.

I think Beasley's is the way to go for lunch in Raleigh. J Betski's is also supposed to be very good, but I've not been

Flights, the restaurant within the hotel itself (I believe), is supposed to be good. Greg Cox gave it 4 stars, but that was a couple of years ago. Otherwise, I'd say Coquette is a good choice.

http://www.flightsnorthhills.com/

Wholeheartedly agree with you TerryG and cackalackie. I really wish we could get a great loaf of bread and and/or an awesome baked treat.

One place that promises to fill this void is Yellow Dog Bread Co. They are going in just north of the Krispy Kreme, by Raleigh City Farm, along with Market and Escazu.

I also used to hear whispers of Crumb opening an actual location in Raleigh.

I had an amazing grilled ossabaw pork chop at Panciuto a while back.

From Amy Tornquist (of Watts Grocery). Opening next Wednesday 8/22 at 721 Broad St.

An excerpt from the press release:

"The menu will include Tornquist’s signature cakes and biscuits as well as updated takes on Southern standards like syrups, jams, pickled green tomatoes, homemade marshmallows and ice cream sandwiches."

I'm a big fan of Watts, so I'm pretty excited about this place, though it has stiff competition in DaisyCakes and Scratch.

I need to move to Durham!

How about Il Palio?

I thought it was on there. Anyway, it's at

benrsmith.com

I am a fan of Only Burger. Only tried American Meltdown once, and was really underwhelmed.

I think Mikeh's response is spot on, and I strongly second his recommendation of Panciuto. I would add that Lantern (in Chapel Hill) is generally regarding as one of the best restaurants in the area and placed once or twice in the former Gourmet magazine's top 50 restaurants in the country, but the food is quite different than what was offered at Mag. Grill. If you want to stick in Durham and/or with a more similar style of cuisine, Four Square or Watts Grocery are possibilities.

What blogs are you guys reading? Most of the ones I read (I mentioned a few above) seem to be in the writer's true (uninfluenced) voice. I get occasional emails about special events or something. I think I've received one or two offers for free food, but I haven't accepted, and would mention it if I did.

I have heard that Frank's is good, but I have yet to try it.

I recommend Salvio's Pizza in Cary for NY style.
http://www.salviospizza.com/

Wish I had a recommendation for cheesesteaks

Of course there's Carpe Durham
http://carpedurham.com/

And, for restaurant news (openings, closings, and other tidbits), Triangle Food Guy is great
http://trianglefoodguy.blogspot.com/

Frazier's just closed. I would do Poole's and Lantern as my top 2 from your list, or consider substituting Panciuto in Hillsborough for one of those two. It's worth the drive. Not to make it too confusing, but I'd add the following for consideration: Vin Rouge or Rue Cler (both in Durham).

Finally, at the priciest end of Triangle dining - and I haven't been to these places - there's Fearrington House, Il Palio, and Herons.

I recommend 2 Chefs to Go in Greenville, SC. It's very close to I-85 and offers good fresh salads and sandwiches.

http://www.2chefs2go.com/home.php

I was going to suggest Fonda y... It's great and you can get 4 tacos for $6.

Mami Nora's is good and just inside 440 on wake forest rd. north hills is close and Coquette would be a fine choice there, plus Henry's Gelato for dessert

There are quite a few worth reading, I think, including:

Foodalicious Follies
http://trianglenc-restaurants.com/

Eat Raleigh
http://eatraleigh.blogspot.com/

Masala Wala
http://masalawala.wordpress.com/

The Gourmez
http://blog.thegourmez.com/

The Straight Beef
http://thestraightbeef.com/

Food Snob Durham (already mentioned

And, dare I say, perhaps the one mentioned in my Chowhound profile.

+ 1 for Melina's

I'd suggest Rue Cler in Durham, Coquette or J Betski's in Raleigh, Herons in Cary, or Il Palio in Chapel Hill.

I'd say Panciuto and Lantern for sure. The former is definitely worth the drive. I also love both Vin Rouge and Rue Cler. I've seen mixed things on Revolution, but mostly good stuff about L'Uva, and I had a very good meal at the latter, so I'd try that too. Geer St. Garden is easy with kids, but I did not enjoy it in one visit. I haven't been to Herons or several of the others on your list. Maybe Il Palio in CH or, back in Raleigh, how about Mandolin? Have fun!

I'd suggest Bull City Burger & Brewery.

Wow. I only went once for dinner but it was awesome.

I think Poole's Diner is the best in Raleigh, but the links carolinadawg provided will give you some other ideas.

Chapel Hill Creamery is close to you and makes "Calvander" which is "inspired by asiago". It's delicious, and would be great for pesto.

Whoops - I just saw that this was mentioned earlier by cheesemaestro

Chazzer's right - these questions are covered pretty well already. Try this link for a lot of the non-bbq suggestions.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/799790

Definitely go to Allen & Son's for BBQ. My second favorite in the triangle area is The Pig (in Chapel Hill), but it's not one of those "legendary" places on the NC bbq trail.

What's great about brunch is you can often eat at some great places for about the price you mentioned. I would suggest Beasley's Chicken & Honey, Market Restaurant, Mandolin, Coquette, or Battistella's.

Thanks for the entertaining report. Sounds like it worth a shot.

It's called EJ's. They don't seem to have a website, but here's a link to their yelp reviews page:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/ejs-soul-food...